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There’s no doubt that the UFC is the world’s biggest MMA organization, and it stands to reason that the world’s best fighters always do their best to flock towards the octagon. That’s why it’s so surprising when a fighter leaves off their own back.
Over the years, we have seen a number of top-level fighters who were expected to renew their deal with the UFC, only to abandon ship for another promotion.
Most of the time, their decisions were related to their pay packets, but other times, it’s come down to other factors too.
Here are five UFC fighters who surprisingly abandoned ship for a rival promotion.
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#5. Shane Burgos – former UFC featherweight contender
The most recent fighter to abandon the UFC for pastures new is featherweight contender Shane Burgos, who announced this week that he’s jumping ship to the PFL after fighting out his previous contract in July.
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The move seems like a curious one for Burgos, who debuted in the octagon back in 2016, and put together an impressive record of 8-3 during his time with the promotion.
Literally two weeks ago, ‘Hurricane’ stated that he’d love to stay in the promotion and that he loved being a UFC fighter – although he did claim in the same interview that it’d be negligent of him not to test the waters with offers from rival promotions.
More importantly, UFC President Dana White also seemed intent on re-signing Burgos, labeling him a “savage” and “the kind of guy that people love to see fight”.
However, after announcing his move to PFL, ‘Hurricane’ revealed that he was offered a figure by them that was over six figures more than his offer from the UFC. In this case, it seems that money has been talked about for Burgos – and when you consider the way he fights, it’s a decision that probably makes sense.
#4. Benson Henderson – former UFC lightweight champion
After he arrived in the UFC from the WEC in early 2011, it didn’t take Benson Henderson long to make his mark. He quickly reeled off three wins, taking out top contenders Jim Miller and Clay Guida to set himself up for a lightweight title shot – and then unseated Frankie Edgar to claim the gold.
‘Smooth’ kept hold of his title for just over a year before losing it to Anthony Pettis, but was still positioned as a big star and a viable headliner for the promotion. He starred in major shows on Fox and Fox Sports 1 in 2014 and 2015, headlining in wins over the likes of Josh Thomson and Brandon Thatch.
However, while the news was kept very quiet at first, after Henderson edged out Jorge Masvidal in the main event of the promotion’s first ever show in South Korea, he decided to leave his gloves inside the octagon.
Initially, some fans believed he’d announced his retirement – but instead, a few weeks later, it was revealed that his fight with ‘Gamebred’ was the final one on his contract before he hit free agency.
Based on his position as a headliner, it seemed like a no-brainer that he’d be offered a new deal – but instead, in February 2016, it was announced that he’d jumped ship to Bellator MMA instead.
Fans of ‘Smooth’ were stunned, but the move appeared to make sense when he revealed that he’d been tempted to jump because of the offer of an instant title shot – and also because he’d be allowed to use his own sponsors again, after reportedly making just $15k from Reebok for his final bout in the octagon.
Unfortunately for Henderson, if the move paid off financially, it didn’t in terms of in-cage success. He has yet to claim gold in Bellator, and his record in the promotion stands at just 6-6.
#3. Gegard Mousasi – former UFC middleweight contender
Another UFC star who made the jump to Bellator MMA after hitting free agency was Gegard Mousasi. The former PRIDE and DREAM fighter was on the best run of his tenure in the octagon at the time he left, making his decision even more surprising.
Mousasi entered the UFC after the StrikeForce roster was introduced to the promotion in early 2013, and while losses to Lyoto Machida and Jacare Souza kept him out of instant middleweight title contention, by 2016 he’d begun to climb the ladder again.
Beginning with a win over Thales Leites, Mousasi reeled off five wins in a row, including stoppages of Vitor Belfort and Chris Weidman, two former champions. The latter win in particular was a big one, as it seemed to set the Iranian fighter up for a potential middleweight title shot.
However, the fight also saw the end of his deal with the promotion, and despite suggesting initially that he wanted to re-sign with them, Mousasi stated that he wasn’t happy with their offer – and months later, announced that he’d signed for Bellator instead.
Fascinatingly, some more light was shed on this decision earlier this year. An interview saw Mousasi describe his dealings with Dana White and company as “brutal”, claiming that the promotion could be “very hard in negotiations” – likely explaining why he jumped ship.
#2. Dan Henderson – former UFC middleweight contender
One of the most curious incidents of a UFC fighter jumping ship to a rival promotion took place in 2009 and saw top middleweight contender Dan Henderson leave for StrikeForce – despite his next fight seemingly being announced beforehand.
At the time, ‘Hendo’ was coming off the biggest win of his octagon career, as he’d knocked out bitter rival Michael Bisping in truly vicious fashion, accelerating his popularity with US crowds to a new level entirely.
However, it turned out that the Bisping fight was the final one on Henderson’s contract, and immediately, rumours began to swirl that he’d be jumping ship to StrikeForce, with multiple media outlets reporting the move just weeks after the bout.
Strangely, though, it seemed like Dana White and company didn’t know too much about it, as news was swiftly announced that UFC 103, which was booked for that September, would feature a headline bout between ‘Hendo’ and Rich Franklin.
The whole situation felt bizarre, especially as it was then claimed that Henderson had never accepted the fight despite it being officially announced by the promotion. Sure enough, just eleven days after announcing the fight, plans changed, and Henderson was out, with Vitor Belfort stepping in.
Henderson’s move to StrikeForce was finally confirmed in December – despite Dana White himself stating that the deal was done over a month beforehand.
Later, Henderson explained some of his reasoning for the move – claiming it had a lot to do with “less red tape” and not having to worry about White’s approval for everything.
#1. BJ Penn – former UFC lightweight champion
The most controversial example of a UFC fighter suddenly abandoning the promotion under surprising circumstances remains BJ Penn’s departure in 2004.
Not only did ‘The Prodigy’ stun everyone with his decision, but he also inadvertently triggered a major change in the way the promotion would do business going forward.
The Hawaiian had just one bout left on his deal with the promotion when he was offered a shot at welterweight champion Matt Hughes, with the idea clearly being that if he won, he’d ink a new deal immediately, and if he lost, it wasn’t a big deal that he was no longer contracted.
No one expected Penn to defeat Hughes, who had reeled off five successful title defenses – but in a major upset, ‘The Prodigy’ stunned the champion with a right hand, took him down and choked him out in the first round.
However, when it came to money, it turned out that despite holding a title, the UFC – who were in a poor financial state at the time – couldn’t offer the Hawaiian the biggest deal.
Instead, according to Penn himself, Japanese promotion K-1 offered him five times the amount that he’d been promised were he to stay in the octagon.
Unsurprisingly, Penn took the offer, meaning that he was forced to immediately give up his newly-won title. According to ‘The Prodigy’, the situation infuriated Dana White, who threatened the Hawaiian over the phone, telling him he’d be erased from the promotion’s history thanks to his decision.
Penn would eventually return to the fold just under two years later, but by that point, things had changed entirely.
Due to the situation, the promotion changed its contracts heavily – largely making all of their fighters ink exclusive deals, and adding the controversial ‘champion’s clause’ to the deals of their titleholders – ensuring none of them could do what Penn did and simply walk away from the promotion for more money.
