Former UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao explains the reason for his loss to T.J. Dillashaw.

The Brazilian told Portal do Vale Tudo that the UFC pressured him into fighting Dillashaw after Chris Weidman was injured and unable to fight on the scheduled card. He said he didn’t want to take the fight but did anyways and well, we know what happened.

“I was on vacation, I had just fought Faber in February. I was in my hometown when I got the call from Jair Lourenco, telling me the UFC wanted me to fight at UFC 173, because Chris Weidman had gotten hurt and they had to have a title fight. I said I couldn’t fight, but since we always trusted our work, we tried to give our best. Unfortunately, the result was what happened.”

Do you buy the excuse?

Championship Mindset — Cain Velasquez Prepares For UFC 188