He may not be the top pound-for-pound fighter in mixed martial arts (MMA), but Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Interim Bantamweight Champion Renan Pegado is about as close as you can get to undefeated boxing kingpin Floyd Mayweather.
Except for that whole $41 million-dollar payday thing.
That's according to UFC President Dana White (via Yahoo! Sports), who told media members at last Saturday night's (Sept. 21, 2013) UFC 165 post-fight press conference (watch it here) that "Barao" is Brazil's biggest badass, despite not getting the credit he deserves for his accomplishments.
His words:
"The closest thing to [Mayweather] is this kid right here. He's gone undefeated for eight years, Floyd has gone undefeated for 17 years. Do you know how hard it is to go eight years undefeated? Seriously, think about that. He doesn't get enough credit for the record he has and what this guy is capable of doing, and it's not just like he's undefeated and he goes to decision and outpoints you. This dude [expletive] destroys you."
Just ask Eddie Wineland.
Despite a "bullshit" stoppage, Pegado emerged from the Air Canada Center with another temporary title defense (and "Knockout of the Night") while improving his record to an astounding 31-1 (highlights here). The Nova Uniao-trained bantamweight lost his first-ever professional MMA fight back in 2005 and since then, has gone on a reign of terror that includes six straight wins inside the Octagon, with three finishes.
Mayweather, fresh off a 12-round drubbing of Canelo Alvarez (highlights), is a perfect 45-0 inside the "sweet science."
Pegado is expected to unify the titles -- or at least attempt to -- when he throws hands opposite injured division champion Dominick Cruz. If "The Dominator" cannot make his 2014 return deadline and is stripped of the title (as he should be), then "Barao" will bang it out against someone else.
And you can bet your "Money" he'll "[expletive] destroy you."
For more on the UFC 165 pay-per-view (PPV) event including live results, play-by-play, recaps, highlights, videos, reactions and more, check out our "Jones vs. Gustafsson" live story stream by clicking here.