Is Dana White on the brink of abandoning the UFC heavyweight division? Since June 2024, the promotion has released or chosen not to renew the contracts of over eight heavyweights. One of the most shocking departures was Jairzinho Rozenstruik, a move that stunned the MMA community. Why was this decision so surprising? Let’s dive in and find out. Welcome back to another episode of MMA Roundup, where we break down the latest updates from the past 24 hours into bite-sized pieces!

From the Dana White news, we will move forward to Urijah Faber, who is making a comeback to the MMA world after years of hiatus. Then, we will move forward to Glory Kickboxing’s last-man-standing matchup and finally, we will end our segment with a piece of information about Dana White’s new signee. So, without any further ado, let us get started.

Dana White questioned by MMA fans on the heavyweight division fiasco

UFC Saudi Arabia witnessed the defeat of Jairzinho Rozenstruik at the hands of Sergei Pavlovich. The Surinamese fighter was on a two-fight winning streak and was looking to continue the run but the Russian caught him lacking. After his defeat, the UFC parted ways with the fighter Rozenstruik. This was a shocking removal considering ‘Bigi Boy’ had a promising career.

Days after the removal, the MMA community is mocking UFC CEO Dana White for not cutting Tai Tuivasa despite his five-fight losing streak. ‘Bam Bam’ has been finished in four of his last five fights, leading many to question his place in the promotion. Sharing a screenshot of Tuivasa’s record, Popular MMA content creator ‘Dovy Simu’ showed the reality to Dana White. Another popular MMA account, ‘Spinnin Backfist’ reposted it with a caption that read, “But they cut Bigi Boy.”

If we look at their records, Rozenstruik, with 15 victories and 6 defeats, had a slightly better record than Tuivasa, who had 15 victories and 8 defeats. Well, Tuivasa might be the next in the line to get removed from the roster but who knows? For now, let us move forward to Urijah Faber’s MMA comeback.

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Urijah Faber to make MMA comeback with GFL

Five years after stepping away from the MMA world, UFC Hall of Famer, Urijah Faber will be returning to action against his former opponent, Renan Barao under the banner of Global Fight League later this year. After his defeat against former bantamweight champion, Petr Yan back in 2019, Faber took a retirement but GFL appears to have thrown a bigger bone to his side.

The two warriors have a storied history, with Barão emerging victorious in both of their previous UFC clashes. Their first encounter ended in a unanimous decision, but the rematch at UFC 169 saw Faber stopped in his tracks by a crushing knockout. Now, years removed from their championship battles, Faber has a chance to rewrite the script. With both legends looking to prove they still have fire left in them, their trilogy fight carries high stakes—legacy, redemption, and one last shot at glory. Well, now that we know about Faber’s comeback, let’s have a look at a last-man-standing tournament from Glory kickboxing.

GLORY announces insane 32-man fight night

Glory Kickboxing has done it again, but this time, they have broken all barriers by announcing a 32-man, one-night tournament to determine the last man standing. The first event will be live on Saturday, April 5th, it will feature 16 fights in one night and it will go down inside the Rotterdam Ahoy in the Netherlands.

The press release of that announcement released the names of some of the big shots of the kickboxing world, “This week, the field of heavyweights was finalised as the last remaining entrants were confirmed. Among the participants, former two-time heavyweight challenger Jamal Ben Saddik, former interim-champion Tariq ‘Cookie’ Osaro, new signing & top five in the world Rade Opacic, the wild & unpredictable Bahram Rajabzadeh, and fan favorite Nabil ‘The Tank’ Khachab.”

As the event is set to break records—and bones—one question remains: How much more exciting would it be if Alex Pereira were among the 32 fighters, right? Let’s move on to the last segment of the day.

Dana White’s new signee set to debut at UFC Seattle

Former UFC fighter, Paige Vanzant’s husband Austin Vanderford is all set to make a UFC debut after spending 13 years in MMA. He will be locking horns against Nikolay Veretennikov at the UFC Fight Night 252 event in Seattle. The two will clash in a 175-pound catchweight bout on the prelims at Climate Pledge Arena.

UFC is yet to make it official, however, sources close to both of the fighters, who chose to remain anonymous have confirmed that they will be fighting in Seattle. With injuries and cancellations shaking up the card, Vanderford and Veretennikov step in to keep the action alive. Veretennikov will be looking to bounce back from his recent loss, while on the other hand, Vanderford will be looking to win his debut.

Given that, what are your thoughts on the matchup? Will Austin Vanderford continue his winning streak or will Veretennikov finally stop him? State your thoughts in the comments below.