Renan Barao didn't need a lot of time to beat up and finish Brad Pickett at UFC 138. He hurt him standing and finished him on the ground in the first round with a rear naked choke.
It was a mixed night for British fighters at UFC 138 in Birmingham, England but Brad Pickett's first round loss to Renan Barao put a negative overall light on the event from the nationalistic perspective. Barao and Pickett traded punches fairly evenly for most of the fight until Barao stunned Pickett with a standing knee and quickly finished it on the ground.
Barao improves to 4-0 in UFC and WEC bouts. Coming out of the same Nova União camp as featherweight champ Jose Aldo, he has to be considered a serious threat to Dominick Cruz' 135lb title.
This was Pickett's UFC debut after going 3-1 in the WEC. He was originally supposed to make his UFC debut at UFC 130 but a back injury forced the delay.