It's almost time!
Later on this evening (Sat., Feb. 16, 2013) at the Wembley Arena in London, England, in the main event of UFC on FUEL TV 7, Renan Barao will put his Interim Bantamweight Championship on the line against rising star Michael McDonald.
The winner is likely looking at a date with current division champion Dominick Cruz, who is still out rehabbing his injured knee. But he's getting better by the day -- according to Chael Sonnen, at least -- and it won't be long before he needs a top challenger to welcome him back to the cage.
The odds tell us Barao should take care of business, quite handily even. His age, 25, betrays his level of experience. The crafty Brazilian has 31 professional mixed martial arts (MMA) contests under his belt and he's won all but two of them, a unanimous decision loss in his debut outing and a No Contest after an illegal soccer kick in his 12th bout.
This man has not lost a fight since April of 2005.
McDonald has been a busy bee himself, racking up 16 fights in just five years on the scene. He too has suffered just one defeat, albeit one he avenged just over a year later.
All the statistics sound real special but the reality is we're dealing with two lethal strikers with a lot of power who are proficient in every aspect of the fight game, enough to work their strengths against their opponent's weakness.
Something's got to give later tonight. Who breaks first?
For more news and notes on this weekend's UFC on FUEL TV 7 event click here.