Round 1 - After a feeling-out process, Barao quickly shoots and scored a takedown while landing in side control. McDonald pulls him back into full guard and controls the wrists, and the pace slows. McDonald then expertly kicks his way free and gets back to his feet. McDonald ducks under a big left and then charges in with his own flurry before Barao counters him with a right. Barao shoots again, but McDonald easily stuffs it. The fighters circle, and McDonald gets through a straight left during a firefight. McDonald then scores a knockdown with a punch to the temple, but Barao clinches and frantically tries to force the fight to the mat. They clinch against the cage, and Barao then scored a trip-takedown. McDonald pulls him into full guard and again ties up his arms, and Barao can do little from the top before the round ends. MMAjunkie.com scores it 10-9 for McDonald.
Round 2 - Neither fighter wants to commit first, and they clash with punches before resetting. McDonald just misses with a lunging right uppercut. The pace slows as both circle. Barao misses on a high kick, and the fighters then accidentally bump heads. Barao shoots and works for a single leg and finally gets the takedown. McDonald, though, scores an upkick and quickly gets his way back to his feet. McDonald lands a lunging combo, and Barao flails wildly with his. McDonald takes an eyepoker, and we have a brief timeout. On the restart, the fighters trade a couple lunging punches. Barao fires off a nice low-kick/punch combo and then lands a front kick to the face that wakes up McDonald, who quickly answers with a right. Barao lands a counter left but shows a cut over his left eye. It's a close round, but MMAjunkie.com scores it 10-9 for Barao.
Round 3 - McDonald charges first but eats a few counter shots during the wild scramble on their feet. Barao unloads a nice combo and then closes the distance and works for a takedown from a body lock. McDonald fights it off before Barao simply overpowers him and lands in side control. Barao tries to go to mount, but McDonald tosses him aside and returns to his feet. The pace slows as both look for an opening to attach. McDonald goes first and lands a right, but Barao answers with two of his own. Both look for lunging shots, but they quickly peel off and reset. Barao then lands a slick spinning back kick to the chin, though McDonald shakes it off. It's again close, but MMAjunkie.com scores it 10-9 for Barao.
Round 4 - Barao stalks, and they both smile. Barao lands a leaping left and quickly resets. When he rushes in, McDonald hits him with a quick right. Barao lands a lunging knee, and McDonald just misses with a counter. McDonald is now bleeding heavily from the nose. He gets through a left and then fends off Barao's takedown attempt. The pace slows, and the crowd wants some action. They clinch, and McDonald looks to throw him, but they clinch against the cage. Barao fights for a takedown and puts McDonald on his knees, and Barao takes his back before moving to an arm-triangle choke. Barao squeezes it tightly. McDonald signals he's OK, but Barao keeps pressing it. A few seconds later, Barao finally gets the tap-out. Renan Barao def. Michael McDonald via submission (arm-triangle choke) - Round 4, 3:57 - to retain interim bantamweight title