Faber vs. Barao

This is the official discussion thread for Faber vs. Barao. Let's see what you've got.

My heart wants Barao to win, but my head thinks that Faber will win just because I hate the cornrolled white boy.

I like Faber a lot, but I personally believe he's been on a downhill slide since he lost the WEC belt.  I'm rolling with Barao.

For now, Barao, because he's both looked really good against good competition, and has a long unbeaten streak against lesser competition, which is worth more than people give it credit for. Still, there is a very good chance I might change my mind ... Faber is tough as anybody, tons of heart, and he's a great fighter.

I like watching Faber's fights because he's a brawler with tons of heart and skill, but I just don't see him beating Barao. Barao is a Jose Aldo like fighter, and Aldo destroyed Faber, and I expect a similar outcome in this fight. It might just be me, but I've thought that ever since Faber lost his belt, he's never quite regained his old form. Barao should dominate this fight with his Muay Thai from round 1 to round 5.

I really like both fighters, and I'm a fan of each of their respective styles, but Faber in my opinion has more championship experience, and has faced the better opposition. Barao has all the tools, skills, and potential to beat Faber, but his last couple of performances tells me that if he fights the same way against Faber, Faber is going to pick him apart for 5 rounds, and get the UD.

wouldn't that be fun to see?

Not totally sure who i'll be picking...always been a big Faber fan, but i'm not sure he can beat those top guys now. And Barao could very well be one of those top guys, we'll find out in this fight.

out wrestles barao

barao  by leg kicks and having very good TDD.

Barao is on a great run, but he hasn't fought anyone on Faber's level.

This should be fun to watch, both to see how Faber will handle it and to see what Barao will pose. I really want to see Barao vs Cruz though, Barao's potential and fight finishing skill could make him the bantamweight king, plus he's young

I am really scared for Faber.  That said, I think this fight could go either way... but Barao is a BEAST!!

Faber is gonna get his ass beat. After Brown beat him twice, he never evolved. He just looks for overhand rights, and guillotines.

Faber is getting finished in this fight.

Faber has already been finished with strikes, i wanna see him get submitted, and then Barao have his black belt around his neck to trump Faber's brown belt lol

I would be shocked if Faber got tapped by Barao. Not saying it's impossible, but probable? I don't think so. Faber has subbed some solid grapplers like Curran and Assuncao, and was supposed to go compete at Abu Dhabi, i don't know if he did or not. Never been submitted either. Barao can definitely finish him with strikes if he gets wild, i think that's obvious.

I think this fight will look a lot like Barao's last fight against Jorgensen, just with a few more takedown attempts from Faber and a little less one sided, but still with a clear winner.

Barao via decision.

I think it's time for me to do a 10-point breakdown on this fight, but it's real hard because I know so much about Faber and very little about Barao. I've only seen a handful of his fights. I'm going to the archives, and seeing what Barao really has to bring to the table, then I will do my 10-point breakdown.

Barao has not fought anyone on Faber's level. Faber will beat this guy. Hype up Barao allll you would like, McDonald is the guy people should be talkign about, not Barao.

1. Mental Edge/Confidence/Gameplan - I know very little about Renan Barao, but I've recently watched many of his fights, and researched his resume. Currently Barao is bringing to the table one of the longest current winning streaks in MMA which now stands at 28. The Tapology page says 29, but I counted 28 with 1 NC in that span. 9 wins via decision, 6 by KO/TKO, 13 wins by submission. Coming into this fight, and who Barao trains with (Jose Aldo, who holds a win over Faber), I think that he's coming in very confident, prepared, and ready to win this fight. Urijah Faber is one of the most well-known, beloved, well-rounded, experienced fighters at 135, and is the former WEC Featherweight Champion, former KOTC Bantamweight Champion, and former GC Bantamweight Champion. To add to Faber's resume, he's the only man to have a win over current UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominic Cruz, and many feel that he won his last fight against Cruz. Faber has never been at a loss when it comes to confidence in his ability, and is always well-prepared coming into all of his fights. With that said, I have to have this area pretty much about dead even for both fighters. Faber - 10/10, Barao - 10/10

