UFC 143 Fight Card Primer: Renan Barao Vs. Scott Jorgensen

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Bantamweight alert! If there is one bout on the card other than the main event that is almost guaranteed to be exciting, it's this one. Potential superstar vs. well-rounded grinder. The winner will be in line for a UFC bantamweight title shot. Renan Barao (27-1, 1 NC, 2-0 UFC) meets Scott Jorgensen (13-4, 2-0 UFC).

Jorgensen currently sits at number five at bantamweight in the USA Today/BE Consensus Rankings, while Barao is in the number seven spot. With the three and six spots belonging to guys that are dropping to flyweight, the winner of this bout is almost guaranteed the number three spot and a fight with Dominick Cruz or Urijah Faber. This bantamweight UFC 143 fight will be the second bout of the main card, and will be aired live on pay-per-view. The PPV broadcast begins at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

How do these two stack up?

Barao: 25 years old | 5'7" | 70" reach
Jorgensen: 29 years old | 5'4" | 66" reach

What have these two done recently?

Barao: W - Brad Pickett (SUB) | W - Cole Escovedo (UD) | W - Chris Cariaso (SUB)
Jorgensen: W - Jeff Curran (UD) | W - Ken Stone (KO) | L - Dominick Cruz (UD)

How did these two get here?

Renan "Barao" Pegado is a 25-year-old Brazilian that entered the sport in mid-2005. He lost his very first bout by split decision, and...hasn't lost since. Since then, he has won 27 of his 28 bouts (one was a no-contest due to an illegal soccer kick) and he has finished 19 of them. He entered the WEC in mid-2010 and was forced to take a catchweight bout against an opponent who came nowhere near making weight (Anthony Leone). Nonetheless, Barao submitted him in the third round. He then submitted Chris Cariaso at WEC 53 to earn his ticket into the UFC. A solid decision win over Cole Escovedo at UFC 130 earned him a co-main event slot against Brad Pickett at UFC 138, and he did not disappoint. He dropped Pickett with a huge knee, and managed to submit him. He'll look to continue his dominance against Jorgensen.

Scott "Young Guns" Jorgensen is a 3-time Pac 10 wrestling champion that transitioned to MMA after college. He was a longtime veteran of the WEC, entering the promotion with just five fights under his belt back in early 2008. After going just 2-2 in his first four bouts, Jorgensen rattled off a five-fight winning streak over the likes of Takeya Mizugaki and Brad Pickett to earn a title shot against champion Dominick Cruz at the final WEC event. Cruz handled him and won by unanimous decision, but Jorgensen rebounded with two UFC victories (including a huge KO of Ken Stone while in his guard) and earned a number one contenders bout with Barao.

Why should you care?

I will slap you if you need to seriously ask this question. Bantamweights. Number one contenders matchup. Jorgensen. Barao. Come on people, this is going to be sick.

You can catch more UFC 143 preview content from Bloody Elbow after the jump.

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