Renan Barão

Renan do Nascimento Mota Pegado, better known as Renan Barão, (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁeˈnɐ̃ baˈɾɐ̃w]) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and the former UFC Bantamweight Champion. He held one of the longest almost unbeaten streaks in MMA history, excluding his debut lost, recording 32 straight fights without a loss (31 victories and 1 no contest) over a span of 9 years. As of November 26, 2015, he is no longer ranked in the official UFC pound-for-pound rankings and ranked the #2 bantamweight in the world by Sherdog. His nickname Barão (baron), which predates his athletic career, was given to him by his grandmother after a character in the 1986 Brazilian soap opera Sinhá Moça.

Mixed martial arts career

He started his career in Kimura Nova União, a sports school in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Since turning professional in 2005, Barão has competed for Shooto Brazil and other smaller organizations in his native country of Brazil, having fought Rony Mariano Bezerra and Anistavio "Gasparzinho" Medeiros both former The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil contestants. He is a teammate and training partner of former WEC Featherweight Champion and former UFC Featherweight Champion José Aldo at Nova União. He received his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt from André Pederneiras in September 2011 becoming the 100th black belt under Pederneiras in the process.

Renan

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Ultimate Fighting Championship

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is a mixed martial arts promotion company. It is the largest in the world and features most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport. Based in the United States, the UFC produces events worldwide that showcase ten weight divisions and abide by the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. The UFC has held over 300 events to date. Dana White serves as the president of the UFC while brothers Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta control the UFC's parent company, Zuffa, LLC.

The first Ultimate Fighting Championship event was held on November 12, 1993 at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado. The purpose of the early Ultimate Fighting Championship competitions were to identify the most effective martial art in a fight, with minimal rules, between competitors of different fighting disciplines, including boxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Sambo, wrestling, Muay Thai, karate, judo, and other styles. In subsequent competitions, fighters began adopting effective techniques from more than one discipline, which indirectly helped create an entirely separate style of fighting known as present-day mixed martial arts.

T.J. Dillashaw

Tyler Jeffrey "T.J." Dillashaw (born February 7, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist and the former UFC Bantamweight Champion. Dillashaw was also a finalist on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller. He is currently #12 pound-for-pound in official UFC rankings, and is ranked the #2 bantamweight in the world by Sherdog.

Early life

Dillashaw was born in Sonora, California, to Hal and Janice Dillashaw. He grew up in Angels Camp, California, where he also attended Bret Harte High School. During his four years there, T.J. competed on the schools wrestling team and played on the football team for his 2002-2003 junior year. In June of 2004 he graduated and enrolled for college at California State University, Fullerton. At college, Dillashaw competed successfully for the Titans wrestling program.

Wrestling

High school

While wrestling for Coach Jan Schulz at Bret Harte High School, Dillashaw was a four-time sectional qualifier and two-time California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) state qualifier. As a junior, Dillashaw placed fifth at the CIF state championships, and ended the season with a record of 45–7. He placed second at the CIF State championships as a senior to cap off a 52–6 record and finished with an overall record of 170–33.

UFC 173

UFC 173: Barão vs. Dillashaw was a mixed martial arts event held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 24, 2014.

Background

A Middleweight Championship bout between the current champion Chris Weidman and number one contender Vitor Belfort was scheduled to headline this event. However, on February 27, the Nevada State Athletic Commission officially banned testosterone-replacement therapy (TRT) from combat sports. Belfort, who was using such therapy, was forced to withdraw from the bout and stated, "Given the time constraints involved between now and my proposed next bout in May, I have determined not to apply for a license to fight in Nevada at this time."

The main event was quickly changed as former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida agreed to step in to face Weidman for the title. However, on March 24, the UFC announced that Weidman had suffered a knee injury and that a new headline bout would be found. The Weidman title defense against Machida was moved to UFC 175 in July.