By Cassandra Cousineau for LVSportsBiz.com
Like other industries, sports have had to cut workers, from media companies letting go of staffers to major league teams cutting loose office workers.
Even Las Vegas-based UFC trims its roster of MMA cage fighters.
UFC surprisingly announced it was parting ways with middleweight Yoel Romero. Even though Romero (13-5-0) was on a three-fight losing skid, the Brazilian was one of the more well-known fighters signed to the promotion, based off the 215 in the southwest valley. Romero’s losses also came in title fights.
And it turned out, Romero was just the start of a purge of 60 UFC fighters by the end of the year.
UFC President Dana White put it this way, “It’s not just Yoel. We’re gonna go through some serious cuts here at the end of the year. Probably gonna have 60 cuts here coming up before the first of the year.”
It’s worth noting UFC signed 37 fighters off of this summer’s Season 4 of Dana White’s Contender Series, which the YUFC boss uses to recruit new talent to the IFC roster. But keep in mind those fighters come at a much lower standard contract rate than veterans currently on the roster. For example, Edmen Shahbazyan, 23, who earned a contract on DWCS season two, and originally signed for $13,000 per fight with a $13,000 bonus for a win. His stock quickly rose after three impressive wins.
Retired UFC star Ronda Rousey managed Shahbazyan’s most recent stint in the cage that earned him $60,000 for the fight, and another $60,000 for the win. Shahbazyan was defeated by Derek Brunson and wasn’t eligible for the full bonus.
Despite have cancel a handful of shows early on because of the COVID-19 pandemic, UFC has staged events just about every week since May 9, using its new APEX facility next to the promotion’s headquarters and also holding events in the Middle East.
The current number one welterweight contender Gilbert Burns responded to White’s announcement on Twitter.
Although 60 fighters is a steep number, it’s not unusual for UFC to trim the roster at the end of the year. UFC currently has hundreds of fighters representing 71 countries. “Yoel lost four of his last five. He’s 44-years-old. Our roster is very inflated right now. So, we’re gonna have some big cuts coming before the end of the year. You’re gonna see a lot of names going here in the next several weeks,” White said.