Renan Barão facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Renan Barão
Born	Renan do Nascimento Mota Pegado (1987-01-31) 31 January 1987 (age 38) Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Other names	The Baron
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight	135 lb (61 kg; 9 st 9 lb)
Division	Bantamweight (2007–2015, 2018) Featherweight (2005–2007, 2016–2017, 2019) Flyweight (2005) Lightweight (2008)
Reach	70 in (178 cm)
Fighting out of	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Team	Nova União (2005–2017) American Top Team (2017–2020) Pitbull Brothers (2020–present)
Rank	Black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under André Pederneiras
Years active	2005–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total	45
Wins	34
By knockout	8
By submission	15
By decision	11
Losses	10
By knockout	3
By decision	7
No contests	1

Renan do Nascimento Mota Pegado, known as Renan Barão, is a professional mixed martial artist from Brazil. He was born on January 31, 1987. Renan Barão is a former UFC Bantamweight Champion. He held one of the longest unbeaten streaks in MMA history, lasting from 2005 to 2014. During his time as champion, he was considered one of the best fighters in the world.

Early Life and Nickname

Renan Barão grew up in Natal, Brazil, in a family of 13. His parents separated when he was young. He was mostly raised by his mother, aunt, and grandmother. Later, as a teenager, he met his father, who was a skilled boxer. Inspired by his father, Renan started training in combat sports right away. His nickname, Barão (which means "baron"), was given to him by his grandmother. It came from a character in a Brazilian TV show called Sinhá Moça.

Starting His MMA Journey

Renan Barão began his fighting career at Kimura Nova União. This is a sports school in Natal, Brazil. He became a professional fighter in 2005. Before joining the UFC, he competed in smaller organizations in Brazil. He fought against other well-known fighters like Rony Mariano Bezerra. Renan Barão trained with famous fighters like José Aldo at the Nova União gym. In September 2011, he earned his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from André Pederneiras. He was the 100th person to receive a black belt from Pederneiras. In January 2010, Sherdog, a big MMA website, named him one of the "10 Brazilians to watch."

Fighting in the WEC

Renan Barão made his debut in North America with the WEC in June 2010. He was supposed to fight Clint Godfrey. But Godfrey got injured, so Barão fought Anthony Leone instead. Barão won this fight by making Leone give up using an armbar move. Later, in December 2010, Barão defeated Chris Cariaso in the first round. He won by using a rear-naked choke, which is another submission move.

Joining the UFC and Becoming Champion

In October 2010, the WEC joined with the UFC. This meant all WEC fighters, including Barão, moved to the UFC. Renan Barão had his first UFC fight on May 28, 2011. He won against Cole Escovedo by a unanimous decision. This means all the judges agreed he won.

He then faced Brad Pickett in November 2011. Barão won quickly in the first round with a rear-naked choke. This fight was so exciting that it won the Fight of the Night award. In February 2012, he won another fight against Scott Jorgensen by unanimous decision.

Winning the Interim Bantamweight Title

In July 2012, Renan Barão got a big chance. He was scheduled to fight Urijah Faber for the Interim Bantamweight title. The original champion, Dominick Cruz, was injured. Barão won the fight against Faber by unanimous decision. This made him the Interim UFC Bantamweight Champion.

He defended his interim title for the first time in February 2013. He fought Michael McDonald in London, England. Barão won in the fourth round by using an arm-triangle choke. This win also earned him the Submission of the Night award.

His second interim title defense was in September 2013 against Eddie Wineland. Barão won with a powerful spinning back kick and punches in the second round. This victory earned him the Knockout of the Night award. With this win, Barão became the first fighter in UFC history to defend an interim title more than once.

Becoming the Undisputed UFC Champion

In February 2014, Renan Barão was set to fight Dominick Cruz to unify the UFC Bantamweight Championship. However, Cruz got injured again and had to give up his title. This meant Barão automatically became the undisputed UFC Bantamweight Champion. His first defense as the official champion was against Urijah Faber at UFC 169. Barão successfully defended his title by winning in the first round.

For his second title defense, Barão fought T.J. Dillashaw in May 2014. Barão was expected to win easily. But Dillashaw surprised everyone by winning in the fifth round. This was considered one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. The fight was so good that it won the Fight of the Night award.

After Losing the Title

After losing his championship, Barão was set for a rematch with Dillashaw in August 2014. But Barão had problems making weight and had to go to the hospital. So, he was removed from the fight.

In December 2014, Barão fought Mitch Gagnon. He won this fight in the third round with an arm-triangle submission. This win earned him the Performance of the Night bonus. He had another rematch with Dillashaw in July 2015, but he lost again in the fourth round.

Changing Weight Classes

After his bantamweight fights, Renan Barão moved up to the featherweight division. In May 2016, he fought Jeremy Stephens. Barão lost the fight by decision, but it was an exciting match. Both fighters received Fight of the Night honors. In September 2016, Barão won a fight against Phillipe Nover by unanimous decision.

Later, in July 2017, Barão returned to bantamweight to fight Aljamain Sterling. However, he had to fight at a slightly heavier weight because of past issues with cutting weight. Barão lost this fight by unanimous decision. He continued to struggle with weight in later fights. He lost to Brian Kelleher in February 2018 and Andre Ewell in September 2018. In February 2019, he lost to Luke Sanders by knockout. His last UFC fight was in November 2019, where he lost to Douglas Silva de Andrade. Soon after, he was released from the UFC.

Life After UFC

After leaving the UFC, Renan Barão signed with Taura MMA in August 2020. He was scheduled for a fight in November 2020, but it was postponed. He also had other fights planned that were later canceled or where his opponent pulled out.

In October 2023, Barão fought Walter Zamora at Fera Championship. He lost the fight by a split decision. In December 2024, it was announced that Barão signed with Global Fight League (GFL). He was scheduled to fight Urijah Faber again in May 2025, but all GFL events were canceled.

Grappling Achievements

Besides MMA, Renan Barão also competes in grappling. In June 2023, he won a gold medal at the IBJJF Fortaleza International Open. This was in the master 2 lightweight division. In July 2023, he announced a grappling match with Charles Oliveira. In May 2025, Barão had a submission grappling match against Arman Ospanov. The match ended in a draw.

Awards and Honors

Renan Barão has received many awards during his career:

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • UFC Bantamweight Championship (One time)
    • He successfully defended this title once.
  • Interim UFC Bantamweight Championship (One time)
    • He successfully defended this interim title twice.
  • Fight of the Night (Three times) for his fights against Brad Pickett, T.J. Dillashaw, and Jeremy Stephens.
  • Performance of the Night (One time) for his fight against Mitch Gagnon.
  • Knockout of the Night (One time) for his fight against Eddie Wineland.
  • Submission of the Night (One time) for his fight against Michael McDonald.
  • He is tied for the most consecutive title defenses in UFC Bantamweight history (3).
  • He holds the record for most interim title defenses in UFC history (2).
  • He is tied for the second longest win streak in UFC/WEC Bantamweight history (9).

Images for kids

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  Renan Barão

See also

In Spanish: Renan Barão para niños