Renan Barao is making his way to Germany to continue his MMA career. Previously, Barao was signed by Brazilian promotion Taura MMA. However, he never made his debut within the organization.
Barao was a member of the UFC roster from 2011 to 2019. During that span, Renan was able to capture the UFC bantamweight title relatively early on in his career. However, things spiraled out of control after losing to TJ Dillashaw.
Barao ended his UFC career on a five-fight losing streak. Shortly after, he signed a three-fight contract with Brazillian promotion Taura MMA, Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Renan was unable to debut for the promotion.
Renan Barao Signs with Elite MMA
Now it’s been announced that Barao has signed with German fight promotion Elite MMA.
🚨 NEW SIGNING! Welcome former UFC Bantamweight Champion @RenanBaraoUFC to the EMC roster! #EMC pic.twitter.com/WsQzvxVFiu
— EMC (@EMC_Promotion) March 11, 2021
“NEW SIGNING! Welcome former UFC Bantamweight Champion Renan Barao UFC to the EMC roster! #EMC” wrote the promotion.
Elite MMA Roster
Elite MMA Championship is a relatively new promotion. According to their Instagram account, the promotion has only held 5 events in total. Furthermore, Barao isn’t the only former UFC fighter on the Elite MMA Championship roster. Renan will join the ranks of Brad Katona, Ismail Naurdiev, and Denis Stojnic as former members of the promotion.
Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, many of those fighters have yet to make their promotional debuts. And, it’s still unknown who Barao will face in his promotional debut.
‘The safety of our athletes, staff, officials, and everyone involved in the events organized by us is always our priority. However, despite our best efforts, we have been forced to postpone EMC 6,” wrote the promotion.
“Due to the increasing numbers of COVID-19 infections in Germany and new government restrictions throughout the country, EMC 6 will not take place this Saturday. We will keep you updated on the next activities of EMC in the coming weeks.”
Hopefully, the promotion will be able to put on events in the future so that fans around the world can see the re-emergence of Renan Barao.