Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Out with the old, in with the new.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White handed out four new contracts in the wake of last night’s “Contender Series” event to go on top of the five new deals he awarded the week before.
With an influx of UFC rookies taking up space on the already-bloated roster, it’s just a matter of time before White and Co. shave off some names on the backend to balance the scales. A number that could go as high as double digits.
Which could spell doom for some of the underperformers.
“It’s all a numbers game,” White told reporters following the latest “Contender Series” event. “We have to give everybody three fights a year, so you can only have so many people under contract. Every once in awhile, you’ll see a huge cut. We’ll go through and there will be 14, 15 guys cut in a week. Stuff like that. That’s the nature of the beast.”
This retirement will likely save one job.
The promotion’s “Contender Series” is expected to run for another seven weeks so the addition of fresh talent has only just begun. Not everybody will make the grade, of course, but it’s still a significant number of new signees.
It should also be noted that UFC is no stranger to “spilling blood” when it comes time to tighten the financial belt or simply keep the roster manageable for matchmakers Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard, that whole “circle of life” thing.
Fortunately, viable options still remain outside the Octagon.