The UFC has reportedly released 13 fighters from its roster including fan-favorite Ben Saunders and former Ultimate Fighter winner Brad Katona.
Zane Simon of Bloody Elbow reported that the following 13 fighters have been released from the promotion. Note that not all the releases have been confirmed by the fighters or the the promotion yet, but some have already been confirmed by reporters or the fighters themselves.
After some updates, looks likely (but not certain) the following fighters are no longer in the UFC:
Daniel Spitz
Darko Stosic
Hector Aldana
Luke Jumeau
Ben Saunders 🙁
Salim Touahri
Martin Bravo
Brandon Davis
Polo Reyes
Carlos Huachin
Brad Katona
Grigory Popov
Lucie Pudilova— Zane Simon (@TheZaneSimon) February 11, 2020
Here is more information on the fighters who were released.
Ben Saunders (9-10 UFC)
Saunders is by far the biggest name on this list to receive his walking papers. This was actually the third stint for Saunders in the Octagon. During his latest run in the Octagon, he went just 2-6 with wins over Jake Ellenberger and Court McGee, but with six stoppage losses to Matt Brown, Takashi Sato, Lyman Good, Sergio Moraes, Alan Jouban and Peter Sobotta.
Polo Reyes (4-4 UFC)
Reyes went 4-4 overall in the UFC but he ended his run with a three-fight losing streak, including knockout losses to Kyle Nelson, Drew Dober and Damir Hadzovic.
Luke Jumeau (2-2 UFC)
Jumeau dropped a decision to Dhiego Lima in his last fight but considering he didn’t have a losing skid of more than one fight, so his release is somewhat surprising.
Brad Katona (2-2 UFC)
Katona won TUF 27 but overall had a 2-2 record in the Octagon, and lost his last two fights to Hunter Azure and Merab Dvalishvili. TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter confirmed Katona’s release. There’s already been speculation on social media that Bellator could sign him.
Brandon Davis (2-5 UFC)
Davis had wins over Steven Peterson and Randy Costa but consecutive split decision losses to Giga Chikadze and Kyung-Ho Kang spelled the end of his time with the MMA leader. Davis confirmed on his Twitter he was cut.
Lucie Pudilova (2-5 UFC)
Pudilova started her Octagon run 2-1 with wins over Sarah Moras and Ji Yeon Kim but lost her last four fights to Justine Kish, Antonina Shevchenko, Liz Carmouche, and Irene Aldana. It’s worth noting two of those losses were “Fight of the Night” performances.
Martin Bravo (1-3 UFC)
Bravo won his promotional debut over Claudio Puelles but proceeded to drop three straight fights to Humberto Bandenay, Alex Caceres and Steven Peterson.
Daniel Spitz (1-3 UFC)
Spitz lost his last two fights to Tanner Boser and Walt Harris and his only win in the promotion was over Anthony Hamilton in 2017.
Darko Stosic (1-3 UFC)
Stosic defeated Jeremy Kimball in his Octagon debut but then lost three straight fights to Jamahal Hill, Kennedy Nzechukwu and Devin Clark.
Carlos Huachin (0-2 UFC)
Huachin lost to Raoni Barcelos and Jose Quinonez in his only bouts in the Octagon.
Grigory Popov (0-2 UFC)
Popov went 0-2 in the Octagon with back-to-back losses to Davey Grant and Eddie Wineland.
Hector Aldana (0-3 UFC)
Aldana lost all three of his UFC fights to Miguel Baeza, Laureano Staropoli and Kenan Song.
Salim Touahri (0-3 UFC)
Touahri lost all three of his fights in the promotion, to Mickey Gall, Keita Nakamura, and Warlley Alves.
What do you think about the UFC cutting these 13 fighters including Ben Saunders and Brad Katona?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 2/11/2020.