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Dana White says UFC is about to cut 60 fighters from it’s roster

UFC President Dana White recently made a statement in which he said that UFC is about to clear its roster and around 60 fighters including Yoel Romero will be cut off.

UFC president Dana White said after UFC Fight Night on Saturday that the company is likely going to cut 60 fighters by the end of 2020. While it’s not unusual for the UFC to cut fighters at the end of the year, 60 is a larger number than normal. White called the cuts “serious” and hinted that some well-known names could be involved.

White explains the reason for cutting off fighters

If you’re a UFC fighter lucky enough to be making six figures but unlucky enough to be on a losing skid, your job may be in jeopardy. That seems to be the message being sent by UFC president Dana White following UFC Vegas 16. When asked why terrifying middleweight stand-out and regular title fight participant Yoel Romero was cut by the company, White said it was just the beginning of a pretty deep cut into the roster that could see upwards of 60 fighters released.

“We’re gonna go through some serious cuts here at the end of the year,” White revealed. “Probably gonna have 60 cuts coming up before the first of the year. And Yoel has 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.”

“Nothing like that,” White said when asked if there was some sort of USADA violation or something else regarding Romero that played a part in the decision. “We’re just literally starting to go through the list and, you know, he’s 44, has lost four of his last five, and these are the tough decisions you’ve got to make.”

White’s comments came a day after the UFC surprisingly released Yoel Romero, a top-five middleweight contender. Romero challenged Israel Adesanya for the UFC middleweight title back in March, losing by unanimous decision. Despite that, White justified the decision by saying that Romero is 43 years old and has lost four of his last five fights.

Like every sports league, the UFC has been struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. While they were the first league to come back after the stoppage of all sports, the lack of crowds has cost them. White wouldn’t reveal the names of any other fighters who might be cut in the coming weeks.

Dana admitted earlier this year that his Contender Series events were going to lead to roster cuts elsewhere. Season four of the show saw 37 fighters signed between August and November of 2020. It probably doesn’t hurt that all these hot new prospects come in on standard DWCS contracts, which are pretty low even if you bump them up with consecutive wins. Sean O’Malley’s contract saw him go $10k/$10k, $22k/$22k, $35k/$35k, and $40k/$40k over his first four wins in the UFC.

“Yeah, no. It’s all a numbers game,” White said in August. “I mean, we have to give everybody three fights a year. So, you can only have so many people under contract. Yeah.”

Which other fighter do you guys think UFC will cut?

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