With the news coming yesterday that Dominick Cruz would be out of action for an additional 9 months to a year with his body rejecting a cadaver graft to his knee, all eyes turned to UFC bantamweight interim champion Renan Barao, who has been vocal about waiting for his title unification shot. All of that is out the window now, with Cruz unable to train for the foreseeable future, Barao is in the spotlight as the face of the UFC 135 pounders. His first challenge? Michael McDonald. The 21-year-old killer who most recently knocked out Miguel Torres at UFC 145 is on an 8-fight win streak, not quite as impressive as Barao’s 28-fight unbeaten streak, but what can you do?
If this fight really does go down in early 2013, it should be a treat. Barao has been unstoppable for over half a decade and McDonald has some of the heaviest hands in the division with nine knockouts in his short career. Hopefully this fight happens as early as 157, but we aren’t holding our breath.
This situation also opens the doors for other bantamweights on the cusp of greatness. Brad Pickett has improved greatly over the last year and is a fan favorite (especially in the UK) and Raphael Assuncao could be positioning himself into the upper echelon of the division with a win over Mike Easton at UFC on FOX 5.
It’s a shame about Dominick Cruz, but all of a sudden the bantamweight division has a lot more purpose.
