Brian Kelleher wasn't going to let Renan Barao find a second wind at his expense.

The 31-year-old spoiled the former bantamweight champion's return to 135 lbs with a sweep of the scorecards to cap UFC on FOX 28's prelims in Orlando on Saturday, a victory that improved his promotional record to 3-1 and provided him with the gall to challenge slugger John Lineker to a dance on the outfit's April bill in Atlantic City.

Barao kept Kelleher on the end of his jab and scored with low kicks to open the contest, but an overhand right from the Long Islander rendered him rather tentative on the feet for the remainder of Round 1. The pair traded both leather in the center of the cage and dominant positions from the clinch in equal measure through the first two stanzas, with Kelleher's power shots tagging Barao in response to his foe's combinations.

With the Brazilian unable to match Kelleher's pace, the latter dialed up the pressure to seal the unanimous verdict in the third, cracking Barao with a spinning back fist before uncorking a typhoon of uppercuts and hooks with Barao backed against the fence. The ex-champ valiantly slung some leather of his own to make it to the final horn, but that didn't keep all three judges from giving Kelleher the nod.

The 30-year-old Barao - a former member of Nova Uniao - moved to American Top Team in preparation for Saturday's bout, only to suffer a fifth loss in his past seven fights after taking all but one of his first 33.