Date Time: February 16, 2013 5:00 PM EST, Wembley Arena, London, EnglandThe UFC action returns this Saturday February 16th with a high voltage event highlighted by a Bantamweight Championship match featuring two of the top fighters in the league: Interim champ Renan Barao (29-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) and Michael “MayDay” McDonald (15-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC).
Both Barao and McDonald hold a lossless UFC record and will enter the octagon coming off the biggest win of their career. Since joining the UFC in 2011, Barao is 4-0 against some tough competitors, scoring wins over Cole Escovedo (unanimous decision), Brad Pickett (submission) and Scott Jorgensen (unanimous decision) and winning the interim bantamweight title fight against Urijah Faber at UFC 143.
Meanwhile, McDonald, a professional MMA competitor since 2007 and current #5 ranked bantamweight in the world, has built a reputation as one of the toughest fighters in the league and one of the most feared contenders in his division. McDonald became one of the youngest pros in MMA history, signing a professional contract with the WEC at age 19.
The novel fighter was able to put toegther 7 consecutive wins in the WEC (4 TKO’s and 3 Submissions), before losing his first and only fight in a technical knockout to Cole Escovedo on May 8th, 2009. With only 22-years old, If Mcdonald scores a victory over Barao, he will become the youngest champion in UFC history.
But if Barao defeats McDonald, he would extend his current seven-year win streak to an impressive total of 30 fights, a personal record and one of the longest streaks in the sport. The only reverse in his career was a unanimous decision loss to Joao Paulo on April 14th, 2005, but since then, the Brazilian hasn’t found his match.
Main Card and Odds:
Renan Barao (-300) vs Michael McDonald (+240)
Dustin Poirier (+105) vs. Cub Swanson (-135)
Cyrille Diabate (+190) vs. Jimi Manuwa (-240)
Gunnar Nelson (-240) vs. Jorge Santiago (+190)
Bet MMA and get a whopping 10% cash-back reward on all your bets deposited to your account every Monday only at Sports Betting Online.
