On Tuesday, automated service UFC Roster Watch noted the removal of multiple fighters from the promotion’s athlete database. Among them, longtime Canadian standout John Makdessi, who recently dropped a decision many saw as a robbery.

The full list of fighters let go (which could include releases or contracts simply not renewed) to date is as follows:

• JP Buys
• Carl Deaton
• Andre Fialho
• AJ Fletcher
• Kamuela Kirk
• Tucker Lutz
• John Makdessi
• Shane Young

Additionally, both Hannah Goldy and Jake Collier were removed from the roster earlier this month.

Buys confirmed his exit from the promotion on social media, writing a brief message on his Instagram Story. “Thank you and so long UFC. It’s never been easy for me but at the time I gave it all I had.”

Carl Deaton also confirmed his removal from the roster, thanking fans and adding “I’m in a new ring.” There’s no confirmation as to where Deaton has landed just yet.

Makdessi’s name, however, is likely the one that will take most fans by surprise. “The Bull” joined the promotion in 2010 and posted an 11-9 record through twenty fights with the company. Most recently, he was on the wrong end of a unanimous decision at UFC 293 in Sydney against Jamie Mullarkey — and made headlines after he revealed how much he had lost to taxes while fighting abroad in Australia.

Andre Fialho being out, meanwhile, doesn’t quite come as a shock having lost four straight. But as a sure-fire entertainer coming off a Fight of the Night bonus-winning effort, it’s still somewhat surprising to see him shown the door, even after the four-pack of setbacks. In seven fights with the promotion, Fialho bagged three post-fight bonuses.

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While the highly anticipated lightweight showdown between Rafael Fiziev and Mateusz Gamrot had a great start on Saturday, Fiziev appeared to blow out his knee off a kick in the second round, bringing about a premature end to his night, and the fight.

As a result, Gamrot picked up an injury TKO win, but was out of the running for a bonus. Instead, Fight of the Night honors went to welterweights Tim Means and Andre Fialho, who put on a thriller on the preliminary card.

Both fighters started the night on three-fight skids, and there’s a possibility that even off a bonus, this could be the last time Fialho fights in the UFC. Then again, he’s an action-fighter, and the promotion would be wise to give him another go.

Main card players Charles Jourdain and Marina Rodriguez picked up Performance of the Night bonuses at UFC Vegas 79, meanwhile. “Air” Jourdain, best known as a striker, proved to be no slouch on the ground after submitting Brazil’s Ricardo Ramos with a guillotine choke in the opening round. The win puts Canada’s Jourdain on a modest two-fight win streak in a loaded featherweight division.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, battered a game and gutsy Michelle Waterson-Gomez before finally putting “The Karate Hottie” away via TKO in the second round of their strawweight fight.

All four bonus-winning fighters walk away from UFC Vegas 79 with an extra $50,000 for their efforts, beyond their purse, outfitting pay etc.

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This fight was must-win for both fighters. After a fast start to his UFC career in 2022, Portugal’s Fialho found himself on a three-fight skid against “The Dirty Bird,” who needed to avoid his own crash landing after dropping his last three bouts.

The fight opened with both fighters finding their range for a couple of seconds before Fialho attempted a takedown. Means shut it down and the two returned to standing. Fialho pressured Means to the cage, but in a flurry of action, Means kneed Fialho in the face and took him to the ground where he repeatedly struck the Portuguese fighter. Fialho quickly recovered guard, but Means stayed dominant until the two scrambled back to standing where Fialho pressured Means back to the cage. After a brief scrap with good counters from Fialho, the two fighters ended round one in the middle of the octagon.

Round two, Fialho did not want to engage right away, unlike round one. After a slick backhand and teep kick from Means, Fialho was backed up to the cage. His back to the cage, Fialho let his “dog” out, and let his fists fly, hurting Means. The veteran shot for a single-leg, but Fialho stuffed it, still attacking the veteran. Means recovered and reversed the position, using his knees and elbows to his advantage with Fialho stuck to the back of the cage. They broke and returned to the middle, trading different punches and kicks before Means pushed Fialho back with his punches and nasty knees. Capitalizing on a knee from Means, Fialho executed a beautiful single leg. Not to stay down for long, Means scrambled out of it, reversed the position, and got to Fialho’s back. He changed position, pushing Fialho to his back and threw a barrage of punches. Fialho was saved by the horn’s blare, sending the fight to the third round.

