Former UFC champion Renan Barao signed by German promotion Elite MMA Championship

After being signed by Brazilian promotion Taura MMA, but never actually stepping into the cage, it seems that former UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao is now headed to Germany following his eight-year Octagon stint.

According to Elite MMA Championship’s official Twitter account, the 34-year-old Brazilian is the latest and surely their biggest signing ever. However, it still remains to be seen when and where Barao will be competing again, as well as who Renan’s opponent will be.

Barao (34-9-1 NC) was released by the UFC after suffering five straight losses between 2017 and 2019, dropping a unanimous decision to Douglas Andrade in his most recent one back in November 2019. During his Octagon stint, the 34-year-old scored wins over some of bantamweight’s biggest names of his era, such as Urijah Faber, Eddie Wineland, Brad Pickett, and Michael McDonald.

Following his release, Renan was briefly signed by Taura MMA, with a bout against fellow Octagon veteran Bobby Moffett scheduled for November 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic put those plans to a halt, forcing the card to be cancelled and leaving the promotion unable to know when they would return.

Elite MMA Championship is a rather new promotion, with only five events under their belt and one more scheduled for July. Their roster also contains other former UFC fighters, such as Brad Katona, Ismail Naurdiev, and Denis Stojnic, all of whom were scheduled to perform at their latest card on October 2020 but were unable to after the event had to be called off.