Renan Barao has signed with Serbian Battle Championship

Former UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao has announced that he has signed a new deal with Serbian Battle Championship.

At his peak, Renan Barao had one of the longest winning streaks in MMA history. With just a single loss in his professional MMA debut, he remained undefeated in 32 straight fights (31 wins and 1 no-contest) over a period of 9 years. When Barao held the UFC bantamweight title, he was ranked widely ranked in the top 3 of the pound-for-pound list and regarded as one of the best MMA fighters on the planet.

His time at the top of the division ended at UFC 173 in May, 2014. He attempted to defend his UFC bantamweight title from TJ Dillashaw, who stopped Barao via TKO in the 4th-round.

Following his loss to Dillashaw, Barao was never able to string together enough wins to get back into title contention. He has only won twice since then with a long list of losses to go along. Since losing his UFC bantamweight title to TJ Dillashaw at UFC 172, Barao has a record of 2-8.

After 5 straight losses, Barao was eventually released from the UFC.

The former champion has now reportedly found a new home at Serbian Battle Championship (SBC). His signing was recently announced by the promotion on their Instagram:

“We have a little special guest and an incredible and rare honor to host former UFC World Champion, MMA sports legend Renan Barao! @renanbaraoufc ‌Renan is a former UFC bantamweight champion who has held one of the longest winning streaks in MMA sports history – 32 consecutive wins! While being the UFC World Champion he was ranked in the top three pound-for-pound fighters and was considered one of the best MMA fighters on the planet! Renan has signed a contract for multiple fights for appearances at Serbian Battle Championship Revenge events!”

Other former UFC fighters have also joined the Serbian Battle Championship roster, including Junior Albini and Fabio Maldonado. The company are clearly trying to bring in new overseas talent, and despite his losing streak, Barao is still a well-known name that will prompt fans to tune in for the fight’s put on by SBC.

At this time, the promotion hasn’t announced an opponent for Barao and likely won’t until the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak is under control. The promotion could potentially look to sign more overseas fighters, or perhaps look to build up one of their own prospects against Barao.

This article first appeared on CLOSEDGUARDMEDIA.com on 23rd March, 2020.