Mitch Gagnon knew it was only a matter of time before the UFC paired him with a top-ranked fighter. Following an initial setback against Bryan Caraway during his promotional debut in 2012, the Sudbury, Ont. bantamweight has been on an absolute tear. Over the past two-plus years, Gagnons aggressive grappling has led him to consecutive victories over Walel Watson, Dustin Kimura, Tim Gorman and Roman Salazar. His first-round destruction of Kimura also earned him Submission of the Night honours at UFC 165 in Toronto last year. Though Gagnon is confident he can hang with the 135-pound divisions elite, he admitted to being surprised when UFC officials offered him a crack at Renan Barao. Obviously I think its the perfect time, but did I think (Barao) would be offered to me? No, Gagnon told UFC.ca during a phone interview. I was just ranked (in the top 15) after the fight (with Salazar). I really thought I would have had to fight a top-10 or top-five guy to get near the top. Do I think its the perfect time for me? Yeah, I believe Im putting everything together well and feel its my time. Gagnon gets the opportunity to stake his claim for a title shot when he meets Barao in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Dollaway in Barueri, Brazil Dec. 20. It goes without saying a victory over the former UFC bantamweight champion would be a career changer for Gagnon. Not only would it etch his name as a serious contender by taking out one of the most dangerous fighters in the division, a win would also open doors to both bigger fights and paydays. Gagnon knows whats at stake, but said he cant afford to obsess over the perks of beating Barao. Ive been really focusing on the training camp and the game plan, Gagnon stated. Im not really focusing on the future all that much. I have a job to do and Im concentrating on that. I dont want to look past anything. I really want to focus on one thing — and thats beating Renan Barao. I feel like everything will then open up afterwards. (A victory) would bring me to the upper echelon and get me those big fights. Im fighting a former champion whos still ranked No. 1 in the world. I dont know where it puts me. I have no idea, but Id definitely be up there. Thats where I feel like I belong. Though theres a lot riding on the bout for Gagnon, its also pivotal for Barao, as it marks his first outing since dropping the bantamweight title against T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 175 in May. In many ways, Dillashaw laid out the blueprint for beating the Nova Uniao fighter. A hard-hitting power striker, Barao has found success catching opponents who have stood directly in front of him. Using sharp angles and footwork, Dillashaw picked him apart en route to a late TKO victory. Though the Team Alpha Male fighter exposed holes in Baraos game, Gagnon said his own style is too different from Dillashaws to duplicate the same strategy. An aggressive pressure fighter, Gagnon said he plans to break Barao both mentally and physically. Thats not my style, Gagnon said of Dillashaws performance. Do I feel like getting on the line is where Im going to catch Barao? Yeah, I think so. Thats where Barao likes to stay. Hes a very stationary fighter. He plants his feet and throws with 100 per cent power every time. Definitely, one of the things youve got to do with Barao is you always have to make him think, always make him react and make him move around. (Im going to) put the pressure on him. Baraos good at dictating the pace and fighting his fight. If you put the pressure on him and make him exert more energy, thats when he gets in trouble and gets frustrated. For Barao, theres more than a potential title shot on the line when he faces Gagnon. Its also an opportunity for him to earn a measure of redemption following an ill-fated weight-cut attempt ahead of UFC 177 in August. The Brazilian was set to face Dillashaw in a rematch on the card, but was hospitalized after fainting and hitting his head on a bathtub. He was then pulled from the event and replaced by UFC newcomer Joe Soto, who went on to lose via fifth-round TKO in a gutsy performance. As a result of the incident, Barao will no doubt look to take his frustrations out on Gagnon. For some fighters, the prospect of stepping into the octagon with a fired-up Barao would be enough for them to reconsider their entire approach to training. But Gagnon is confident in both his methods and coaching staff. The Canadian submission artist said hes sticking to the routine that has brought him success throughout his career. As far as a whole camp, I havent really changed anything, Gagnon said. Obviously Ive had my coaches training me specifically for Barao. I