Report: Kikuno and Nakai among latest fighters off UFC roster

It looks like the UFC is cutting a swath through their featherweight division with the release of 3 145 lb fighters and Pancrase star Rin Nakai.

Rough time to be a UFC featherweight, it appears. The UFC roster is going through a bit of a contraction phase. Lots of talent going out, not much going in. And the latest fighters that appear to be on their way out come from the sub-155 divisions as three featherweights and a women’s bantamweight have all apparently been given the chop.

UFCFIGHTERSINFO posted the removal of two names from the UFC’s online roster last week, Julian Erosa and Mark Eddiva.

[Deleted] Mark Eddiva (Feather)
[Deleted] Julian Erosa (Feather)https://t.co/nZfB0IsOE2

— UFCFIGHTERSiNFO (@UFCFIGHTERSiNFO) April 21, 2016

Joining Eddiva and Erosa are Katsunori Kikuno and Rin Nakai. Both fighters have already been scheduled for new bouts in Japan, sending a strong message that their time in the UFC is done. Nakai will return to Pancrase on July 24th against a yet-to-be-named opponent and Kikuno will make his return to DEEP on June 26th.

The biggest surprise of this run is pretty obviously Julian Erosa, whose release comes off the back of a 1-1 UFC stint where he beat fellow TUF talent Marcin Wrzosek via split decision and then took a TKO loss against Teruto Ishihara. At only 26-years-old and with a strong record, Erosa seems like the kind of fighter the UFC usually keeps around. He certainly has a strong chance of working his way back to the big stage with a few regional wins.

Otherwise there aren’t many shocks with Eddiva, Kikuno, and Nakai. While Eddiva and Kikuno were both fun action fighters at 145, they never quite found ways to make their styles work consistently in the division. And with Nakai’s contract running out after a pair of losses (and some rumors that she may have been difficult to work with), it’s not hard to see why the UFC might have let her walk. Of the three of them, Eddiva probably has the best chance of making a return, his performances were almost always entertaining and if he can find more success outside the UFC he maybe primed for the promotion’s next trip to Asia/Oceania.

It looks like the UFC is cutting a swath through their featherweight division with the release of 3 145 lb fighters and Pancrase star Rin Nakai.

Rough time to be a UFC featherweight, it appears. The UFC roster is going through a bit of a contraction phase. Lots of talent going out, not much going in. And the latest fighters that appear to be on their way out come from the sub-155 divisions as three featherweights and a women’s bantamweight have all apparently been given the chop.

UFCFIGHTERSINFO posted the removal of two names from the UFC’s online roster last week, Julian Erosa and Mark Eddiva.

Joining Eddiva and Erosa are Katsunori Kikuno and Rin Nakai. Both fighters have already been scheduled for new bouts in Japan, sending a strong message that their time in the UFC is done. Nakai will return to Pancrase on July 24th against a yet-to-be-named opponent and Kikuno will make his return to DEEP on June 26th.

The biggest surprise of this run is pretty obviously Julian Erosa, whose release comes off the back of a 1-1 UFC stint where he beat fellow TUF talent Marcin Wrzosek via split decision and then took a TKO loss against Teruto Ishihara. At only 26-years-old and with a strong record, Erosa seems like the kind of fighter the UFC usually keeps around. He certainly has a strong chance of working his way back to the big stage with a few regional wins.

Otherwise there aren’t many shocks with Eddiva, Kikuno, and Nakai. While Eddiva and Kikuno were both fun action fighters at 145, they never quite found ways to make their styles work consistently in the division. And with Nakai’s contract running out after a pair of losses (and some rumors that she may have been difficult to work with), it’s not hard to see why the UFC might have let her walk. Of the three of them, Eddiva probably has the best chance of making a return, his performances were almost always entertaining and if he can find more success outside the UFC he maybe primed for the promotion’s next trip to Asia/Oceania.