Straightaway in round three, Means went on the offensive. Pushing the pace, Means attacked Fialho who sent a heavy roundhouse kick to Means’ stomach. Means returned it with a head kick and a flurry of fists rocked the Portuguese fighter and, with heavy hits, ended the fight via TKO, stopping his three-fight skid and moving Fialho to a four-fight skid.

Official Result: Tim Means def. Andre Fialho by TKO (punches), Round 3, 3:45

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Buckley, still carrying an unbeliveable amount of muscle despite fighting 15 pounds lighter, took some heavy swings against a game Andre Fialho as the fight got underway. Fialho found some success with his right hand; Buckley changed things up later in the round, landing a takedown.

Another takedown would come for Buckley in the final minute, though whether he would get credit for it or not was a question, given Fialho was right back up.

Round two was halted, briefly, as quickly as it started due to a borderline low kick landing on Buckley. After a moment to regain his composure, they got back underway, only for Fialho to rock Buckley with a right hand. Two minutes in, and Buckley closed the distance, punching his way in and tagging Fialho at least once.

Later in the round, Buckley would fire a spinning back kick, missing the mark. His next attack would not miss. Launching a head kick, Joaquin Buckley sent an unaware Fialho crashing back. A single follow-up blow sealed the deal — Buckley had another highlight reel win.

Shin, meet chin 🤝 #UFCVegas73 pic.twitter.com/1GuFMmozu9

— UFC (@ufc) May 20, 2023

Official Result: Joaquin Buckley def. Andre Fialho by TKO (head kick and punch), Round 2, 4:15

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“I think (it’s been) a good thing (the time away. I had a lot of things to work on. I’ve been relying on my boxing a lot. I needed a reset. I had a lot of things going on in my life too that I needed to get away from,” Fialho told reporters on Wednesday.

“I think it was good.”

The time away and working on certain parts of his game are what Fialho hopes will result in a win this Saturday night.

“I got overconfident and I thought my hands were enough, but as the level gets higher and people study me just expecting my hands it’s easier for them to defend. I guess I had some of those (newer) weapons already, but just been working on it more and more,” he said.

Fialho (16-6) takes on Buckley on Saturday night in what many see as a drag out brawl if the right mindsets are taken. Fialho isn’t in a hurry to get into a brawl with Buckley however.

“I think it’s a great fight. He’s very dangerous, very explosive, great athlete, but I think he’s not very smart. Doesn’t have a great (fight) IQ. I’ve been working on my patience a lot. I want to patient this fight and I want to use my IQ because I believe I’m a very smart fighter,” said Fialho.

“I haven’t been able to show it in the cage.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Andre Fialho above. He takes on Joaquin Buckley at UFC Vegas 73 on Saturday night.

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“We good! We’re right where we belong man. I woke up at I think 178 today so the weight feels good. My energy is high and I’m feeling good, I look good,” Buckley told reporters on Wednesday.

“I don’t look all sucked out and depleted like a lot of these fighters. Yeah we 100.”

The move to welterweight seems to have been long overdue for Buckley who fought at middleweight for his entire stint so far. Buckley said that he didn’t cut weight to make 185-pounds so the move to 170 hasn’t been too difficult.

“I should have been here the whole time, but it is what it is. I came here for that check. That’s the only reason why I was at middleweight. They gave me a opportunity to fight at 185 when they seen me fighting at 185 for LFA, and that’s why I stayed there,” Buckley said.

“Getting those knockouts at 185 I felt good because a lot of people don’t realize I didn’t cut any weight to make middleweight. So I walked around 185, 183, you know.”

The move to welterweight came with a lifestyle change for Buckley who can no longer just walk into the cage and fight without cutting. It’s not something he sees as a sacrifice or a problem.

