Barão was born into a poor family of 13 in Natal, Brazil.[8] His parents divorced when he was young, and he was raised mostly by his mother, aunt and grandmother.[8][9] Following the divorce, Barão would meet his father – who was an accomplished boxer – next time when he was a teen.[10] Inspired by his father, Barão would instantly start training in combat sports.[10] His nickname Barão (baron), which predates his athletic career, was given to him by his grandmother after a character in the 1986 Brazilian soap opera Sinhá Moça.[4]
In January 2010, Sherdog named him their top prospect in their list of "10 Brazilians to watch in 2010"[12]
World Extreme Cagefighting
Barão was expected to make his North American, as well as WEC debut in a Bantamweight bout against Clint Godfrey on 20 June 2010 at WEC 49,[13] but Godfrey was forced from the card with an injury.[14] Barão instead faced fellow WEC newcomer Anthony Leone at an agreed 142 lb catchweight.[15] Barão defeated Leone via submission (armbar) in the third round.
In October 2010, the WEC merged with the UFC. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC.[17]
Barão was expected to make his UFC debut on 28 May 2011 against Demetrious Johnson at UFC 130,[18] but an undisclosed injury forced Brad Pickett out of his fight with Miguel Torres on the same card. Johnson moved up to fight Torres, while Barão faced Cole Escovedo.[19][20] Barão won his debut fight in the organization via unanimous decision.[21]
Barão faced Brad Pickett on 5 November 2011 at UFC 138.[22] He defeated Pickett by rear-naked choke submission in the first round,[23] also winning Fight of the Night honors.[24]
Barão was expected to face Ivan Menjivar on 7 July 2012 at UFC 148 to possibly determine the number one contender.[27] Barão instead faced Urijah Faber for the Interim Bantamweight title after current champion Dominick Cruz was injured.[28] It was originally scheduled to take place at UFC 148 however, due to an injury to headliner José Aldo (who was supposed to make a title defence in the event's main event fight), the Faber/Barão bout was moved to 21 July 2012 and headlined UFC 149 for the Interim Bantamweight Championship.[29] He won the fight via unanimous decision to become the Interim UFC Bantamweight Champion.[30]
He was expected to face Dominick Cruz for the unified UFC Bantamweight Championship at a later date. However, it was announced on 4 December 2012 that Dominick Cruz suffered a second ACL tear that would require surgery, leaving Cruz now sidelined for 6–9 months.[31]
In his first title defense, Barão retained the UFC Interim Bantamweight Championship against Michael McDonald on 16 February 2013 at UFC on Fuel TV: Barão vs. McDonald.[32] McDonald was competitive with capable take-down defense and crisp boxing - particularly - in the first two rounds, but was worn down by Barão's more diverse skill-set as he mixed in knees and kicks standing, and often looked to take the fight to the floor (with success). Upon executing a strong take-down in the fourth round, McDonald tried to explode to his feet but instead gave Barão opportunity to expertly secure an arm-triangle choke while passing into side control: McDonald tapped at 3:57 in the fourth round.[33] The win also won him his first Submission of the Night honors.[34]
Barão was scheduled to make his second interim title defense against Eddie Wineland on 15 June 2013 at UFC 161.[35] However, on 21 May it was confirmed that Barão had pulled out of the bout, citing a foot injury.[36]
The bout with Wineland was rescheduled for 21 September 2013 at UFC 165.[37] Barão retained the title with a second-round TKO victory via spinning back kick and subsequent punches to the face. With this victory Barão made history as the first and only fighter ever to defend an interim title more than once in the UFC.[38] The win also resulted in Barão receiving his first Knockout of the Night bonus award.[39]
UFC Bantamweight Champion
Barão was expected to face Dominick Cruz to unify the UFC Bantamweight Championship on 1 February 2014 at UFC 169.[40] However, on a 6 January episode of SportsCenter, UFC president Dana White announced that Dominick Cruz had torn his groin, therefore being stripped of the UFC Bantamweight Championship, and Barão would become the undisputed UFC Bantamweight Champion, with his first unified title defense against Urijah Faber at UFC 169.[41] Barão successfully defended his title by defeating Faber via TKO in the first round.[42]
