Renan Barão Reportedly Out of UFC 161 Title Defense Due to Injury

UFC interim bantamweight champion Renan Barão is reportedly out of his UFC 161 title defense bout against Eddie Wineland.

Barão apparently injured his right foot, and will not have time to recover, according to Tatame.com.

Barão (30-1) won the interim belt with a five-round unanimous decision victory over former WEC champion Urijah Faber at UFC 149 in Calgary last summer.

The Brazilian champion had hoped to wait for UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz to return from injury before fighting again. When Cruz’s recovery was delayed, Barão defended his belt against Michael McDonald at UFC on Fuel TV 7 in London in February. He submitted McDonald late in the fourth round.

The fight with Wineland was to be Barão’s second interim title defense.

UFC 161 is slated for June 15 at MTS Centre in Winnepeg, Manitoba, Canada.

There has been no comment from UFC officials yet on Barão’s withdrawal or a replacement.