In moves first noted by UFC Roster Tracker, an automated service that monitor’s the promotion’s fighter database, names including Ovince Saint Preux, Ricky Glenn, and fan favorite Brian Kelleher appear to have been removed.

While this generally indicates a fighter is no longer with the promotion, it does not necessarily mean they were cut. Saint Preux, for example, was known to be on the last fight of his UFC contract at UFC 307 last weekend, when he was submitted by Ryan Spann. Still, at 41 and 2-2 in his last four (not to mention coming off a loss), OSP is likely to land elsewhere if he continues fighting.

Jarno Errens, also among the names removed, had previously suggested he might retire if the UFC declined to re-sign him. He went 1-3 for the company, most recently losing to Youssef Zalal at UFC Paris.

From October 7 to October 10, the following names were removed from the UFC’s athlete database:

• Herbert Burns
• Brian Kelleher
• Ricky Glenn
• Jarno Errens
• Danyelle Wolf
• Victoria Leonardo
• Brianna Fortino
• Kay Kruschewsky
• Da Woon Jung
• Victor Altamirano
• Karl Williams
• Ovince Saint Preux
• Kleydson Rodrigues
• Blake Bilder
• TJ Brown
• Jarjis Danho
• Yanis Ghemmouri
• Christos Giagos

These join Alexander Munoz (who requested his spot be given to someone else after struggling with injuries) and Luis Pajuelo (cut after failing a drug test), who exited the company earlier this month.

One of the biggest surprises is Karl Williams, a 3-1 heavyweight coming off a lone loss who was presumably not re-signed. Williams, a well-spoken athlete with considerable upside, saw all his fights go the distance, which might be the culprit in this case.

As for boxer Danyelle Wolf, who signed with the company as a featherweight, the UFC no longer even offers her weight class. At 41 and having not fought since September 2022, it’s likely her MMA career has come to an end after just two fights, one on the Contender Series, and one in a losing effort opposite Norma Dumont, now a bantamweight contender.

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Kelleher had a comfortable winning record for most of his UFC run until his last three losses, all by finish against top talents, brought him to an 8-8 promotional record. At age 38 he was one of the only bantamweights who could fight 36-yera-old Cody Gibson and be the elder. Despite losing the first two UFC fights of his second run with the promotion, Gibson impressed in his TUF Finale loss to Brad Katona which was ‘Fight of the Night’ for UFC 292. Coming into the bout, Gibson was the favorite, and he lived up to that by dominating Kelleher en route to a first-round finish,

Gibson began the fight with heavy punches and long kicks, marching down a retreating Kelleher until Brian was able to regain respect. One minute in, Cody ducked under a blitzing Kelleher’s arm, got to a rear body-lock, and then progressed until he got the takedown. Kelleher built up from half-guard along the fence to stand, but Gibson’s height advantage was such that he had the leverage to easily hold Brian there and work on mat returning him. When Gibson broke, he unloaded on Kelleher, avoided the counter, and then got to a strong clinch position again. On the break the second time he flash dropped Kelleher, who fought back up and jumped a guillotine which ended up with him in bottom-half. Gibson instantly worked his way to an arm-triangle choke and a beat-up Kelleher tapped, even while still holding half-guard.

With that win, Gibson saved his job, and the current high school teacher was surprisingly calm in his post-fight interview, after arguably the biggest win of his career. His cerebral approach to the game was clear as he talked Daniel Cormier through his perception of the fight, and credited training in Las Vegas with fighters like Aljamain Sterling and Patchy Mix to his success.

Official Result: Cody Gibson def. Brian Kelleher by Submission (arm-triangle choke) Round 1, 3:58

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“I’ve been counted out my whole life. Luckily I had amazing mother, strong mother, that raised us and never let us quit anything,” Garbrandt told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“So thankful for her. The way that she raised us and the way that she made us strong. This world it can knock you down and keep you down. I’ve had that my whole entire life.”

At the end of 2021 Garbrandt had a rough 1-5 record, but then scored a decision victory at UFC 285 against Trevin Jones. The victory over Kelleher starts a new win streak for the former champion.

With a two-fight win streak Garbrandt could play it safe and take another bout against someone trying to make their way up to a title. Except ‘No Love’ is looking higher.

“I would love to fight Deiveson Figueiredo. I think that’s a great fight. Two former world champions now at the bantamweight division. That’s a fight that should have happened years ago,” he said.

“I was obviously taken out from COVID, but flyweight’s not my weight. Bantamweight is. I feel really good here so I would love that fight. UFC 300 I think that would be an amazing card to put us on.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Cody Garbrandt above.

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A win against Trevin Jones where he displayed a more patient style where he utilized his high school wrestling pedigree was just Garbrandt’s second victory since 2016. Still, with a victory over Kelleher he could perhaps put himself back into the conversation for a ranked opponent in the future. Kelleher lost his last two by rear-naked choke to hot prospects, but Cody represented a different stylistic threat, which resulted in his knockout victory.