“I wouldn’t say sacrifice, but actually be disciplined on what I eat, with my nutrition, but it’s better for me. Way more healthier for myself and my conditioning is even better because I have to work on my conditioning more. I feel like I’m in a healthier weight class for myself,” he said.

After a 5-4 run at middleweight in the UFC the move to welterweight was one Buckley saw as necessary. The damage he took in some of those fights, specially the knockout losses, was possibly the biggest reason for the change.

“I got tired of getting knocked out. I ain’t going to lie to you. Being at 185 you’ve got a lot of heavy hitters out there. One thing about me, mentally, I’m not scared to fight anybody, but sometimes that’s the problem,” he said.

“So it’s not about being scared, it’s about being smart, so right now I feel like me being at 170 I feel like even though I took losses at 185 they prepared me for these moments at welterweight.”

The matchup with Fialho is one that fans are looking forward to as both fighters are primarily strikers and have very aggressive styles.

“I think the UFC want me to catch a good body. This is a good matchup for me though. This guy is going to come in there and try to bang. He’s going to give me everything I’m looking for,” Buckley said.

“It’s going to be exciting for me. I just feel like this is the time to show up and show out. No disrespect to any other fighter on (the card) but for me I just feel like ain’t nobody fitting to do it like I do it.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Joaquin Buckley above. He takes on Andre Fialho at UFC Vegas 73 on Saturday night.

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The Fight Night show, set to be headlined by Raquel Pennington vs. Irene Aldana 2, finds the promotion once again holed up at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. In addition to announcing the main event, promotion officials also revealed a number of additional match-ups via press release.

Among them, Joaquin Buckley (15-6) is set to take on Andre Fialho (16-6, 1NC) in a welterweight showdown.

Buckley, winner of the 2020 Knockout of the Year, went 2-2 in 2022, starting the year with wins over Abdul Razak Alhassan and Albert Duraev. In his last two outings, however, Buckley came up short against Nassourdine Imavov and Chris Curtis.

That has led to a drop in weight, with “Newmansa” returning to 170lbs for the first time since 2018, prior to his UFC run kicking off.

Fialho fought five times in 2022, posting a 2-3 record starting with a short-notice match-up with Michel Pereira. He earned Performance of the Night bonuses for both of his wins, which came against Cameron VanCamp and Miguel Baeza.

Also newly announced, a women’s flyweight match-up will kick off the card. That fight sees Natalia Silva (14-5-1) face off with Victoria Leonardo (9-5). The 33-year old Leonardo picked up her first win inside the octagon in her last fight, which saw her win a unanimous decision over Mandy Bohm.

The Invicta FC and Bellator MMA veteran is now 1-2 inside the octagon. Silva is 2-0 in the UFC and currently sits on an eight-fight win streak.

The following match-ups have been reported for the UFC’s May 20 Fight Night card to date:

• Raquel Pennington vs. Irene Aldana
• Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Anthony Hernandez
• Ilir Latifi vs. Rodrigo Nascimento
• Orion Cosce vs. Gilbert Urbina
• Andre Fialho vs. Joaquin Buckley
• Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Vanessa Demopoulos
• Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Brunno Ferreira
• Hayisaer Maheshate vs. Viacheslav Borschev
• Michael Johnson vs. Carlos Diego Ferreira
• Chase Hooper vs. Nick Fiore
• Natalia Silva vs. Victoria Leonardo

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As the new headliner, Nzechukwu scored a knockout victory over Cutelaba in the second round. Today we will be looking at what is next for the men and women who fell short at UFC Vegas 65.

Ion Cutelaba

Cutelaba is now 1-5-1 in the last two years and is it desperate need of a win in his next fight. His flashy fighting style should buy him an extra some extra leeway with the company meaning he should get another shot to turn things around. In his next fight, he should be looking to fight someone who is willing to stand and brawl with him.

Alonzo Menifield is on a two-fight win streak knocking out Askar Mozharov and Misha Cirkunov is his last two fights. Ten of his 13 wins are by knockout and he is 6-3 in the UFC. Menifield is rising in the light heavyweight division and would make for a great matchup for someone looking to keep their job like Cutelaba.

