Barao gets a real bad wrap

[IloveTHIS]

Loses his first fight, then bang off 32 wins in a row. 9 in WEC/UFC.


Finally loses to TJ and gets beat up badly. But I think most of us agree TJ is one of the most elite and well rounded fighters weve ever seen. TJ himself will likely go on to cement himself as a great.

Between his age, wear and tear, and brutal beatdowns by TJ he cant compete at 135 any more. But he used to be a force...

Still top 15 all time IMO, and possibly top 10.

 

[Calipwnia]

Maybe... the division was new during his UFC tenure. TJ made him look so bad so it's hard to say what could have been. Dana was calling him GOAT though.

 

[FacePunch]

Like, on his hands?

 

[VVarhead]

Dude is a real warrior, I used to love watching him fight. He doesn't get the credit he deserves. Always came to bang, never even tried to stall.

TJ put on a masterful performance against him. Both fights against Barao were incredibly satisfying to watch, despite me being a fan of Barao.

 

[justblaze717]

*rap

 

[Ares Black]

An inferior shawarma?

A crappy donair?

A mediocre falafel?

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

Possible that he was found out a little?

 

[Gilday]

He deserves the criticism IMO.

He went from arguable #1 P4P, to 2-4 in his last 6, and those wins are over Mitch Gagnon and Phillipe Nover

 

[Mr. Hammer]

I think the new re-hydration protocol is what really hurt him. He damn near had to kill himself to make 135 before and his strength and explosiveness doesn't translate at 145.

Going into the first TJ fight I had him top 2 or 3 p4p but Dillashaw ruined him. But he's easily a top 3 all time bantamweight. During his peak the Cruz fight would have been money.

 

[Ananth]

Shit match making to put him against whothefuckisdatguy? on his 145 UFC debut.

 

[Just Creed]

His fight against Pickett was epic. I had no idea who he was and had only heard hype bout Pickett. I thought Pickett was probably being gifted an easy fight since it was an english ppv but daaaammmmnn....it was an amazing fight. Brad looked good but Barao looked so calm while they were brawling, 1 of 4 great submissions at an underrated ufc event.

 

[Workaholic]

It is annoying when people pretend Barao was never any good. He was a monster. I think that he moved so awkwardly and TJ picked him apart so badly makes people remember him as some sloppy brawler with a ground game but that’s not what he was at all

That said he’s definitely not top 10 of all time.

 

[Fight Professor]

Like, on his hands?

I think a sandwich.

 

[ralphus1]

It's a shame that he and Aldo never really got the mainstream stardom they deserved, like Anderson did.

 

[esum80]

first of all. where did he get the bad wrap from so i can avoid going to the same spot. was it just mild food poisoning or what?

seriously though, barao had a good run but most people just saw what TJ did to him in their 2 fights and forgot his previous fights.

 

[ArmenianAssasin]

It's a shame that he and Aldo never really got the mainstream stardom they deserved, like Anderson did.

Can’t compare him to Aldo — aldo is a much bigger name

 

[Just Creed]

first of all. where did he get the bad wrap from so i can avoid going to the same spot. was it just mild food poisoning or what?

seriously though, barao had a good run but most people just saw what TJ did to him in their 2 fights and forgot his previous fights.

Dude was seen as "unbeatable" at one point. Sad thing about mma is, and even i'm guilty of it, as soon as the guy loses 2 in a row, he's "done". I do think TJ broke his octagon confidence though which is a damn shame, some guys come back strong and some fade.

 

[rjmbrd]

He'll be remembered as one of the all-time greats in the lower weight divisions.

I honestly believe Barao shortened his prime with extreme weight cutting. Now he's 30 years old with 40 fights, his time as a top 3 of any division is over, but he could easily have transitioned to a successful career at 145lbs if he moved up in his late 20's.

If you are at the point where passing out and cracking your head while cutting weight is a thing, time to move up was overdue.

 

[MMAProfessional]

To bad the roids aren't legal anymore or maybe it's a coincidence that him and Aldo took a huge drop off after. Aldo was still competing pretty well but just looked like a different fighter.

 

[FacePunch]

I think a sandwich.