UFC Releases, Retirement & Suspended Fighters List for 2021-2022

ByMohit Raghuwanshi
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UFC has a ton of fighters contracted with them and it is natural that some of the underperforming fighters will be released from the contract from time to time, some might take retirement from MMA or get suspended due to some violations. Here, we are listing all the recent UFC releases, retirements, and suspended fighters list.

Releases & Retirement

Below is the list of fighters that have left UFC either due to being released by UFC, retirement from MMA career, or have joined some other promotions.

Released DateNameWeight DivisonNotes
30 January 2021Anthony Rocco Martin  WelterweightMoving to other promotion
16 January 2021Bethe Correia  Women’s BantamweightRetired
24 January 2021Nik Lentz  Featherweight Retired
08 January 2021Irwin Rivera  BantamweightReleased
20 January 2021Rhys McKee  Welterweight Released
18 February 2021Aleksandra Albu  Women’s Strawweight Released
17 February 2021Alex Chambers  Women’s Strawweight Released
17 February 2021Ali Alqaisi  Bantamweight Released
04 February 2021Anthony Ivy  Welterweight Released
04 February 2021Antônio Carlos Júnior  Middleweight Released
17 February 2021Bojan Mihajlović  Light Heavyweight Released
04 February 2021Carlton Minus  Lightweight Released
17 February 2021Chris de la Rocha  Heavyweight Released
04 February 2021Cole Williams  Welterweight Released
17 February 2021Dmitry Sosnovskiy  Heavyweight Released
10 February 2021Gökhan Saki  Light Heavyweight Released
04 February 2021Jacob Kilburn  Featherweight Released
04 February 2021Markus Perez  Middleweight Released
February 2021Martin Day  Bantamweight Released
04 February 2021Peter Barrett  Featherweight Released
04 February 2021Sarah Moras  Women’s Bantamweight Released
04 February 2021Spike Carlyle  Featherweight Released
17 February 2021Suman Mokhtarian  Featherweight Released
17 February 2021Syuri Kondo  Women’s StrawweightReleased
17 February 2021Vanessa Melo  Women’s BantamweightReleased
17 February 2021Vinicius Moreira  Light heavyweight Released
15 February 2021Stefan Struve  HeavyweightRetired
March 2021Adam Yandiev  MiddleweightReleased
04 March 2021Alistair Overeem  HeavyweightReleased
29 March 2021Brok Weaver  Lightweight Released
05 March 2021Gabriel Silva  Bantamweight Released
05 March 2021Geraldo de Freitas  Bantamweight Released
12 March 2021Jordan Espinosa  Flyweight Released
March 2021José Alberto Quiñónez  Bantamweight Released
04 March 2021Junior Dos Santos  HeavyweightReleased
12 March 2021Shana Dobson  Women’s Flyweight Released
29 March 2021Vince Cachero  Bantamweight Released
09 March 2021Megan Anderson  Women’s Featherweight Contract ended in March 
11 April 2021Jimmy Flick  Flyweight Retired
30 April 2021Diego Sanchez  Welterweight Released
April 2021Justine Kish  Women’s Flyweight Released
April 2021Ray Rodriguez  Bantamweight Released
30 April 2021Yorgan De Castro  Heavyweight Released
24 April 2021Tyron Woodley  Welterweight Contract ended in April 
08 May 2021Aalon Cruz  LightweightReleased
08 May 2021Anthony Birchak  BantamweightReleased
08 May 2021Bartosz Fabiński  MiddleweightReleased  
13 May 2021Dan Hardy  Welterweight  Released
08 May 2021KB Bhullar  MiddleweightReleased
08 May 2021Luke Sanders  BantamweightReleased
08 May 2021Jordan Griffin  FeatherweightReleased
20 May 2021Ronaldo Souza  Middleweight Released
11 May 2021Maurice Greene  HeavyweightReleased
11 May 2021Alan Jouban  Welterweight Retired
23 May 2021Paul Felder  Lightweight Retired
17 June 2021Emil Weber MeekWelterweightReleased
17 June 2021Alexander YakovlevLightweightReleased
29 June 2021Roque MartinezHeavyweightReleased
July 1, 2021Stefan SekulićWelterweightReleased
July 2, 2021Lara ProcópioWomen’s FlyweightReleased
July 2, 2021Joe EllenbergerLightweightReleased
July 2, 2021Raphael PessoaHeavyweightReleased
July 13, 2021Mirsad BektićFeatherweightReleased
July 15, 2021Omari AkhmedovMiddleweightReleased
July 17, 2021Marion ReneauWomen’s BantamweightReleased
August 3, 2021Nicco MontanaWomen’s FlyweightReleased (More Details)
August 10, 2021Ronaldo SouzaMiddleweightRetired
August 12, 2021Kai Kamaka IIIFeatherweightReleased
August 17, 2021Yancy MedeirosWelterweightReleased
August 21, 2021Ryan BenoitFlyweightReleased
August 21, 2021 Yancy MedeirosWelterweightReleased
August 21, 2021 Justin JaynesFeatherweightReleased
August 21, 2021 Jerome RiveraBantamweightReleased
August 23, 2021 Demian MaiaWelterweightEnd Of Contract
August 31, 2021Darren StewartMiddleweight Released
September 16, 2021Carlos ConditWelterweightRetired
September 16, 2021 Luke SandersBantamweightRetired
September 16, 2021Joseph BenavidezFlyweightRetired
September 17, 2021Roosevelt RobertsBantamweight Released
September 17, 2021 Anderson dos SantosBantamweight Released
September 17, 2021 Drako RodriguezBantamweight Released
September 17, 2021 Jamey SimmonsBantamweight Released
October 2021Thomas AlmeidaBantamweightReleased
October 2021 Sarah AlparWomen’s Flyweight Released
October 2021 Mike RodriguezLight HeavyweightReleased
October 2021 Antonio Arroyo MiddleweightReleased
October 2021Johnny EduardoBantamweight Released
October 02, 2021Bethe CorreiaBantamweightRetired
October 2021Thomas Almeida Bantamweight Released
October 13, 2021Luis Peña LightweightReleased
October 2021 Modestas BukauskasLight Heavyweight Released
November 2021 Laureano Staropoli WelterweightReleased
November 2021 Randa MarkosWomen’s StrawweightReleased
November 2021 Gian VillanteHeavyweightRetired
November 2021 Teemu PackalénLightweightRetired
November 2021Andrew SanchezMiddleweightReleased
November 2021Livinha SouzaWomen’s StrawweightReleased
November 2021Khama WorthyLightweight Released
November 2021John AllanLight HeavyweightReleased
November 2021Bharat KhandareFeatherweightReleased
November 2021Liana JojuaWomen’s FlyweightReleased
30 November 2021Kevin LeeWelterweight Released
02 December 2021Felicia SpencerWomen’s FeatherweightRetired
02 December 2021 Impa KasanganayWelterweightReleased
17 December 2021Claudia GadelhaWomen’s StrawweightRetired
23 December 2021Michel PrazeresWelterweightRetired
January 2022Matt Sayles LightweightReleased
January 2022 Maki PitoloMiddleweightReleased
January 2022 Jared GoodenWelterweightReleased

