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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Following UFC 154 last weekend, UFC President Dana White commented on the Bantamweight Title picture, saying they want to have Renan Barao defend the Interim UFC Bantamweight Championship. That's in contrast to what Barao has wanted to do, which is wait out UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz.
However, Barao's coach Andre Pederneiras said this week that they're open to another fight, as he doesn't want Barao to be out of action for too long.
"If I had a choice, I would rather Renan fight Dominick, but I don't want to wait too long," Pederneiras said in an interview with MMAJunkie.com.
The name that White brought up as a potential opponent for Barao while Cruz is on the sidelines was Michael McDonald. The 21-year-old, fast-rising competitor raised his profile in April by knocking out Miguel Torres, but he's been out of action since then. For Pederneiras, if they're not getting Cruz next, a fight with McDonald works for him.
"I think his game is a good game for Renan," Pederneiras said
Penick's Analysis: Considering there's no real timetable for Cruz's return, the only course of action to take is to have Barao fight someone else. Having him sit on the sidelines after winning the Interim Title doesn't make any sense, as he that title was introduced to keep the division moving. He should be doing that in a fight against McDonald, and that's what we're more than likely going to see by early 2013.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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