It appears as though the support of the Pitbull brothers has helped
former
Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight titleholder
Renan
Barao rediscover his love for mixed martial arts. Barao will
return to the cage to vie for the
Premier Fighting Championship featherweight title when he faces
Tyson
Duckworth on Nov. 19 in Springfield, Massachusetts.
“I definitely regained my desire to train and fight with the
Pitbull brothers, and now I’m returning in great shape,” said
Barao, who arrived in the United States early for a variety of
reasons. “There’s a lot of bureaucratic red tape due to the
pandemic, so I decided to get here before the fight, not only to
avoid possible problems but also to get adapted to the climate and
time zone.”
Barao held the UFC bantamweight championship between 2012 and 2014
and was considered one of the Top 5 pound-for-pound fighters on the
planet. However, after he surrendered the title to T.J.
Dillashaw, the Brazilian went into a downward spiral that saw
him lose seven times in nine appearances. After being released by
the UFC, he accepted an invitation to train with current Bellator
MMA champions Patricio
Freire and Patricky
Freire in Natal, Brazil.
A professional mixed martial artist since 2005, Barao owns a career
record of 34-9. Training with the Pitbull brothers has allowed him
to reclaim his passion for the sport and sharpen his skills while
living close to his family. He originally signed to return with
Brazilian promotion Taura MMA, only to have the event to which he
was assigned get canceled. Barao later planned to fight under the
German Elite MMA Championship banner, though that too was scuttled.
The PFC will give him the opportunity to compete for the first time
since November 2019. While Barao has a good relationship with
Professional Fighters League Ray Sefo and
recently hinted at the possibility of joining the organization in
2022, he has honed in the opportunity at hand.
“I’m 100% focused on Tyson,” he said, “and getting the PFC belt.”