It’s not fun watching your favorite fighters leave the UFC family. Yet, more fighters have formally left in recent weeks. This brings the total number of UFC exits to 15 so far.
Following eight removals from the roster, including longtime veterans Ilir Latifi and Makwan Amirkhani, seven additional names have come up. Continue reading to learn which fighters are among them!
Unless otherwise stated, it’s unknown if the fighters left the promotion after their contracts ended or were released mid-contract.
Nick Fiore
Nick Fiore is from the lightweight division. He was one of three members of the New England Cartel to join the promotion. Moreover, he was there for around five months. Fiore suffered a second unanimous decision loss to Chase Hooper in May after losing on short notice to Mateusz Rebecki in January.
Erick Gonzalez
Another man down from the lightweight division was 31-year-old Erick Gonzalez. He lost all three of his games, but his approach was aggressive. In his debut, Gonzalez engaged in fierce combat with Terrance McKinney after suffering a KO loss to Jim Miller. McKinney knocked Gonzalez out before facing Trevor Peek in February. The battle was exciting once more, but Gonzalez was eliminated in Round 1.
Bea Malecki
After appearing briefly on Season 28 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Bea Malecki debuted concurrently with her UFC debut. Malecki began her UFC career with back-to-back victories over Veronica Hardy and Duda Santana until being submitted by Josiane Nunes in August 2021. Malecki said that her mutual decision to leave the UFC was motivated by her desire to compete at 145 pounds. Additionally, she was experiencing long-term concussion-like symptoms.
Maria Oliveira
Strawweight Maria Oliveira showed some promise, but consecutive decision defeats forced her back into the free agent pool. After a 1-1 start to her official career, including a victory over Gloria de Paula, Oliveira lost two straight decisions—the latter of which occurred on June 10—against Vanessa Demopoulos and Diana Belbita, which caused her to leave the UFC.
Aaron Philips
Like his first tenure in 2014, Aaron Phillips’ second UFC run has ended following a 0-2 streak. After five straight victories, Phillips re-joined the promotion in the early stages of the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020. In July 2020, Phillips competed again and was defeated by Jack Shore by submission. After multiple postponements, Phillips made a comeback in April 2023 but was defeated by Gaston Bolanos on a unanimous decision.
Takashi Sato
Takashi Sato of Japan leaves the UFC after four consecutive defeats. Prior to leaving the UFC, Sato lost fights against Gunnar Nelson and Themba Gorimbo after starting his professional career 2-1 and TKO-ing Ben Saunders and Jason Witt.
Don Shainis
Don Shainis of Massachusetts competed in two UFC bouts, both ending in defeat but with quite different outcomes. After losing to Sodiq Yusuff by 30-second submission in October, Shainis engaged in a three-round battle with Jack Jenkins at UFC 284. Shainis was defeated by a unanimous vote but persevered and showed fortitude the entire time.
These are all the departures from the UFC for now. Which of these fighters was your favorite? Let us know in the comments!
