Could this have been the reason the UFC and Dana White chose not to extend Martin Buday’s contract? If you missed it, ‘Badys’ challenged OKTAGON heavyweight champion Will Fleury on Sunday at the O2 Arena in Prague. Despite entering the bout on the back of solid performances, Buday didn’t anticipate how quickly the night would unravel.

Headlining OKTAGON 81, the matchup was over almost as soon as it began. Fleury secured a first-round TKO at 1:40. Buday threw a low kick, but Fleury caught it, pulled him off balance, and fired back with a right hook that sent Buday crashing to the canvas. From there, Fleury poured on punches in bunches, leaving the referee no choice but to step in.

MMA Orbit shared a clip of the finish on X, captioning it, “WILL FLEURY JUST STOPPED MARTIN BUDAY IN R1 AT #OKTAGON81.” The result came nearly five months after Buday’s last fight in the UFC. He defeated Marcus Buchecha, which made Dana White and the promotion’s decision to part ways with a fighter, who went 7-1 in the promotion, puzzling.

Buday had insisted he made no unreasonable demands that led to his UFC exit. Anyway, after parting ways with the UFC, the 34-year-old returned to OKTAGON, where he competed from 2018 to 2019 and had even captured the heavyweight title, only vacating it in 2021 upon signing with the American mixed martial arts promotion.

Whether UFC matchmakers foresaw this setback or not, Martin Buday’s latest loss has fueled speculation that they did. Now, fans are calling on the promotion to sign Will Fleury, arguing that his emphatic win has only strengthened the UFC’s decision to move on from Buday.

Calls mount for Dana White to sign Will Fleury

Buday’s quick loss shocked this fan, who wants Fleury to make his way to the UFC. “Dam[n], he was 8-1 in the UFC and went out like that. [UFC] sign Will Fleury immediately,” the user wrote. First, Buday was 7-1 in the UFC and 16-3 overall. Besides his TKO win in DWCS, he failed to secure a knockout finish, which may have contributed to his exit. 

The shock of Buday’s loss wasn’t lost on the next user. “Holy s—t.. never saw Buday even remotely hurt like this in the UFC,” the user commented. But he did lose via knockout to Shamil Gaziev in December 2023. 

Meanwhile, this user felt Fleury could save UFC’s heavyweight division. “Fleury looks like he could be a major player in the UFC HW division 😳,” the user claimed. With Jon Jones, Stipe Miocic, and Daniel Cormier gone, Tom Aspinall injured, and Ciryl Gane waiting for a rematch, the heavyweight scene feels a little empty. And Fleury’s double champ status in OKTAGON only works more in his favor.

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Buday’s loss appears to have given credence to what this user felt. “Buday was good in the UFC, too. Just goes to show how fraudulent the HW division is in the UFC,” the user wrote. But ‘fraudulent’ might be a strong word. Every promotion would present its fighters as the best to sell fights, regardless of whether they actually are or not.

The next user also wanted Fleury to be signed by the UFC. “Ok, so sign his opponent to UFC, [Fleury] seems in decent shape for heavyweight,” the user commented. The UFC and Dana White are no strangers to poaching fighters from other promotions, but only time will tell whether these pleas are heard. 

It appears Martin Buday’s latest loss didn’t just add a loss in his resume, but also justified the UFC’s decision to stop working with the 34-year-old. On the other hand, it remains to be seen whether Will Fleury benefits from it. Do you think Dana White should sign him?