Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports
Renan Barao will continue his career after leaving the UFC in 2019.
Former UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao will continue his MMA career in eastern Europe.
Shortly after attending Serbian Battle Championship’s last card on March 14, Barao has now been officially signed by the promotion. They confirmed the news on their official Instagram page.
Other than Barao, the league also signed former UFC fighters Junior Albini and Fabio Maldonado, who both performed at SBC 27, with Maldonado winning via unanimous decision and Albini picking up a knockout victory.
Barao (34-9-1 NC) lost his last five UFC outings before being released from the promotion at the end of 2019. He suffered losses to Aljamain Sterling, Brian Kelleher, Andre Ewell, Luke Sanders, and Douglas Silva de Andrade. The 33-year-old’s last win happened in September 2016, when he picked up a unanimous decision win over Phillipe Nover. Overall, Renan left the UFC with a 9-8 record.
So far, it is unclear when the 33-year-old former UFC champion will make his SBC debut.