Ex-UFC champion Renan Barao has inked a contract with Taura MMA.
MMA Fighting reports that Barao signed a three-fight deal with the promotion, who is known to have signed several UFC veterans in recent days. Barao is expected to make his debut with Taura MMA around November or December. An exact date or location for Barao’s debut has not been announced as of this writing. The promotion is searching for a UFC featherweight veteran to compete against Barao in his debut fight.
Barao was once considered to be one of the pound-for-pound best fighters in the sport. He owns victories over the likes of Urijah Faber (twice), Michael McDonald, Eddie Wineland, and more. However, as of late, the Brazilian finds himself on a five-fight losing streak. The 33-year-old hasn’t been victorious in mixed martial arts (MMA) competition since September of 2016.
His last outing in November took place at UFC on ESPN+ 22 in Brazil. Barao suffered a unanimous decision loss to Douglas Silva de Andrade. Shortly after, Barao was released from the Las Vegas-based MMA organization. Now, the former 135-pound king of the UFC hopes to gain some momentum under the Taura MMA banner, perhaps one day finding himself back in the mix for a world championship.