The first round began with Kelleher pushing forward, Cody struck first with a counter combo. His hand speed was clearly still there and he showed some early aggression, but a calf kick from Kelleher backed Garbrandt up when it damaged his leg. Kelleher pushed after him and clinched up but Cody broke free. Garbrandt would rush forward behind punching combos periodically, but Kelleher always defended. It was when Kelleher was throwing his own punches that Brian got caught, as he could be countered with his chin up in the air. That happened with under two minutes left in the round and Garbrandt chased after his foe, intent on his first finish since 2021. Kelleher began to recover, but once again got caught trying to throw his own punches and fell facedown, forcing Mark Goddard to stop the fight for a ‘No Love’ TKO.

After the fight, Garbrandt and Joe Rogan talked about the gnarly bump on his leg from the kicks, as his calf had swelled to almost twice its usual size. Cody gave credit to his opponent, and to his team for preparing him, including fellow UFC contender Alex Perez. Cody Garbrandt declared his intent to fight several times in 2024 and called out former flyweight champion, who he was once supposed to challenge, Deiveson Figueiredo. Figgy’s recent move up to bantamweight makes that quite possible, if the Brazilian wants it.

Official Result: Cody Garbrandt def. Brian Kelleher by TKO (counter right), Round 1, 3:42

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Having lost (or had modified) several bouts on this Saturday’s Fight Night card, the promotion has now seen popular bantamweight Brian Kelleher forced to withdraw from the event. In Kelleher’s place against Journey Newson (10-4, 1NC) will be promotional newcomer Marcus McGhee (6-1).

UFC officials announced the news on Wednesday, following an initial report by Eurosport. The fight has now shifted to a 140lb catchweight affair.

In a statement to their official website, the promotion expained that “Due to injury, Brian Kelleher has been removed from his bantamweight bout with Journey Newson. Replacing Kelleher will be UFC newcomer Marcus McGhee, who is 6-1 with all victories coming by way of knockout. This bout will be contested at a catchweight of 140 lbs.”

Per a post on social media by Kelleher, he did not pull out but was rather not cleared to compete by the UFC. “Boom” promised more info to come, though the end result is essentially the same: he’s out of the fight, and McGhee gets the short-notice opportunity.

Before you say some shit I will release a statement sometime in the near future. Out of my control. The ufc advised this and will not allow me to fight. More details to come… very unfortunate news

— Brian BOOM Kelleher (@brianboom135) April 26, 2023

Newsom enters the fight off a loss to Sergey Morozov in December, and will be looking for his second win inside the octagon. McGhee, making his debut, has been fighting mainly for LFA and RUF since turning pro in 2020.

The seemingly ever-changing UFC Vegas 72 card goes down this Saturday, April 29, 2023 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The following fights have been reported for the card thus far:

• Song Yadong vs. Ricky Simon
• Caio Borralho vs. Michał Oleksiejczuk
• Rodolfo Vieira vs. Cody Brundage
• Julian Erosa vs. Fernando Padilla
• Marcos Rogério de Lima vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta
• Joshua Quinlan vs. Trey Waters
• Martin Buday vs. Jake Collier
• Cody Durden vs. Charles Johnson
• Stephanie Egger vs. Irina Alekseeva
• Journey Newson vs. Marcus McGhee
• Hailey Cowan vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth

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Brian Kelleher (24-14) is set to face Journey Newson (10-4, 1NC) on that date, at a UFC event yet to be officially announced.

Iridium Sports Agency, who represent Newson, revealed the match-up on Wednesday. Kelleher had previously teased at having booked a fight.

Kelleher will be looking to shake off a two-fight losing streak come April, after coming up short against Umar Nurmagomedov and Mario Bautista in back-to-back fights. Both outings saw “Boom” submitted via rear-naked choke inside of a round.

Prior to those setbacks, Kelleher had notched a pair of decision wins over Kevin Croom and Domingo Pilarte.

Newson is 1-2 in his last three for his part, sandwiching a win over Fernie Garcia between losses to Randy Costa and Sergey Morozov. Before that run, Newson had picked up a win over Pilarte, a shared opponent with Kelleher. However, after failing a drag test for marijuana, the win was overturned to a No Contest.

The UFC’s April 29, 2023 Fight Night card does not yet have a venue, location, or broadcast plan officially announced. Two other bouts have been reported for the event thus far, including a rare women’s featherweight fight:

• Natan Levy vs. Pete Rodriguez
• Chelsea Chandler vs. Danyelle Wolf
• Brian Kelleher vs. Journey Newson

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Kelleher, for his part, was looking to reignite things after his momentum was halted by Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 272 back in March. Bautista, on the other hand, was in search of his second straight victory.

While both men were more than capable on the feet, one proved to have some slick ground skills when all was said and done.

The opening minute saw Kelleher fire a kick up the middle, while Bautista fired a low kick, then went high. Bautista then changed levels and landed a takedown just past a minute in. He had plenty of time to work, landing in side control, but Kelleher got him to half-guard then scrambled up. Kelleher then looked for a trip takedown, but landed on bottom. “Boom” looked for a guillotine, but Bautista was hip to it. He then moved to mount, transitioned to the back, and locked up a rear-naked choke! Absolutely fluid. It didn’t take long for Bautista to force the tap after that.

