They battled at UFC 173 in May 2014 and Dillashaw shocked the world in winning by fifth round stoppage to snap Barao’s 33-fight unbeaten streak. The fight was supposed to happen at UFC 177 last August but Barao collapsed trying to cut weight. Then they were scheduled for UFC 186 in April, but Dillashaw suffered a fractured rib in training.
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The co-feature is a battle of top women’s bantamweights as No. 2 ranked Miesha Tate faces off against No. 5 Jessica Eye.
In other action, Paul Felder battles Edson Barboza in lightweight action and the main card begins with Joe Lauzon faces Takanori Gomi in lightweight action.
Coverage will begin on UFC Fight Pass at 4:15 p.m. ET, then switch to Fox at 6 ET and the main card begins at 8 ET on Fox.
If you are on the fence about watching the show, here are five reasons to watch UFC on Fox 16.
Can TJ Dillashaw prove the first fight wasn’t a fluke? Dillashaw shocked the world to become the bantamweight champion and snapped the longest winning streak in mixed martial arts. After the fight, Barao said it was a fluke, took the fight on short notice, he hurt his hand and had a horrible weight cut. Of course you get people believing what Barao was saying. But people do want to see if Dillashaw can do it again. Barao had the winning streak and was eventually going to lose. Dillashaw has more to show he is one of the best fighters in the world, cement his own legacy and prove to the world he is that good.
Will Barao bounce back? There’s a lot of doubt surrounding the former champion. Losing the fight to Dillashaw and then the weight cutting incident heading into the rematch. He fought Mitch Gagnon in December and even in victory, he didn’t look like the same Barao we are accustomed to seeing. He is saying all the right things going into this fight. But at the end of the day, he has to show it inside the octagon.
Next title challenger at 135 pounds: While the UFC hasn’t officially announced it, Eye and Tate is a title eliminator fight. They are both ranked in the top five. Tate has fought for the title against Ronda Rousey on two occasions and given her the toughest tests of her career. Eye should be 2-1 in the UFC but a failed drug test for marijuana in her UFC debut in Oct. 2013after her win over Sarah Kaufman changed the result to a no-contest. Tate is on a three-fight winning streak since her loss to Rousey in Dec. 2013 at UFC 168. Tate has beaten everyone who would be next for the champion and if Eye can beat her then she deserves to get the winner of Rousey-Bethe Correia at UFC 190 on Aug. 1.
Rising lightweight contender: Felder has taken the MMA world by storm since his UFC debut. He is 2-0 and his spinning backfist knockout of veteran Danny Castillo at UFC 182 put a lot of people on notice. Now he is getting a big leap in competition against No. 7 lightweight Barboza. A win over the Brazilian will put the former actor in the top 15 of the UFC rankings and vault him within striking distance of a title shot after only three fights inside the octagon.
Someone is stopped: Gomi and Lauzon kickoff the main card. A very smart move by the UFC to start with this one. Both aren’t going to be looking to win by decision. They will be looking for the finish. Out of his 24 career wins, Lauzon has won only one by decision. Gomi, who is the former PRIDE lightweight champion, out of his 35 career wins, 19 have been by stoppage. They will go for broke, will help retain viewers and increase viewership throughout the show if they do what the fans expect them to do.
The complete UFC on Fox 16 card:
MAIN CARD (FOX, 8 p.m. ET)
- T.J. Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao for the bantamweight title
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX, 6 p.m. ET)
- Tom Lawlor vs. Gian Villante - Danny Castillo vs. Jim Miller - Kenny Robertson vs. Ben Saunders - Bryan Caraway vs. Eddie Wineland
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 4:15 p.m. ET)
Steven Muehlhausen is a boxing and MMA writer and contributor for Sporting News. You can email him at [email protected] and can find him on Twitter @SMuehlhausenMMA.
