Why was Tony Kelley cut from the UFC?

According to a report by MMA Fighting, American mixed martial artist Tony Kelley has been cut from the UFC roster after his first knockout loss to Adrian Yanez at UFC Austin.

UFC officials reportedly confirmed the news to MMA Fighting that Tony Kelley's contract was up and the promotion was not looking forward to renewing it. 'PrimeTime' holds a record of 2-2 within the promotion.

The 35-year-old also recently gained notoriety for his controversial comments at UFC Vegas 54. While cornering Andrea Lee for her fight against Viviane Araujo, Tony Kelley made the following statement:

"That's what they are going to do, they are dirty fu**ing Brazilians. They are going to fu**ing cheat like that."

Watch Tony Kelley's controversial corner advice below:

Tony Kelly has a total of three knockout victories and two submission victories in his 8-3 overall pro-mixed martial arts record. Kelley's latest opponent Adrian Yanez is undefeated in the UFC and currently holds a six-fight winstreak with the promotion.

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Tony Kelley reacts to his Brazilian comments controversy

Tony Kelly's Brazilian comments while cornering Andrea Lee have put him in hot waters with the public as well as other fighters. However, even the public backlash didn't convince the fighter retract his comments.

Kelly in fact doubled down on his comments via a tweet saying:

"Cancel Culture is real. What I said was real and in the heat of battle, and in no way had any type of racist connotations meant…but if that’s the way you take it, I dgaf. So many people quick to say racist... that shits getting so old. My reference was to a dirty eye poke."

Check out the tweet below:

Many fellow fighters were also taken aback by the American's racist comments. A few fighters took to Twitter to express their disappointment with 'PrimTime's' behavior.

UFC welterweight and Brazilian national Gilbert Burns tweeted the following:

"I don’t like to talk bad about corners, not an easy job, but Lee corner need a lot study to do"

Bellator women's featherweight champion, Cris Cyborg also congratulated Andrea Lee's opponent Viviane Araujo for winning the fight and shutting up Kelly: