Said another way, these two were guys used to winning. But in the end, one was about to get to know something else. To find out who, keep reading.
Early on, Barao took McDonald down and moved straight into side control. McDonald was able to get to guard and then got up soon after. McDonald landed a decent right hand as he came forward with a flurry. And with about 1:30 to go, McDonald came forward aggressively and landed a big time flurry of punches that put Barao down to a knee momentarily. But then Barao took McDonald down after some clinch work. Soon after, the bell tolled.
That was a hard round to score. Two takedowns by Barao with no damage, and McDonald landed some big time shots.
The second round saw McDonald land a solid left hand, then an uppercut. After some sporadic back and forth, Barao landed a very brief takedown, ate an upkick, and then found himself striking again. Nice counter strikes by Barao. Later, Barao connected with an excellent front kick to the face. McDonald then hit home with a combination that sent Barao backwards. Soon after, the bell tolled.
These are tough rounds to call.
Round three saw Barao achieve another takedown. However, McDonald powered right back up. Some good exchanges during the stanza. But considering that Barao nabbed the takedown and connected with a solid spinning back kick, he likely took it.
Barao came out aggressively in round four, landing a flying knee and grazing combination. The two engaged in a solid exchange. Barao continued to utilize good movement, landed some knees in the clinch, and then took his opponent down. First he took his back. Then he moved to a highly valid arm-triangle choke attempt. At first, McDonald persevered through. But eventually it became too much and he tapped.
Renan Barao defeats Michael McDonald by arm triangle choke at 3:57 of round four.
Renan Barao vs. Michael McDonald Results
Dennis Siver vs. Cub Swanson Results
