The UFC and Dana White continue to purge fighters from their roster as if their lives depend on it. Following Colby Covington’s sudden and shocking retirement and a wave of recent cuts, the promotion has now released a top-15-ranked bantamweight, along with three other fighters.
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No. 5-ranked women’s bantamweight Ketlen Vieira has been released from the promotion. It feels especially shocking because she won her last bout against Jacqueline Cavalcanti on May 16. The 34-year-old spent almost a decade in the promotion, racking up a record of 16-5.
‘Fenomeno’ bounced back and forth between wins and losses in her last six outings, losing to Raquel Pennington, champion Kayla Harrison, and Norma Dumont. Prior to those, however, Vieira secured big wins over Sara McMann, Cat Zingano, Miesha Tate, and Holly Holm.
🚨ROSTER UPDATE🚨 Ketlen Vieira Has Been Removed From The UFC Roster Despite Winning At #UFCVegas117
She, however, wasn’t alone. Croatian light heavyweight Ivan Erslan has also been shown the door. Ironically, his exit came right after he secured his first win in the promotion. Having made his debut back in September 2024, Erslan dropped three back-to-back losses.
On May 17, Erslan secured his first win in the promotion by beating Tuco Tokkos. And it seems like the UFC wasn’t too big a fan of the fight itself because Tokkos has also been asked to leave. Much like his last opponent, Tokkos has a 1-3 record in the UFC.
After joining the UFC in May 2024, he suffered back-to-back defeats before bouncing back with a submission win over Junior Tafa in July last year. His most recent setback, of course, came against Bogdan Grad. A similar trajectory followed for Spain’s Daniel Barez, who has also been released by the promotion.
Barez signed with the UFC in July 2023 and compiled a 1-3 record during his stint with the organization. His lone victory came against Victor Altamirano in September 2024, but he was unable to build momentum afterward. His final appearance in the Octagon came against Luis Gurule on May 17.
But these aren’t the only names to have left the UFC roster recently.
UFC and Dana White have become merciless
A couple of years ago, Bueno Silva was standing across from Raquel Pennington in a bantamweight title fight. It was clearly a big moment for her, as she could have become a champion for the first time in the promotion. However, as fate would have it, she lost the fight via decision.
Since then, the Brazilian has spiraled downward, failing to secure a single win in her last six outings, leading to her exit from UFC. Meanwhile, lightweight Brad Riddell has also been hit with the wave of firings. The New Zealander initially had a great run in the UFC, winning his first four fights.
However, he has since dropped losses to Rafael Fiziev, Jalin Turner, and Renato Moicano. The UFC hadn’t fired him at this point. In fact, he was supposed to make a comeback after over a year on the sidelines in March 2024 against Thiago Moises. But he withdrew from the bout.
From the looks of things, Dana White might be quick to hand UFC contracts to fighters, but the brutal reality is that if you can’t stay competitive or entertaining, it won’t last long.
