UFC Cuts Promising Young Fighter, Fans Sound Off

Not all UFC roster cuts carry the same, this-could-be-the-end vibes.

The UFC recently dropped a slew of fighters from their roster and the release of Felipe dos Santos, a promising 24-year-old Brazilian flyweight caused a stir amongst educated MMA fans.

Dos Santos had shown flashes of real promise. In his UFC debut, he stepped in on short notice against top flyweight contender Manel Kape at UFC 293 in Sydney.

UFC Roster Tracker posted the update.

One fan commented on the post: “Terrible decision fr he was exciting.”

Another simply called the decision “unfair.” A third wrote: “Look at the peoples who’s just been added. And they’ve removed FDS, shocking.” A fourth called out dos Santos performance against Kape: “watched his fight live in Sydney against Kape, kid is too good to be cut, real potential.”

That fight turned into a wild back-and-forth war, earning both men Fight of the Night honors. Despite losing by unanimous decision, dos Santos gained plenty of respect for the performance. He followed it up with a split-decision win over Victor Altamirano in February, then lost back-to-back decisions to Andre Lima and Lone’er Kavanagh.

The decision to part ways with dos Santos feels a little quick considering he shined in a Fight-of-the-Night loss during his UFC debut against top contender, Manel Kape in September 2023. He bounced back with a split-decision win over Victor Altamirano in February 2024.

Unfortunately, he dropped his next two–both by unanimous decision–to Andre Lima in September 2024 and Kavanagh in March.

While the decision to part ways with dos Santos might have been a little quick, I understand the potential thought process. He is just 24 years old and rather than have him potentially piling up close losses against fighters who are more ready, the thought could be to let him go back to fighting with LFA or other regional promotions to get more experience.

The UFC seems to think highly of dos Santos as he had two canceled fights set for DWCS in 2023 before he got the call for a late-notice opportunity to face Kape. This release feels like a temporary separation. If dos Santos wins once or twice elsewhere, I’d imagine he’d get another chance to prove himself in the Octagon.

According to Tapology, dos Santos doesn’t have a fight scheduled with another promotion. But it wouldn’t surprise me if news is forthcoming. The UFC also parted ways with Ange Loosa, Matt Brown (officially), Jordan Vucenic, Viviane Araujo and Trevin Giles.

What ‘s Next For the UFC?

MMA’s No. 1 promotion is in Nashville on July 12 with a heavyweight headliner that could produce the division’s next star. Undefeated 25-year-old Brazilian heavyweight, Tallison Teixeira gets the biggest test of his eight-fight career.

The No-13-ranked finishing machine clashes with No. 9 Derrick Lewis. If Teixeira wins, he’ll land in the top 10 and could be just two wins away from a title shot. If he loses, it could be a massive setback in his career. In either case, most are expecting the fight to end in a finish. Here is a look at the entire card and viewing information.

Main Card (ESPN / ESPN+ – 9:00 PM ET)

• Derrick Lewis vs. Tallison Teixeira – Heavyweight
• Stephen Thompson vs. Gabriel Bonfim – Welterweight
• Calvin Kattar vs. Steve Garcia – Featherweight
• Nate Landwehr vs. Morgan Charrière – Featherweight
• Vitor Petrino vs. Austen Lane – Heavyweight
• Junior Tafa vs. Tuco Tokkos – Light Heavyweight

Preliminary Card (ESPN / ESPN+ – 6:00 PM ET)

• Max Griffin vs. Chris Curtis – Welterweight
• Jake Matthews vs. Chidi Njokuani – Welterweight
• Lauren Murphy vs. Eduarda Moura – Women’s Flyweight
• Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Valter Walker – Heavyweight
• Mitch Ramirez vs. Mike Davis – Lightweight
• Fatima Kline vs. Melissa Martinez – Women’s Strawweight