Longtime UFC veteran Aleksei Oleinik is no longer listed on the promotion’s roster.
It seemed like it would never happen, but we all knew that at some point it would have to. UFC Roster Watch has reported that the seemingly eternal Aleksei Oleinik is no longer listed on the UFC roster, after completing his contract.
The 45-year-old Oleinik has a legendary record of 60-17-1, and has spent the last eight years under the UFC banner. In the world’s premiere MMA league, Aleksei went 9-8 including a 1-1 stint in the 2022 calendar year. “The Boa Constrictor” submitted Jared Vanderaa with a scarf hold at UFC 273 in April of this year, and then just dropped a decision to Ilir Latifi at UFC Vegas 61 at the beginning of this month. Zooming out just a bit, you will see that Oleinik has only won one out of his last five fights.
? Fighter removed: Aleksei Oleinik
— UFC Roster Watch (@UFCRosterWatch) October 11, 2022
Oleinik has been the ultimate I.Q. test for the heavyweight division. He lures people into grappling exchanges that have often resulted in him snagging sneaky submissions from unorthodox positions. His neck crank and no-gi Ezekiel chokes have been his go to maneuvers, and although his foes knew it was coming, they couldn’t help but fall into a trap.
Over the years, Aleksei posted up submission wins over guys like Mark Hunt, Mirko Cro Cop, Jeff Monson, and Travis Browne. He even has a victory over fellow grappling guru Fabrício Werdum.
UPDATE: According to a report from Russian news site TASS, Oleinik’s UFC deal actually ran out back in April, following his UFC 273 victory over Jared Vanderaa. However it appears the submission specialist took one more fight under the terms of his former deal, before the promotion dropped him from their roster. Oleinik also added that he has been offered a new UFC contract, but it appears he has not yet decided on his fighting future.
“The contract ended back in April,” Oleinik told TASS. “I was asked to fight over the contract, I fought. I don’t know what to do next. The UFC has already offered [a new contract].”