UFC releases former bantamweight champion Renan Barao

Photo by Alexandre Schneider/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Barao has lost five consecutive bouts. The end of Renan Barao’s UFC career has finally come to an end.
Barao, the former bantamweight champion, has been released following his loss t…

UFC Fight Night: Lipski v de Padua

Photo by Alexandre Schneider/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Barao has lost five consecutive bouts.

The end of Renan Barao’s UFC career has finally come to an end.

Barao, the former bantamweight champion, has been released following his loss to Douglas Silva de Andrade at UFC Sao Paulo last month. MMA Fighting confirmed the news following an initial report from Combate.

It’s been a dismal run of fights for the Brazilian, who’s lost five consecutive fights, and 2-8 overall dating back to when he conceded his title to TJ Dillashaw in 2014. The first Dillashaw fight proved to be a major turning point in Barao’s career, as even his wins against Mitch Gagnon and Phillipe Nover were hardly scintillating performances. His losses against the likes of Luke Sanders, Brian Kelleher, Jeremy Stephens, Aljamain Sterling, the Dillashaw rematch, and a host of others involved a lot of inflicted damage.

At the peak of his career, Barao (34-9, 1 NC) was a force to be reckoned with at 135 lbs. After winning an interim title against Urijah Faber, he defended that belt twice against Michael McDonald and Eddie Wineland before he was promoted to full champion, when Dominick Cruz could not defend his title due to injuries. After stopping Faber again, TJ Dillashaw ended Barao’s reign as champion in what was considered an enormous upset at the time.

In addition to his devastating defeats, Barao’s career was negatively affected by brutal weight cuts, which included getting the Dillashaw rematch at UFC 177 cancelled because he injured himself in the bathtub while cutting weight. In his last two fights scheduled for bantamweight — vs. Andre Ewell and Luke Sanders — he missed the non-title limit of 136 lbs.

It is not known what the next step is for the 32-year-old Barao, who’s looked a shell of himself ever since the first Dillashaw fight, and it’s only gotten worse as time has progressed.