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Opinion: Renan Barao and the Shattered Veil of Invincibility

When the mighty fall, they often fall hard.

In the case of Renan Barao, his veil of invincibility has been shattered and dismantled. In its wake stands a fighter far removed from the No. 3 spot he occupied behind Jon Jones and Jose Aldo in the pound-for-pound rankings just two years ago.

Before his shocking loss to T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 173 in 2014, Barao was mowing down the competition. After losing his first MMA fight, he stormed to a 32-1 record, with one no-contest. For a minute, he appeared to be unbeatable at bantamweight.