On Sunday, Serbian Battle Championship announced that it had signed former UFC bantamweight champ Renan Barao to a multi-fight deal.
It appears there’s been some kind of miscommunication.
SBC’s announcement about Barao seemed pretty clear:
“We have a little special guest and an incredible and rare honor to host former UFC World Champion, MMA sports legend Renan Barao! @renanbaraoufc Renan is a former UFC bantamweight champion who has held one of the longest winning streaks in MMA sports history – 32 consecutive wins! While being the UFC World Champion he was ranked in the top three pound-for-pound fighters and was considered one of the best MMA fighters on the planet! Renan has signed a contract for multiple fights for appearances at Serbian Battle Championship Revenge events!”
Barao, however, claims he has not signed a deal to fight for SBC, and that he only made an appearance at their recent event.
“I didn’t sign any contract, I just went to the guest event,” Barao told Combate. “I took a picture because I was part of that event, but not as an event athlete, but just a participation. At the moment I’m not negotiating with any [promotion]. I’m just training, a lot of jiu-jitsu, and organizing some personal things in my life.”
What do you think the future holds for the free agent Renan Barao?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 3/23/2020.