UFC 169 has a new main event.
Renan Barao is set to fight Urijah Faber for the undisputed UFC bantamweight title after Dominick Cruz suffered yet another injury, was forced off the card and vacated his title after 26 months of inactivity.
UFC president Dana White made the announcement Monday afternoon and also confirmed that Barao (33-1, 1 NC) is no longer the interim champion; he is the undisputed 135-pound champ.
Barao has gone 6-0 in the UFC since 2011 and is coming off a knockout win over Eddie Wineland at UFC 165 in Toronto. The Brazilian is on a 32-fight unbeaten streak and his only loss was a split decision in his first professional fight back in 2005. The 26-year-old has notable wins over veterans Brad Pickett and Scott Jorgensen, rising star Michael McDonald and Faber.
The UFC 169 headliners met in the main event of UFC 149 in Calgary in 2012 when Barao won a unanimous decision to become the interim champ.
Faber (30–6) has won four straight bouts since the loss to Barao, in which he suffered a broken rib early in that fight due to a knee. The 34-year-old submitted McDonald in December in front of his hometown fans in Sacramento.
The former WEC champion has been one of the most active fighters in the UFC in the last year, beating McDonald, Jorgensen, Iuri Alcantara and Canadian Ivan Menjivar in an 11-month span.
UFC 169 also features a featherweight title bout between Jose Aldo and Ricardo Lamas, plus a bout heavyweight between Frank Mir and Alistair Overeem.
Here is the projected fight card to date:
MAIN CARD
— Urijah Faber vs. Renan Barao
— José Aldo vs. Ricardo Lamas
— Frank Mir vs. Alistair Overeem
— John Lineker vs. Ali Bagautinov
— Jamie Varner vs. Abel Trujillo
TV PRELIMS (Sportsnet 360)
— John Makdessi vs. Alan Patrick
— Chris Cariaso vs. Kyoji Horiguchi
— Nick Catone vs. Tom Watson
— Al Iaquinta vs. Kevin Lee
ONLINE PRELIMS (UFC Fight Pass)
— Clint Hester vs. Andy Enz
— Tony Martin vs. Rashid Magomedov
— Neil Magny vs. Gasan Umalatov
