UFC Cuts 2020: All the fighters who were cut from the promotion

The UFC recently released former Middleweight title contender Yoel Romero after the fighter spent seven years with the company.

Yoel Romero's UFC run has come to an unexpected end.Romero and the promotion have parted ways, multiple sources told ESPN. Romero's manager Malki Kawa also confirmed he is no longer under contract with the UFC.According to sources, Romero had three fights left on his deal.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) December 5, 2020

UFC president Dana White addressed the matter at UFC Vegas 16 press conference, and clarified that the release of Yoel Romero was not a one-off incident.

The promotion plans on releasing as many as 60 fighters by the end of the year, Dana White said. He cited an 'inflated roster' to be the reason behind the decision.

“It’s not just Yoel. We’re going to go through some serious cuts here at the end of the year. We’re probably going to have 60 cuts before the first of the year. Yoel has lost four of his last five. He’s 44 years old. Our roster is very inflated right now. We’re going to have some big cuts coming before the end of the year. You’re going to see a lot of names going here in the next several weeks. … These are the tough decisions you have to make.”

Dana says they are probably going to cut 60 fighters by the end of the year.#UFC pic.twitter.com/nhyduiqm1A

— Jed I. Goodman (@jedigoodman) December 6, 2020

Cutting down on the roster is not an alien thing for the UFC to do, but this year has been different. More than 70 fighters have already been released in 2020, and per Dana White's comments, 60 more are to come.

After Yoel Romero, Rachael Ostovich, Cole Smith, Collin Huckbody, Mark De La Rosa, Gadzhimurad Antigulov, Saparbek Safarov, and Luiz Eduardo Garagorri have also been released by UFC.

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Fighters the UFC released in 2020

1. Anderson Silva - Released in November
2. Austin Springer - Released in September
3. Ben Saunders - Released in January
4. Ben Sosoli - Released in October
5. Bevon Lewis- Released in November
6. Brad Katona - Released in February
7. Brandon Davis - Released in January
8. Callan Potter - Released in August
9. Carlos Huachin - Released in January
10. Charles Byrd - Retired in June
11. Cole Smith - Released in December
12. Corey Anderson - Released by UFC and Signed with Bellator MMA in August
13. Cyril Asker - Released in March
14. Daniel Spitz - Released in January
15. Darko Stošić - Released in January
16. Desmond Green - Released in January
17. Dong Hyun Ma - Released in March
18. Duda Santana - Released in September
19. Evan Dunham - Released in August
20. Gadzhimurad Antigulov - Released in December
21. Gina Mazany - Released in January
22. Grigory Popov - Released in January
23. Hector Aldana - Released in January
24. Henry Cejudo - Retired in May
25. Isabella de Pádua - Released in March
26. James Vick - Released in October
27. Jeff Hughes - Released in October
28. Jin Soon Son - Released in January
29. Jodie Esquibel - Released in March
30. John Dodson - Released in September
31. John Gunther - Released in July
32. John Phillips - Released in November
33. Juan Adams - Released in January
34. Júnior Albini - Released in January
35. Jussier Formiga - Released in November
36. Justin Ledet - Released in November
37. Kalindra Faria - Released in February
38. Khadis Ibragimov - Released in October
39. Khalid Murtazaliev - Released in March
40. Kyle Bochniak - Released in January
41. Kyle Prepolec - Released in March
42. Lucie Pudilová - Released in January
43. Luiz Eduardo Garagorri - Released in December
44. Luke Jumeau - Released in January
45. Iuri Alcântara - Released in October
46. Mara Romero Borella - Released in October
47. Marcos Rosa Mariano - Released in March
48. Martin Bravo - Released in January
49. Mark De La Rosa - Released in December
50. Matt Wiman - Released in December
51. Matthew Lopez - Released in March
52. Max Rohskopf - Released in August
53. Nad Narimani - Released in August
54. Nathan Coy - Released in February
55. Oskar Piechota - Released in June
56. Paige VanZant - Released by UFC and Signed with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship in August
57. Polo Reyes - Released in January
58. Ray Borg - Released in August
59. Rachael Ostovich - Released in December
60. Ricardo Lamas - Retired in September
61. Roman Bogatov - Released in August
62. Rustam Khabilov - Released by UFC and Signed with Bellator MMA in October
63. Salim Touahri - Released in January
64. Saparbek Safarov - Released in December
65. Talita Bernardo - Released in March
66. Thiago Alves - Released in January
67. Tonya Evinger - Released in March
68. Wuliji Buren - Released in January
69. Yaozong Hu - Released in March
70. Yoel Romero - Released in December
71. Zelim Imadaev - Released in October

There were a few others who refused to re-sign with UFC such as Ismail Naurdiev and veteran Fabricio Werdum, and some others who chose to retire this year. But other than them, the list of people the UFC let go is quite long.

On their official website, the UFC lists a total of 724 active fighters (117 women and 607 men).