UFC
Renan Barao believes he froze a bit against Mitch Gagnon, but ultimately had a great fight
Dec 22, 2014 - 11:05:01 AM Renan Barao believes he froze a bit against Mitch Gagnon, but ultimately had a great fight

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Renan Barao had a bit of a tougher time than most expected him to have with Mitch Gagnon at UFC Fight Night 58, but the former Bantamweight Champion brushed off any concern about the performance at the post-fight press conference.

"I scored a knockdown in the first round; in the second round, I froze a little bit," Barao said (via MMAJunkie.com. "In the third round, I was able to submit him. I thought the fight flowed, and that was that."

"He's a very tough guy. He's not a very well-known guy, but he's got great submissions. He's a tough guy. I knew it was going to be a great fight, and that's what it was."

Barao now turns his attention back to T.J. Dillashaw, as he wants to regain the UFC Bantamweight Championship. Indeed, he said that's his ultimate goal moving forward.

"I'm focused on my goals, and I'm going to bring this belt back to Brazil," he said. "You can be sure of that."

Penick's Analysis: I think Saturday's fight was a combination of Gagnon not getting enough credit coming in, and Barao being a little shaky and at times overly cautious after losing his title. That said, he turned a corner late, and finished really strong in that third round. I do believe he's probably got another fight ahead of him, perhaps with Raphael Assuncao, before another title fight is in order, but the important thing Saturday was to get a win. He did that, and though he had a few bumps in the process, he was still clearly the better fighter during that matchup.