At long last, Renan Barao is heading back to a MMA cage.
One of the most touted UFC champions from the first half of the 2010s, the Brazilian veteran finally makes his MMA return Saturday, Oct. 7, to take on short-notice replacement Walter Zamora in the main event of Fera Championship’s inaugural card in Zahra, Kuwait.
Barao hasn’t fought since 2019, when he dropped a decision to Douglas Silva de Andrade in his final UFC bout. The reason behind his long break was some much-needed time off after competing in 43 MMA bouts between 2005 and 2019.
“The fact I was fighting one time after the other made me feel overwhelmed, let’s put it this way,” Barao told MMA Fighting. “I needed this time for myself to rest, to live. I remember spending way too many birthdays, many year-ends, many Christmas in camp, training, away from my family and the people I love, away from the habitat I feel comfortable in. I needed to take some time off to live real life and be a normal person. I felt I’ve taken that time, and I’m back.”
“I’m very happy to be able to return after such a long time,” he continued. “Jiu-jitsu helped me come back, just like it helped me early in my career. You saw I came back to compete in jiu-jitsu tournaments, [IBJJF] Opens and International Masters, and it wasn’t my plan to come back to MMA. I’ve taken a long time off for myself to eat what I want, to drink, to go out and meet my friends, to travel, for all that, and when I came back to jiu-jitsu, it lit that fire to fight MMA. I was like, ‘You know what, I wanna fight and feel that adrenaline again.’”
Barao had many MMA bouts announced and cancelled over the past few years, but none came to fruition. He said some were announced prematurely, and others fell through due to paperwork and visa issues. Barao vs. Zamora was originally planned for December 2022 in Mexico City, for example, but Barao couldn’t secure a Mexican visa in time.
The former UFC bantamweight champion, who finished the likes of Urijah Faber, Eddie Wineland, and Michael McDonald before ending his UFC run with only two wins over his final 10 bouts, said he’s “financially stable” after a competing 17 times inside the octagon, and is coming back to MMA to “have fun, to feel that adrenaline again and break records.” Barao is also open to competing in MMA or boxing next, even bare-knuckle matches.
“God knows all things and He would show when was the right time to come back and put on a show for everybody,” Barao said. “You can expect a very aggressive Renan, going forward and always giving my best like I’ve always done in my fights. I would always give my best regardless of the result, and it won’t be different this time around.”