2. Experience/Level Of Opposition - Both fighters have 30 fights to their resume, but Faber has fought the best that KOTC, WEC, and UFC have to offer at both 135 and 145. Barao's biggest fights to date are Scott Jorgenson, Brad Pickett, and Cole Escovedo. However, Barao has competed most of his career in Brazil, which is arguably the country that has produced the best mixed martial artists, and the most champions in MMA. I would honestly like to call this area even, but I have to give Faber the very slight edge in this category here. Against anybody else, Barao would get a 10/10 ranking here. Faber - 10/10, Barao - 9/10

3. Heart/Determination To Win - Though Faber lost the 2nd fight to Dominic Cruz, his WEC FW title fight against Jose Aldo, and both fights against Mike Brown, Faber showed a ton of heart in all of those fights. Against Jose Aldo, he could barely walk at the end of the fight, but he still fought to try and win the fight. Against Mike Brown in the 2nd fight, he broke both of his hands, but no matter what, Faber still kept coming forward. I don't believe that Barao's heart has been truly tested as of yet, but any man with a 28-fight win streak, has a true determination to win, what little pressure that Barao has come against in his career thus far, he has passed with flying colors. If I just have to give a nod in this area here, it would have to go to Faber, but it's so slight, that I have to call this category about even. Faber - 9/10, Barao - 9/10

4. Stamina/Cardio - Renan Barao has had 9 wins by decision, and 1 loss by decision. This tells me that Barao has no problems going a 3 round distance, but the big question is, can he go a 5 round distance? Urijah Faber has gone a 5 round distance 4 times in his career, and cardio-wise has still managed to be just as fresh in the 5th round as he is in the 1st. Now mind you, I said cardio-wise, not physically. After all in his fight Jose Aldo, he could barely walk, but that was because of Aldo's vicious leg kicks, not cardio, and his 2 fight with Mike Brown, he had two broken hands. IMHO, I think that the longer the fight goes on, the more the fight plays into Faber's hands. Faber - 9/10, Barao - 8/10

5. Endurance/Toughness - Being the fact that Faber has fought in a fight with 2 broken hands, fough in another where he could barely walk, and has only been finished twice in his career, this tells me that Faber is very tough to put away. Barao, is a brazilian who trains with a fellow brazilian who holds a win over Faber in current UFC FW Champion Jose Aldo, and Barao has never been finished in his entire career. Not by submission or KO. This tells me that Barao is every bit as tough as Faber. If not, possibly more. With that said, I would like to call this category about even, but I have to give a slight nod to Barao because Faber has been finished before. Faber - 8/10, Barao - 9/10

6. Overall Striking - Faber has a very powerful over hand right, and some very good speed, but Barao is just as quick with his strikes, has very good technique, and a more versatile and unorthodox striking arsenal than Faber. In most cases, I say that a fighter with the more powerful and devastating striking gets the advantage, but in this case I have to go with Barao. I know that Barao has 6 KO/TKO wins compared to Faber's 7 KO/TKOs, but I just think that Barao's striking is a touch better than Faber's. Faber - 8/10, Barao - 9/10

7. Overall Wrestling/Grappling - Wrestling, grappling, and good old fashioned ground 'n' pound. This is Urijah's world right here. If there is anywhere where I can see Faber winning or dominating the fight, it's in this area right here. Faber may not have the wrestling pedigree like that of Jon Fitch, Jon Jones, or Chael Sonnen, but Faber doesn't compete at 170, 185, or 205, he fights at 135, and at 135 I think Faber has some of the best wrestling for that weight class. Barao has very good grappling, but I don't think that he's going to win in wrestling match with Faber. Faber - 9/10, Barao - 8/10

8. Overall Submissions/BJJ - Both fighters have a fantastic submission/BJJ games, but Renan Barao, I honestly believe is a step above Urijah Faber. Barao is a black belt under Andre Pederneiras. Urijah Faber is a brown belt under Carlson Gracie Jr. 5th degree black belt Fabio Prado. Of Barao's 28 victories, 13 are by submission vs. Faber's 14. Hmmmmmmmmmm?????? You know now that I think about it, I think that this area might dead even after everything I just researched and wrote. Faber - 10/10, Barao - 10/10

9. Speed/Athleticism - I honestly think that this area is dead even here as well, but the overall speed factor could work in Barao's favor. Faber - 9/10, Barao - 10/10

10. Strength/Size - IMO, I think that Faber is the bigger stronger fighter coming into this fight. I mean ****, Faber is a pretty big BW. Faber - 10/10, Barao - 8/10

Overall Score = Urijah "The California Kid" Faber - 92/100, Renan Barao - 90/100