R. Barão (left) is hit by Dillashaw (right); Brazilian was knocked out in the 5th round. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
As much as his own defeat to TJ Dillashaw at UFC 173, held last Saturday (24), the way the Brazilian presented himself Renan Barao in the fight he ended up surprising Brazilian fans. After the setback, Barão explained that a traumatic blow suffered in the first round sealed the fate of the confrontation, leaving the Brazilian on “automatic pilot” – without following the defined strategy or thinking very carefully about his actions. Barão even stated that he had difficulty even identifying which round the fight was in.
“Right at the beginning of the fight, I received a very strong blow and then I was playing on automatic the entire fight. There came a time when I didn't even know where I was, I played on automatic. I even asked Dedé (Pederneiras, coach) if I had won the round or if I had lost and even which round we were in. So that was it, I was a little bewildered by that first blow he hit me”, said the former champion, in an interview with the “SporTV News” program.
Barão also recognized his opponent's excellent performance in the fight and gave him all the credit for the result, but promised to dedicate himself a lot to regain the belt in the 61,2 kg category. “Merit of TJ Dillashaw, it was his day. But that’s it, I’m going to train hard and hard to get back what’s mine,” she concluded.
At 27, Renan Barao He has a record of 32 wins, two losses and one unsuccessful fight. The setback against Dillashaw put an end to an undefeated streak that had lasted 33 fights and more than nine years. Furthermore, with the loss of the bantamweight belt, Brazil was left with only one UFC champion, José Aldo, something that has not happened since 2006.
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