Suspended

Below is the list of UFC fighters who have been suspended:

  • By USADA or WADA for using banned substances
  • By other Authorities for behavioral issues
  • By UFC for either doping or behavioral issues
DateNAMEWeight DivisionSuspended ByDurationNotes
Jul 22, 2020Jesse RonsonWelterweightUSADA20 MonthsMetandienone
Aug 5, 2020Jorge GonzalezLight HeavyweightUSADA2 YearsStanozolol metabolites, drostanolone metabolite and tamoxifen metabolite.
Sep 25, 2020Oskar PiechotaMiddleweightUSADA22 Months Growth hormone-releasing peptide 2 (GHRP-2 or pralmorelin) and GHRP-2 (1-3) free acid, a metabolite of GHRP-2,
Feb 9, 2021Raphael PessoaHeavyweight7-Keto-DHEA and AOD-9064 Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) and its metabolites Chlorothiazide and 4-amino-6-chloro-1,3-benzenedisulfonamide (ACB)2 YearsFailed Dope Test in samples collected from out-of-competition on February 9, 2021, February 15, 2021, February 16, 2021, and March 4, 2021.
Oct 20, 2021Kevin LeeWelterweightNSACTemporarily Suspendedpositive drug test for amphetamine stemming
August 30, 2021Liliya ShakirovaWomen’s FlyweightUSADA2 YearsMeldonium
Oct 14, 2021Geraldo de Freitas suspendedWelterweightUSADA2 Yearsdoping policy violation
Oct 23, 2021Zviad LazishviliBantamweightNSAC9 Night Months–
Dec 13, 2021 Lukasz BrzeskiBantamweightNSAC9 Months –
Dec 13, 2021 Muin Gafurov–NSAC6 Months–
Dec 23, 2021Michel PrazeresWelterweightUSADA4 Years second doping violation

2 Comments

    1. Kevin Lee was released on November 2021. Before that, he tested positive for banned stimulants and suspended for 6 months. He is both suspended list and released list.

      Reply

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