For his second title defense, Barão faced T.J. Dillashaw in the main event at UFC 173 on 24 May 2014.[43] Barão was a huge favorite, but Dillashaw won the fight in dominant fashion out striking Barão in all five rounds, Dillashaw won via TKO in the fifth round to become the new UFC Bantamweight Champion.[44] It was one of the greatest upsets in UFC history. The fight earned the Fight of the Night award.[45]
Back to title contention
An immediate rematch with Dillashaw was scheduled to take place on 30 August 2014 at UFC 177.[46] However, the day of the weigh-ins, Barão had to be admitted to the hospital as a result of his attempts to cut weight, and was removed from the card.[47] Dillashaw eventually fought UFC newcomer Joe Soto[48] whom he defeated by 5th-round knockout.[49]
In his first fight since losing the title, Barão faced Mitch Gagnon on 20 December 2014 at UFC Fight Night 58.[50] He won the fight via arm-triangle submission in the third round.[51] The win also earned Barão his first Performance of the Night bonus award.[52]
A rematch with Dillashaw was rescheduled and was expected to take place on 25 April 2015 at UFC 186.[53] However a month before the event, Dillashaw was forced out of the bout after sustaining a broken rib while training.[54]
The rematch with Dillashaw eventually took place at UFC on Fox 16 on 25 July 2015.[55] Barão lost the fight via TKO in the opening moments of the fourth round.[56]
Move back to Featherweight
Barão next faced Jeremy Stephens in a featherweight bout on 29 May 2016 at UFC Fight Night 88.[57] He lost the back and forth fight by unanimous decision.[58] Both participants were awarded Fight of the Night honors for their performance.[59]
Barão was briefly linked to a bout with Doo Ho Choi which was expected to take place on 15 April 2017 at UFC on Fox 24.[62] However, as the announcement of the pairing began to circulate, Choi declined the bout, and as a result, Barão is expected to be rescheduled against a different opponent, possibly at another event.[63]
Bantamweight return
Barão faced Aljamain Sterling on 29 July 2017 at UFC 214.[64] The fight was initially contracted to be contested at bantamweight, however on 28 June, the CSAC announced that they would not license Barão to compete at that weight due to his past struggle to make the required weight at UFC 177. The bout with Sterling proceeded as scheduled at a catchweight of 140 lbs.[65] Barão lost the bout by unanimous decision.[66]
Barão faced Andre Ewell on 22 September 2018 at UFC Fight Night 137.[69] At weigh-ins, Barão weighted five pounds over bantamweight non-title fight limit of 136 and he was fined 30 percent of his purse to Ewell.[70] Barão lost the fight via split decision.[71]
Barão faced Luke Sanders on 17 February 2019 at UFC on ESPN 1.[72] At the weigh-ins, Barão weighed in at 138 pounds, 2 pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight upper limit of 136 pounds. As a result, the bout proceeded at catchweight and Barão was fined 20% of his purse which went to his opponent, Sanders.[73] Barão lost the fight via knockout in the second round.[74]
In early December 2019, it was reported that Barão had been released from the UFC.[77]
Post-UFC career
On 3 August 2020, news surfaced that Barão had signed a three-fight contract with Taura MMA.[78] He was expected to make his promotional debut against Bobby Moffett at Taura MMA 12 on 21 November 2020.[79] However, the event was postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic related issues.[80]
Barão was scheduled to face Tyson Duckworth on 19 November 2021, at Premier FC 32 for the Premier FC Featherweight Championship.[81] However Duckworth pulled out of the bout the day before, not getting on his flight.[82]
Barão was scheduled to face Horacio Gutiérrez on 28 January 2022, at EFC 44, but the bout was cancelled.[83]
Barão was scheduled to face William Gomis at ARES FC 7 on 25 June 2022.[84] He later pulled out of the bout.
Barão was rumored to face fellow UFC-alum Sean Soriano in a bare-knuckle MMA bout at Gamebred Bareknuckle 5. However, days before the bout, Barão pulled out of the fight claiming that he did not officially sign a contract, and therefore did not agree to fight.[85]
Barão was originally scheduled to face Peter Ligier at Fera Championship on 7 October 2023. However due to a switch in opponents, Barão faced Walter Zamora. He lost the bout via split decision.[86][87]
Grappling career
Barão won a gold medal in the master 2 lightweight division of the IBJJF Fortaleza International Open on 24 June 2023.[88]
In July 2023, Barão announced that he had a grappling match with Charles Oliveira arranged for a future BJJ Stars event.[89]
