UFC Parts Ways With Two Major Heavyweight Stars
The UFC is no longer in business with two major heavyweight names.
Oftentimes, TSN will update the official UFC rankings before the promotion does for its own website. It’s always accurate so when fight fans realized Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem were no longer in the heavyweight rankings, it caused confusion. As it turns out, neither competition is a part of the UFC roster anymore.
MMAJunkie.com has confirmed the promotional departures of dos Santos and Overeem. Here is a statement from dos Santos.
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“Thanks, UFC for a great 12 years! I fought through MMA’s Murderer’s Row to get my shot at the belt. Holding and defending it was one of the great honors of my life. Thanks to every opponent, thanks to every fan and every critic. I’m going to spend some time back at the drawing board, but I’m excited to move on.”
Back in October 2008, dos Santos made his UFC debut. He went 7-0 under the UFC banner before knocking out Cain Velasquez to become the UFC Heavyweight Champion. For over 12 years, dos Santos competed as a UFC fighter. “Cigano” went 15-8 under the UFC banner. In his last outing, dos Santos suffered a TKO loss to Ciryl Gane. It was his fourth straight defeat.
Overeem had been with the UFC since December 2011. “The Reem” did compete for UFC gold but he couldn’t obtain the title. His record under the UFC banner was 12-8. Overeem’s last bout ended in a TKO defeat to Alexander Volkov. This snapped Overeem’s two-fight winning streak.