Barao beats Faber for 19th straight win UFC 149
Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters Urijah Faber, right, from Calif., and Renan Barao, from Brazil, do battle during UFC 149 in Calgary, Alberta, Saturday, July 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Jeff McIntosh, The Canadian Press)
Ryan Jimmo, left, from Canada, pounds on Anthony Perosh, from Australia, during a UFC 149 light heavyweight bout in Calgary, Alberta, Saturday, July 21, 2012. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jeff McIntosh)
Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters Cheick Kongo, right, from Paris, France, and Shawn Jordan, from the El Paso, Texas, do battle during UFC 149 in Calgary, Alberta, Saturday, July 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Jeff McIntosh, The Canadian Press)
CALGARY, Alberta >> Renan Barao won a unanimous decision against Urijah Faber at UFC 149 Saturday night for his 19th straight victory.
The Brazilian, who outlasted his opponent in the five-round main event, now holds the interim bantamweight title and has put himself in position to take on current titleholder Dominick Cruz. The two were initially scheduled to meet at UFC 148 earlier this month, but Cruz had to to withdraw due to a knee injury.
In what was billed as the co-main event, middleweight Tim Boetsch earned a split-decision victory over Hector Lombard, who was making his UFC debut.
“I was glad to give him his first loss though I wasn’t too thrilled with how things went,” Boetsch said. “I landed a few strikes. My foot is a testament to that. Hector is heavy-handed and a tough fighter. He’s a power striker but I knew that and was able to put together a good strategy to beat him.”
Matthew Riddle kicked off the main card with a submission win over Chris Clements. After Riddle executed a perfect arm triangle, Clements tapped out at 2:02 of the third round.
Also on the main card, welterweight James Head won a split decision over Brian Ebersole, while Cheick Kongo earned a unanimous decision over Shawn Jordan in a matchup of heavyweights.
Ryan Jimmo made a spectacular statement with his right fist at the UFC’s debut in Calgary, taking just 7 seconds to knock out Anthony Perosh in their light heavyweight preliminary round bout.
The quick KO was just one second off of tying the UFC record held by Duane Ludwig.
Heading into his UFC debut, Jimmo said he didn’t want the fight to last long and he made good on his word. He charged at Perosh and threw a heavy right-hand punch that knocked the Australian fighter on his back.
In the main bout of the preliminary card, Calgary’s Nick Ring earned a unanimous decision over Court McGee.
The two middleweights had previously squared off during the 11th season of “The Ultimate Fighter.” Ring also took that decision but ultimately had to bow out of the reality show after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee.
In other preliminary-round action, Antonio Carvalho scored a TKO victory over Daniel Pineda at the 1:11 mark of the first round of their featherweight fight.
Meanwhile, bantamweight Mitch Gagnon lost by submission in the third round to Bryan Caraway, while Edmonton’s Mitch Clarke lost in a split-decision to Anton Kuivanen in their lightweight bout.
Also, Roland Delorme was knocked out by Francisco Rivera at 4:19 of the first round of their bantamweight bout.