Cutelaba’s next fight: Alonzo Menifield 

Chase Sherman

Chase Sherman lost a decision to Waldo Cortes-Acosta this past weekend. Sherman was recently re-signed to the UFC in April for a short notice fight against Alexander Romanov. Prior to that fight he went 1-3 in the UFC and was released from the company. His last contract was for four fights so we should assume that his current contract is probably also for four fights meaning he has one more fight remaining. Since his return he is 1-2 only beating Jared Vanderaa by knockout in July.

Austen Lane won a UFC contract on the Contender Series back in September with a TKO win over Richard Jacobi. Lane is 8-2 since losing to Greg Hardy in his first appearance on DWCS in 2018. 11 of his 12 wins are by knockout and all three of his losses are by knockout. This is a guy that lives or dies by the sword. That is what makes him perfect for Sherman’s next fight. Sherman has a boxing background and does his best work when he can sit in the pocket and strike with his opponent.

Sherman’s next fight: Austen Lane 

Andre Fialho

Andre Fialho was knocked out by Muslim Salikhov at UFC Vegas 65, well technically. Frankly, Fialho would just not go down, and the ref waved it off on the feet. The fight was back and forth and Fialho landed some good shots but untimely got taken down a few times and was having trouble dealing with the kicks of Salikhov. This loss puts him on a two fight losing streak and makes him 2-3 in the UFC. He is 16-6-1 as a professional with 17 of his fights ending by KO. Making him an exciting fighter that will always be around to beef up some Vegas cards in the future.

Tim Means is also coming off back-to-back losses against Kevin Holland and Max Griffin.  Means is tough as nails and is always down to stand and bang. He has 19 wins by knockout but has only been knocked out in two of his 14 losses. Fighting Tim Means would be great for Fialho’s popularity and would give him a chance to get a win over a UFC vet.

Fialho’s next fight: Tim Means 

Danny Roberts

Danny Roberts can be considered the first step up for Jack Della Maddalena, and he passed that test with flying colors. Roberts is a 13-fight UFC veteran, with a 7-6 record who has lost back-to-back fights for the second time in his career.

All is not lost for Roberts, who will hopefully get a return day on an expected London card in the first quarter of next year. As for who he should face, how about another top prospect? Things didn’t go well against JDM; Roberts can try to redeem himself against Ireland’s Ian Garry.

Roberts’ next fight: Ian Garry

Zhalgas Zhumagulov

The Charles Johnson vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov fight was bumped up to the UFC Vegas 65 main card due to the loss of Lewis vs. Spivac, and Johnson came away from the bout with his first UFC win. Not everyone was on board with the scores in the split decision fight, but a win is a win — and for Zhumagulov, a loss is another heartbreaking loss.

This one led to his retirement. Zhumagulov announced the news on social media, citing several decisions not going his way as his reason for hanging up the gloves.

Zhumagulov’s next fight: none (retired)

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Both striking welterweights were looking to return to the win column, coming in off the back of TKO losses. This match-up stood as Fialho’s fifth appearance in 2022, and he now ties the modern record for the most appearances in a calendar year.

Salikhov began the fight throwing his signature kicks, something he does extremely well. Fialho started the fight on his bike, circling Salikhov, calculating ways to get into range. Another leg kick from Salikhov was the only real action in the first two minutes of the fight. A quick 1-2 from Fialho was the start of him beginning to put on some pressure. Halfway through the round, Salikhov secured himself a single leg takedown, putting Fialho on his back, unexpectedly. Salikhov landed himself a body kick but received a big right hand for his troubles with the Russians eye swelling almost immediately. The highlight of the round fell to Fialho with the big counter right hook.