feel like my team, we have a winning strategy at my camp. I dont want to start doing more or over-thinking things. Ive been successful at what Ive been doing. Im going to keep doing it and improving as a mixed martial artist. With his training tapering off, Gagnon said he is ready to make a statement against Barao. If you look at Baraos past 10 fights, you can see he tends to do (the same) stuff even as he progresses as a fighter, Gagnon said. He sticks to stuff that he does and thats what Im going to capitalize on. Thats why I think Im going to win the fight. I plan on stopping Barao and making it an interesting fight. I plan on shocking the world. Carolina Hurricanes Jerseys . -- Ricky Romeros comeback bid hit another road bump Tuesday in an ugly 18-4 Jays loss to a Detroit Tigers split squad. Justin Faulk Jersey . - Tiger Woods only made it through 10 holes Thursday — this time because of the weather, not his back. http://www.hurricanessale.com/customized/ .J. -- New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is going to start the off-season training program with a surgically repaired left ankle. Rod Brind Amour Jersey . In five games last month, Billings led all scorers with 11 goals, 27 assists and 38 points as the Rock posted a 2-3 record.TORONTO - Inbounding the ball from behind the basket with 2.7 seconds left on the shot clock, at least there would have been if they were working, Nets guard Shaun Livingston found veteran and future Hall of Famer Paul Pierce in the corner. "One," counted down Raptors public address announcer Herbie Kuhn - filling in for the busted shot clock - over the Air Canada Centre speakers as Pierce stepped back and drained a 19-foot dagger to put Brooklyn up by eight. The Raptors had led by one a couple minutes earlier until Pierce went on a fourth-quarter rampage, scoring nine straight points to put the game out of reach in the dying minutes. This was precisely what Dwane Casey and his club feared most, whether they cared to admit it or not. "I thought we played a little bit as expected as it is our first playoff game," Casey said after a 94-87 loss to open the Raptors first playoff series in six years. "I thought we took ourselves out." They had battled their own inexperience, working through an early and understandable case of playoff jitters, they contended with spotty officiating and even navigated around an arena malfunction that knocked both shot clocks out of commission for most of the second half. For all their shortcomings on a Saturday afternoon they cant be particularly proud of, the game was in reach until the final few minutes, winning time. Thats when experience comes into play, more so than any other moment, any other game situation. The Nets have it, the Raptors dont and its something you cant simulate or prepare for. "You just get that feeling," said Pierce, who has played in more postseason games - now 137 - than anyone on the Nets roster. "[Ive] been in those situations a number of times. I dont get rattled in the fourth quarter, down the stretch, in playoff settings. Ive been in pretty much every playoff setting that you can imagine so I just try to stay calm." Torontos leading scorer had no such luck. Making his playoff debut, DeMar DeRozan didnt knock down his first field goal until late in the third quarter after missing his first eight shots. After the game he sat in front of his locker, dejected, disappointed, frustrated. Hes a student of the game and has studied playoff basketball but finally he understood what its like to live it, to experience it first hand. "Its not rocket science," he had said Thursday. No, but its a lot harder than it looks. "I just missed shots," DeRozan maintained, but it was more than that. "They overplayed him," said Kyle Lowry. "They really denied him the ball. Weve got to find ways to screen him and get him more looks, get him open a little bit sooner and quicker and get him to his sweet spots." At this time of year theres a learning curve, and the quicker DeRozan picks it up the better off the Raptors will be. If the playoffs are indeed about mental over physical strength, as Chuck Hayes so eloquently put it Friday, no one does it better than Pierce and the wily Kevin Garnett. "I grew up watching this guy," 27-year-old Greivis Vasquez said of Pierce, nine years his senior. "I went to his basketball camp, Nike camp, back in the day, imagine playing against him right now. Hes still doing it." Nothing could faze Pierce with the game in the balance, none of the Raptors multiple defenders - some bigger, some smaller and quicker - not even the hostile reception he got from Torontos electric, sellout crowd. Draped in white, the ACC was