Barao follows familiar plan, outpoints Faber at UFC 149

Renan Barao didn't have to travel far for a detailed course on how to defeat Urijah Faber.

Executing a game plan similar to one used by his teammate and training partner Jose Aldo, who decimated Faber's leg with kicks when they met in 2010, Barao won a unanimous decision and captured the Ultimate Fighting Championship interim bantamweight title at UFC 149 in Calgary, Alberta, on Saturday night.

Barao mixed his well-placed leg kicks with a variety of punches to keep Faber off balance throughout the fight, winning four rounds on two judges' scorecards and all five on the other.

Faber's leg was swollen, and he was clearly slowed by the attack of Barao, who is unbeaten in his past 30 fights.

The main event provided more action than the two fights that preceded it on the card but did little to spark the sold-out crowd, which had the air sucked out of it by two bouts that were difficult to watch.

Hector Lombard fell far short of expectations in his UFC debut and dropped a split decision to Tim Boetsch.

Lombard, who entered the organization unbeaten in his past 25 fights, offered few glimpses of the powerful, ultra-aggressive fighter who was thought to be in line for a middleweight title shot with a victory.

Boetsch didn't provide much offense of his own in the disappointing bout, but he landed enough leg kicks to keep Lombard at bay and win the favor of the judges.

Cheick Kongo gained a unanimous decision over Shawn Jordan in a heavyweight fight with nearly as little action. Jordan repeatedly tried to take down Kongo against the cage with no success. Perhaps the best shot in the fight was a low-blow elbow by Jordan in the first round.

Welterweight Matt Riddle won his second straight fight with an arm triangle submission victory over Chris Clements in the most entertaining fight on the main card.

Eccentric veteran Brian Ebersole had his 11-fight winning streak snapped, dropping a unanimous decision to James Head in another welterweight bout.

Ebersole, with an upward-pointing arrow again shaved into his chest, was up to his normal tricks. He attempted a cartwheel kick, several half-hearted karate chops to the knee and gave a thumbs-up while Head tried a choke in the first round. None of it fazed Head, who improved to 2-0 since dropping to 170 pounds.

Canadian Ryan Jimmo highlighted the preliminary card with a UFC-record-tying seven-second knockout of Anthony Perosh. The light heavyweight extended his winning streak to 17 in his UFC debut.

Another Canadian, Nick Ring, survived a third-round onslaught by Court McGee to win a split decision.

Bantamweights Bryan Caraway and Francisco Rivera also picked up victories. Caraway choked out Mitch Gagnon in the third round, and Rivera knocked out Roland Delorme in the first.

Also, Antonio Carvalho knocked out Daniel Pineda 71 seconds into a featherweight bout, and lightweight Anton Kuivanen earned a split decision over Mitch Clarke.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.