Renan Barao (pictured) will defend his interim bantamweight title against Eddie Wineland at UFC 161. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
UFC interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao will defend his title against Eddie Wineland in the main event at UFC 161, GracieMag.com confirmed with UFC officials on Wednesday.
The fight headlines the card, which will take place on June 15 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada at the MTS Centre.
Barao (30-1, 1 N.C.) enters the fight fresh off his defeat of Michael McDonald at UFC on Fuel TV 7 last month. The fight with Wineland will be his second defense of the interim title, while the champion, Dominick Cruz, recovers from an injury.
Wineland (20-8-1) was the first-ever 135-pound champion in the now-defunct WEC. He comes into the interim title fight with Barao on a two-fight win streak, most recently beating Brad Pickett in a split decision at UFC 155 last December.
Cruz’s coach, Erik Del Fierro, told GracieMag.com on Wednesday that there is no timetable for the champion’s return from a knee injury.
“An ACL is a bad injury,” Del Fierro said through a text message. “He had two surgeries so he is listening to the doctor and [going through] rehab.”
UFC 161 also features a light heavyweight fight between Dan Henderson and Rashad Evans, as well as rematch between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira from their days in the Pride organization.
The Barao-Wineland match-up was first reported by ESPN.com.
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