Dana White claims UFC roster cuts have “nothing to do with fighter pay”

UFC president Dana White revealed that the upcoming roster cuts have “nothing to do with fighter pay”. Last week, UFC released Yoel Romero, despite the ‘Soldier of God’ having three fights left in his contract. Though the Cuban wrestler is 43 years old and has lost four of his last five fights, he was still ranked in the top-five of the middleweight division.

While addressing Yoel Romero at the UFC Vegas 16 post-fight press conference, Dana White shocked everyone by saying that the mega MMA promotion will cut up to 60 fighters from its active roster by the end of this year. That has led fans to speculate on the UFC’s motivation to cut all of these 60 fighters. Though many believe that money is the reason behind these drastic measures, Dana White claims that it’s just a number game.

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UFC roster cuts: Why UFC is releasing 60 fighters?

MMAjunkie recently quoted a UFC official saying that the promotion has around 650 fighters on its roster currently and Dana White & co. want to get the number down to 600. That means that the UFC president would have to make some major decisions in the coming days. While talking to the press (via BJPenn), Dana White revealed that the reason behind these major cuts is to free up space on the roster from other fighters, mainly TUF alum, DWCS contract winners and free agents.

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UFC finances: Dana White on UFC roster cuts

Dana White made it clear that money has nothing to do with recent releases. He just wants to get the current roster down to its original number, 600. The UFC supremo said that the promotion didn’t release fighters earlier because of the pandemic and humoured everyone’s contract. “We’ve been making these same moves every weekend for 20 years. We haven’t in the past few months. It has nothing to do with fighter pay or anything else. It just hasn’t been done in a few months during the pandemic,” he added.

With UFC looking to release around 60 fighters, anyone who’s currently on a losing streak is at risk of being cut. Two days ago, the promotion released former TUF competitor Rachael Ostovich and recently, they fired veteran lightweight Matt Wiman.

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Skip to 6:12 to see Dana White talk about upcoming cuts

Also Read l Dana White reveals why UFC released Yoel Romero, talks about more cuts by the end of year

Image Source: AP