Barao's coach: Cruz win 'great for us'

As long as T.J. Dillashaw held the UFC bantamweight title, former champ Renan Barao was on the outside looking in.

Barao already lost to Dillashaw twice, losing the title in their first meeting and failing to regain it in their rematch. The UFC rarely books a trilogy when the first two bouts are decisive, so seeing Dominick Cruz beat Dillashaw on Sunday gave new hope to Barao's coach and manager, Andre Pederneiras.

"I can't say the result wasn't good for us. It was," Pederneiras said, according to Guilherme Cruz of MMAFighting.com. "The belt changing hands is great for us. If T.J. continued as champion, we wouldn't have a third fight between T.J. and Barao, so the result was really good for us."

The bantamweight title found its way around Barao's waist when he defeated Urijah Faber for an interim championship in 2012. The UFC recognized it as the undisputed championship when injuries to Cruz kept him out of action for several years.

UFC president Dana White is in favor of Barao trying his hand at featherweight, something the Brazilian has mentioned as a possibility. He hasn't fought since last July, and Pederneiras thinks Barao could benefit from taking at least one fight at 145 pounds.

"Maybe give his body some rest because of all this (weight) loss is one of the factors," Pederneiras said. "It won't take too long (to make this decision)."

Currently No. 2 in the company's official rankings, Barao is likely just one or two fights away from another championship match.