buzzing for nearly three hours in support of the home team, making things - or at least trying to - challenging for the visiting Nets. "The atmosphere of the crowd, the intensity, the noise, we need that every night," said Lowry, who finished with 22 points, seven rebounds and eight assists in his first playoff game since 2009. "I can tell you that the Brooklyn Nets were saying speak up, we cant hear, its loud in here. It definitely affected them a little bit." "Paul, the truth is youre old, ugly and slow," one fan, sitting behind the Nets bench, yelled at Pierce. Moments after enacting his reveenge, in the form of a nine-point fourth quarter, Pierce threw his headband into the stands, only to have it tossed back it him.dddddddddddd The Nets forward tossed it to another fan, and back it came again. "Third time was the charm," he joked after the game. "I really feed off the emotions of the crowd, especially on the road," said Pierce. "Its fun when you get to go on the road and beat a team. I think its more gratifying than winning at home. I love those moments." Ultimately that was the difference in Game 1. The Raptors shot 39 per cent, committed 19 turnovers and got little-to-no contribution from three of their starters, but those final minutes - the moment Brooklyn embraced, the moment Toronto seemed petrified of - is what really did them in. As Casey wisely pointed out, this series is a long way from over. DeRozan, like his young teammates, is a sponge. He and the rest of his team will watch film, theyll study and if they learn from their mistakes and evolve in those crucial moments of this most crucial time of the year theyll be ready to throw the next punch at the ACC for Tuesdays Game 2. "Believe me, this is nowhere near disappointing," Casey said. "We are a young team and we won the division. Were third in the conference. Were going to fight our butts off to win this series. This does not identify us as far as who we are if we dont come out on top. This is one game. The series is not over." Carrying the load While DeRozan and sophomore Terrence Ross struggled in their playoff debuts, 21-year-old Jonas Valanciunas looked like a polished veteran, utilizing his size and strength advantage to get Toronto going early in the game and dominate the boards throughout. "Ill tell you what, I thought Jonas played big time," Casey said of his young centre. "He really did. He grew up today and that was huge for us." With 17 points and 18 rebounds - the most by any Raptor in the postseason - the sophomore became the second player in franchise history to record a double-double in his first playoff game. Shot clock malfunction Early in the third quarter, the shot and game clocks above both baskets went blank, causing a short delay. After about five minutes, play resumed but in place of the two clocks - still powerless - Kuhn, with the use of a timer, called out time markers over the PA on each possession. "It was awkward," Vasquez said, playing without shot clocks for the remainder of the game. One flickered on directly after the final buzzer sounded. "It reminds me of back in the day when we used to play with the shot clock in the corner." "It was definitely tough because youre so used to looking up, being able to see the time," DeRozan added. "It was tough but we just tried to help each other." Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment issued a post-game statement explaining the incident. "We experienced a signal path failure," the MLSE release read. "Our backup system for the temporary shot clocked relied on the same source. New cables will be run tonight and tomorrow to ensure no issues arise on Tuesday and the NBA will inspect both the fixed and backup systems before Game 2." The stat There have been 453 best of seven series in the NBA, going into this season, and the winner of Game 1 has moved on 77 per cent of the time. The quote(s) "Guys, I used the wrong choice of words out there," said Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri, conducting a brief press conference at halftime to apologize for using profanity in an attempt to fire up the crowd, speaking to hundreds of fans outside the ACC before the game. "I apologize to the kids out there. Nothing against [the Nets], just trying to get the fans going. You guys know how I feel. I dont like them, but I apologize." "Well I feel the same way so, and Ive got his back," Vasquez said after the game, coming to the defence of Ujiri. "Hes part of the family. Thats all Ive got to say. Hes our guy and were going to go fight for him no matter what. We dont like any of them either. Thats how we feel. All of us." 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