‘The Baltic Gladiator’ is no longer on the UFC roster.
On Thursday, it was reported that Modestas Bukauskas was released from the UFC. A source close to the situation subsequently confirmed the release to Lowkickmma.
The 27-year old Lithuanian fighter would comment on the situation by responding to the Twitter account UFC Roster Watch, which reports the release of every UFC athlete.
“It is what it is, but I’m so grateful for all the love and support; I was given a great opportunity but didn’t make the most of it ……… trust me though, next time I will,” Bukauskas wrote.
The somewhat surprising release comes a month and a few weeks after suffering a nasty knee injury against Khalil Rountree at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Till. In the second round, Roundtree landed an oblique kick on Bukauskas that ended the fight via TKO.
In an interview with MyMMANews.com, he said he had successful knee surgery and added, “Everything went to plan, and I’m on the full road to recovery. I knew it was gonna be a quite painful operation because it’s the most I’ve had done, but hey, I’ll be back firing on all cylinders whenever I come back.”
Bukauskas went 1-3 in the UFC with two TKO losses. ‘The Baltic Gladiator’ was victorious in his UFC debut when he finished Andreas Michailidis via TKO on Fight Island. The former Cage Warriors Light Heavyweight champion was then matched up with UFC contender Jimmy Crute but would get knocked out in two minutes.
In Bukauskas’ third UFC fight, he lost a very controversial split decision to Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC 260, in which all but one media member scored for Bukauskas.
The 27-year old will have a plethora of options when he is healthy and ready to fight again. He told LowkickMMA that he would eventually be back with the UFC.
What do you think of the UFC’s decision to cut Modestas Bukauskas?