Bantamweight veteran Bryan Caraway is no longer part of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
That is according to a recent report by The Body Lock’s John Hyon Ko (shown below), which has Caraway scheduled to return to action this summer. But “Kid Lighting” won’t be stepping foot back inside of the Octagon, he’ll be competing against Raja Shippen at Battlefield FC 2 on July 27 in Macau.
Raja Shippen vs Bryan Caraway lined up for Battlefield FC 2 on July 27 in Macao pic.twitter.com/dB8srs9em3
— John Hyon Ko [??] (@JHKMMA) May 25, 2019
While Caraway’s departure has yet to be confirmed by UFC officials, it would be impossible for the veteran fighter to schedule a fight under the Battlefield FC banner if he was still under contract with UFC. Caraway had teased some upcoming fight news in an Instagram post earlier this month, but it looks like he was talking about an appearance outside of the Octagon.
Caraway, 34, is coming off a crushing TKO defeat to Pedro Munhoz back at TUF 28 Finale this past November. Before that, Caraway had lost a close split decision to rising contender Cody Stamann to end a two-fight win streak. In total, the former Ultimate Fighter standout produced an overall UFC record of 6-4 with key victories over Aljamain Sterling, Mitch Gagnon, Erik Perez, and former UFC bantamweight title challenger Eddie Wineland.
Caraway was one of the more experienced fighters in the UFC’s growing bantamweight division, but “Kid Lightning” was inconsistent at times. In fact, he fought just twice from 2015-2017 and hasn’t captured a finish inside of the Octagon since submitting Perez back in 2014.
Assuming Caraway is able to slice his way through the competition over at Battlefield FC he could eventually work his way back to UFC. But for now, the submission guru will be taking his talents overseas.