CLEAN, CLEAN, performance by @Bautista_MMA! 😎

Early domination to get the RD 1 finish! 💪 #UFCVegas57 pic.twitter.com/zKc6vfcdaB

— UFC (@ufc) June 25, 2022

With the victory, Bautista improves to 4-2 inside the octagon, and it’s worth noting that one of those loses came against current contender Cory Sandhagen. “I’ve been kind of waiting to show it in the UFC, and what a guy to show it against,” Bautista said of his jiu-jitsu, noting he’s been working on just that with coach John Crouch.

Official Result: Mario Bautista def. Brian Kelleher by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 2:27

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Kelleher (24-13) was seemingly a shoo-in for UFC Long Island in July, but he’ll instead face Mario Bautista (9-2) at the UFC’s June 25, 2022 Fight Night event in Las Vegas. Iridium Sports Agency, who represent Bautista, recently announced the news, which Kelleher subsequently confirmed.

“Well no Long Island action for me at the moment but June 25th will do,” Kelleher wrote on social media just a few days ago. “I’ll be able to sit back and have a nice bourbon with my strong island crowd July 16 though I’ll take it.”

Kelleher will be entering his third fight of 2022 in the bout, having split a pair of fights since the year kicked off. In January, “Boom” won a unanimous decision against Kevin Croom; less than two months later, he fell to Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 272.

The Nurmagomedov loss, which saw Kelleher caught in a rear-naked choke just over three minutes into the opening round, snapped a two-fight win streak the Long Islander had put together.

Bautista has won his lone contest in 2022, winning a decision over Jay Perrin back in February. The 28-year old has posted a 3-2 record inside the octagon thus far, but it’s worth noting that one of those losses came against current bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen.

The UFC’s June 25, 2022 Fight Night show is expected to take place at the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The following bouts have been reported for the event:

• Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mateusz Gamrot
• Neil Magny vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov
• Jinh Yu Frey vs. Vanessa Demopoulos
• Tim Elliott vs. Amir Albazi
• Josh Parisian vs. Alan Baudot
• Rodolfo Vieira vs. Chris Curtis
• Tyson Nam vs. Tagir Ulanbekov
• Raulian Paiva vs. Sergey Morozov
• Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Nate Maness
• Carlos Ulberg vs. Tafon Nchukwi
• Brian Kelleher vs. Mario Bautista

The post Brian Kelleher vs. Mario Bautista Set for UFC’s June 25 Fight Night Card appeared first on Cageside Press.

Kelleher had initially announced last month that he would walk out with the Ukrainian colors, to show solidarity with the nation currently trying to stave off a Russian invasion. However, given that opponent Umar Nurmagomedov hails from the Dagestan region of Russia, Kelleher instead opted to fly the flag of world peace — or at least attempt to.

The flag flap was a reminder that the world had changed drastically in the past ten days, but fighting, at least for the time being, had not— and Kelleher rode a two-fight win streak with him into the match-up with Nurmagomedov, who was undefeated through 13 fights.

Through 14, by the event of the bout.

Both fighters took the center of the octagon after a touch of gloves, and both exchanged kicks. A high kick from Nurmagomedov followed, and he then threw his infamous question mark kick. Nurmagomedov landed a 1-2 shortly after, followed by a front kick.

For his part, Kelleher threw a combo but missed and ended up clinching with Nurmagomedov next. Nurmagomedov reserved Kelleher on the fence. Near the midway mark, Kelleher defended Nurmagomedov’s first two takedowns. Nurmagomedov later went for another takedown, landed it, and quickly took Kelleher’s back. Nurmagomedov locked up a rear-naked choke, and the fight was over.

Nurmagomedov stays undefeated!

Where have we heard that before? 🤔 #UFC272 pic.twitter.com/ZLg4mEAGSh

— UFC (@ufc) March 6, 2022

With his latest submission win, Nurmagomedov keeps his undefeated record and snapped Kelleher’s winning streak. And despite the match-up coming at featherweight, he confirmed he’ll return to bantamweight in future.

Official Result: Umar Nurmagomedov def. Brian Kelleher by submission (rear-naked choke) Round 1, 3:15

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ESPN was first to report the news, with Kelleher later confirming the bout on social media. “I love that he’s undefeated,” the American added via his verified Twitter account.

Umar Nurmagomedov, a cousin of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib, is a perfect 13-0 thus far in his MMA career. He made his debut inside the octagon last January, submitting Sergey Morozov on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. The rear-naked choke finish earned Nurmagomedov a Performance of the Night bonus.

Kelleher, with more than twice the experience of his opponent at 24-12, has found ample success in the cage of late. He’s 3-1 in his last four fights, and has won his last two, against Domingo Pilarte and Kevin Croom.

And if he’s not fighting, there’s always a potential rap battle with Bryce Mitchell for Brian Kelleher.

UFC 272 is set to take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 5, 2022. The third UFC PPV of 2021 is set to be headlined by a welterweight grudge match featuring ex-teammates turned bitter rivals Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington. It will mark the first UFC PPV headlined by a non-title fight since Poirier vs. McGregor 3.

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