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Former UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao denies signing with Serbian Battle Championship
It seems former UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao is not headed to Serbia after all.
Shortly after promotion Serbian Battle Championship announced the Brazilian’s signing on their official Instagram page, Barao quickly made a post on his Instagram stories, denying the news.
“Hey, guys. I’m here again to inform everyone that I did not sing a contract with any promotions.” Barao wrote.
When reached by Brazilian news outlet Combate, explained that he not only did not sign a contract with Serbian Battle Championship, but he only took the picture the promotion posted online because he attended March 14’s SBC 27 event as a guest.
“I signed no contract, I only attended the event as a guest. I took a picture because I was a part of the event, but not as an athlete, I was just participating.” Renan said.
Barao’s statements directly contradict those of SBC, who did say that Barao was attending their event as a guest, but also stated he was their newest signing—with a multiple-fight contract in place.
Speaking to Combate, Barao added that he is currently not negotiating with any other promotions, but will likely look to continue his MMA career sometime in the near future. The 32-year-old left the UFC with a 9-8 record an on a five-fight losing streak, dropping losses to Aljamain Sterling, Brian Kelleher, Andre Ewell, Luke Sanders and most recently, back in November 2019, Douglas Silva de Andrade.