Seven more fighters have been cut from Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
UFC Roster Watch revealed today (Tues., Oct. 17, 2023) that the latest batch of fighters to depart UFC, for one reason or another, includes Kamuela Kirk, Tucker Lutz, Shane Young, J.P. Buys, John Makdessi, A.J. Fletcher, and Andre Fialho. The roster shake up comes promptly, following the conclusion of Dana White’s Contender Series season 7, which saw a new record 46 fighters signed from the season, surpassing the previous season’s 43 signings.
The arguably most notable release of the bunch comes in the Lightweight division with 13-year UFC veteran, the 38-year-old Makdessi (18-9 overall, 11-9 in UFC). Canada’s “Bull” exits the promotion on a two-fight losing skid after most recently suffering a controversial unanimous decision loss to Jamie Mullarkey at UFC 293 last month (Sept. 10, 2023).
At Welterweight, the always-entertaining Fialho also stands out as a key departure. Fialho, 29, was 2022’s marathon man, fighting five times inside the Octagon with all but one of those fights ending via knockout. Unfortunately for the Portugal native, his results were mixed, ultimately leading to his exit from the roster, riding a four-fight losing streak (16-8 overall, 2-5 in UFC).
The Lightweight and Welterweight divisions were the most impacted out of these seven releases as Kirk, Lutz, Makdessi, Fletcher, and Fialho all occupy the weight classes. Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Young (13-8 overall, 2-5 in UFC) is a Featherweight, and Buys (9-6 overall, 0-4 in UFC) is a Bantamweight.