Salikhov, now visually impaired, decided to try and get his grappling going in the second stanza, and with that, landed a few heavy shots inside the clinch, slowing Fialho down momentarily. After two minutes of round two, you could tell Fialho had slowed down his pressure and had only thrown one strike. Salikhov decided to be the one to lead the dance and started dictating the fight with some unique shots that landed clean on Fialho. Another right hook and a body teep kick from Salikhov gave him the momentum of the round. Salikhov landed yet another heavy shot with Fialho dropping to the ground. Once the fight got to the ground, Fialho managed to regain some composure and the action halted.

Despite the fight coming extremely close to being stopped several times in the first two rounds, it made it to the final frame. A huge spinning back kick and right hook once again dropped Fialho to his backside with him getting up shortly after. Chris Tognoni began to take an extremely close look but then Salikhov landed a lightening fast spinning wheel kick on the chin of Fialho, and Tognoni stepped in and saved Fialho from any further impending damage.

Muslim Salikhov appears to have found a second wind in his career and returned to the win column Saturday.

Official Decision: Muslim Salikhov def. Andre Fialho by TKO, Round 3, 1:03

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Teixeria looked to be winning on all judge’s scorecards but was submitted by Prochazka in the final 30 seconds of the fight. In the co-main event, Valentina Shevchenko won a split decision over Taila Santos to retain her flyweight title. Also on the card, Joanna Jedrzejczyk retired from the sport of MMA after her first-round knockout loss to Zhang Weili. Today we will be looking at what is next for the losers of UFC 275.

Glover Teixeira

After his loss this past weekend, Teixeira asked Daniel Cormier how he looked in the fight. DC responded by saying he looked good and looked like he had more left in the tank. Teixeira responded, ” I guess I will keep going then.” At 42 years old it is possible that Teixeira could make another run at getting his title back. In his next fight, Teixeira should have a rematch with Jan Blachowicz.

Blachowicz knocked out Aleksander Rakic in his most recent fight and was ranked number one in the division before this past weekend. A fight between Teixeira and Blachowicz could be considered a number one contender fight. As both men would be great opponents for Prochazka’s next fight.

There’s a chance, however, that Blachowicz gets the next title shot. In which case, give Teixeira the winner of Smith vs. Ankalaev, which should have the same outcome: an eventual title shot.

Teixeira’s next fight: Jan Blachowicz or Smith vs. Ankalaev winner

Taila Santos

Taila Santos looked amazing in her loss this past weekend. Valentine Shevchenko has dominated everyone she has fought for a long time and Santos gave her a serious run for her money. Santos was able to take her down a few times and was also able to beat Shevchenko up on the ground a good bit. She is definitely worthy of an immediate rematch and should get one. That said, she’ll need some time off due to her broken orbital, which requires surgery — so don’t expect this soon. Shevchenko will likely take a fight in between.

Santos’ next fight: Rematch with Valentina Shevchenko 

Joanna Jedrzejczyk

No matchmaking necessary here. Joanna Jedrzejczyk hung up the gloves following UFC 275. The former women’s strawweight champion still holds the 115 pound record for title defenses at five. Next up for Joanna is likely a Hall of Fame induction, perhaps as soon as next year.

Andre Fialho

Andre Fialho was knocked out in the second round of his welterweight bout with Jake Matthews at UFC 275. This loss makes Fialho 2-2 in the UFC with three of his four UFC fights ending in knockout. Fialho is an extremely exciting fighter and should get another fight in the UFC soon, though maybe not at the breakneck pace he had been competing at. In his next fight, he should be looking to keep his run of knockouts going by fighting a young talented striker.

Philip Rowe is 22-1 in the UFC with both of his wins being second-round knockouts. Rowe is a powerful striker with a good grappling game. Making him the best match-up for Fialho in his next fight.

Fialho’s next fight: Philip Rowe 

Ramazan Emeev

Jack Della Maddalena knocked out Ramazan Emeev in the first round at UFC 275. That is the second straight loss for Emeev, who is now 5-3 in the promotion.

Song Kenan hasn’t fought since a knockout at the hands of Max Griffin last year. Prior to that setback, Kenan had won two straight. The Chinese fight is 18-6 and doesn’t have a fight scheduled. If he’s ready to come back, book him against Emeev.

Maddalena’s next fight: Song Kenan

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