It was just about four months ago that Renan Barao was being praised as possibly the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Then he lost his UFC bantamweight championship in a mauling by T.J. Dillashaw in May, and last week he withdrew from the rematch due to problems from cutting weight.
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It's been a pretty steep drop for Barao, who now has to work his way out of the UFC's doghouse after Dana White said he won't get a title shot when he returns. But Barao is still one of the UFC's top talents, so what's next for the former champ? Here's a look at three options for Barao's return.
Dominick Cruz
Cruz was the UFC bantamweight champion before a bunch of injuries forced him out of the octagon. "The Dominator" makes his return on Sept. 27 at UFC 178 against Takeya Mizugaki, his first fight since October 2011. Whether Cruz wins or loses, a bout with Barao makes a lot of sense.
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The two were supposed to fight in February before a groin injury forced Cruz to withdraw from the fight and be stripped of his belt. Barao, then the interim champ, was named the undisputed champion.
There's no guarantee that Cruz will be the fighter he once was when he returns to the octagon. If he wins and does look anything like he did before his injuries, he could face Barao in a number-one contender fight to determine who gets the next shot at Dillashaw. If Cruz gets dominated and loses this fight would be harder to make, but if he loses and looks good no one would complain if he gets matched up with Barao.
Henry Cejudo
A lesser-known name, Cejudo was scheduled to make his UFC debut at UFC 177 on Saturday but also withdrew after medical issues from his weight-cut. Cejudo won the gold medal in wrestling in the 2008 Summer Olympics. He's 6-0 in his MMA career while competing as a flyweight.
But this was the fourth time in the last nine months that Cejudo has had to withdraw from a card, previously dropping from Legacy FC 25, 31 and 34. It might be necessary for Cejudo to move up to bantamweight, so why not schedule his debut against Barao?
Barao might need a tune-up fight before returning into title contention and if Cejudo is as good as he's been billed to be, this fight would give him a tough test but Barao would likely pull out the win.
Move to Featherweight
After Barao had to withdraw from UFC 177, White suggested that he should move up and start competing at 145 pounds. Barao and his coaches have stated that he intends to remain at bantamweight, but that's most likely because Barao's friend and teammate Jose Aldo is the featherweight champion.
Aldo has also hinted at moving up a weight class, as he very well should because he cuts a lot of weight to make 145. If Barao were to move up to featherweight now he would instantly be in title contention, so it might be smart of him to make the move now to get a head start on pursuing the title if and when Aldo leaves the division.
There is a litany of featherweight contenders that would be great fights for Barao. Cub Swanson, Ricardo Lamas, Chan Sung Jung, Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor would all present interesting matchups.
What do you think Barao should do next? Let us know at @SportsWN and @doricsam83.
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