MMA: Dillashaw fighting Barao, long odds at UFC 173

LAS VEGAS - Renan Barao doesn't speak English, so on these shores, his results are going to have to speak for themselves.

 

Since dropping his first professional mixed martial arts bout in 2005, the UFC bantamweight champion has won an astounding 32 consecutive fights, including seven since joining the UFC.

 

That has put the vicious striker near the top of the sport's pound-for-pound rankings, along with his teammate at Rio de Janeiro's Nova Uniao gym, longtime UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo Jr.

 

So it's fair to say that Barao's challenger in the main event of UFC 173 on Saturday night in Las Vegas, T.J. Dillashaw, comes into the fight as the underdog.

 

The 28-year-old Dillashaw (11-2), fighting out of Sacramento's Team Alpha Male camp, has won five of his past six fights, but the former Cal State-Fullerton wrestler comfortable with the fact most expect Barao to win at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

 

"That's cool, that doesn't faze me," said Dillashaw. "So everyone thinks Renan's going to win. So what? All I know is I have an opportunity in front of me. I got into this sport to be the best and now here's my chance to prove it."

 

While the championship fight gets top billing, the bout which seems to be gaining the most traction in the days heading up to the bout is the light heavyweight co-feature between a pair of former Olympic wrestlers, Daniel Cormier and Dan Henderson.

 

With his elite wrestling game and rapidly improving striking skills, Cormier has mowed down everyone in his path in compiling a 14-0 record. The San Jose resident dropped down to light heavyweight in order to avoid a clash with the current heavyweight champ, Cain Velasquez.

 

Standing in the way of a shot at the belt held by Jon Jones is Henderson, among the last of MMA's old guard. One of the most popular and decorated fighters in the sport, Henderson (30-11) remains the only fighter to concurrently hold two weight class titles in a major MMA promotion, as he was both light heavyweight and middleweight champion in Japan's PRIDE promotion in 2007.

 

But the Temecula, Calif. native is also 43, and as such, the Vegas sportsbook odds have risen as high as 9-1 against him as of Thursday.

 

"I don't know what the hell people are thinking," Cormier said about the betting lines. "Dan's a legend of the sport, he has knockout power I need to respect and he can wrestle. I don't disagree with being favored but that's crazy."

 

In a welterweight fight of note, veteran "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler tangles with Nebraska's Jake Ellenberger.

 

A fan favorite, the 32-year-old Lawler (22-10, 1 no-contest) came within a hair's breadth of winning the welterweight title in a match against Johny Hendricks in March in what many consider the early front-runner for fight of the year. Ellenberger (29-7), meanwhile, is in something of a make-or-beak position: While he's 8-3 in the UFC, his losses has all come when he's stepped up to meet top contenders.

 

With both guys known for throwing heavy leather, the bout could come down to whether Ellenberger, a former collegiate wrestler at Nebraska-Omaha, can impose his grappling game on Lawler.

 

For his part, Lawler simply wanted to turn the page on his tight loss to Hendricks.

 

"My body felt good," Lawler said. "I was ready to be able to get back in there and get after it and be able to push myself and build on that loss. There's a lot of things I want to work on and [getting the Ellenberger fight] just put me in the gym right away." - Reuters