Father time is undefeated and undisputed. In the unforgiving world of MMA, no one is immune to the inevitable passage of time. Today, we saw the end of an era as three legends were released by the UFC—Tony Ferguson, Alexander Gustafsson, and Chris Weidman. Each of these fighters made a significant mark on the sport, but today marks the close of a chapter in their storied careers.

‘El Cucuy’, of course, was one of the most popular fighters among fans when he set fire to the lightweight division between 2013 to 2019 with twelve wins in a row. However, since then, the former interim champ has lost eight consecutive fights, and fans have long been asking for him to retire. Finally, it seems the UFC has had enough and decided to cut him.

Weidman, of course, put an end to Anderson Silva‘s sixteen-fight undefeated streak, knocking out ‘The Spider’, who looked nigh untouchable and unbeatable in 2013. ‘The All-American’ went on to defend the middleweight title thrice, before losing it to Luke Rockhold in 2015. Since then, Weidman fought ten times in the UFC, managing to win only three of them.

The former champ is forty at the moment, and it is clear that his fighting days are behind him. But the Mexican-American is insistent that he wants to continue his fighting career and has reportedly signed with the Global Fight League (GFL).

Alexander Gustafsson famously took Jon Jones to the absolute limit in their UFC 165 clash in 2013. While he lost that fight via a unanimous decision in the end, he made Jones’ life hell in the early rounds and looked better than almost anyone ‘Bones’ had faced previously. This performance made him one of the hottest commodities in the entire promotion, but alas a slew of losses followed the first Jones fight.

Before being cut, ‘The Mauler’ was on a four-fight losing streak, with the last two coming in the very first round. Like Ferguson, Gustafsson is also going to the GFL. And fans, of course, were heartbroken at the end of these legends’ UFC stint.

Fans react to Tony Ferguson, Chris Weidman, and Alexander Gustafsson being cut from the UFC

Most fans weren’t really too upset with only Ferguson’s exit from the UFC. After all, his eight-fight losing skid is an infamous UFC record. Moreover, it was a clear indication that his fighting days were behind him. This is why one fan’s observation echoed with other fans: “I’m glad but I’m not, you know what I mean”.

The decline of Tony Ferguson has been very depressing to watch. From the boogeyman of the lightweight division to its laughing stock. Ferguson fans have witnessed perhaps the biggest fall from grace in MMA history. The only thing most fans would have wanted was for ‘El Cucuy’ to be out of the UFC earlier: “Only five fights too late”

In the case of Alexander Gustafsson, his impressive performance against the nigh unbeatable Jon Jones is the thing fans will remember most about him, as one fan pointed out: “A man that almost beat Jon Bones.” Of course, the fact that Gustafsson gave Jones hell made everyone believe that he would be champ one day. He may not have been good enough to beat ‘Bones’, but then who is? However, the Swede’s almost abrupt loss of form meant he never won the gold, which disappointed one fan no end: “never became champ damn”

Fans were shocked at seeing one legend being cut by the UFC after another. After learning that Chris Weidman had been cut on the same day as Ferguson and Gustafsson made one fan observe astutely: “Damn. It’s a legend-cutting kind of day.” Another fan, however, was much more understanding about Weidman’s exit from the UFC given his recent form, health issues, and advancing age.

However, they hoped good things were to come for ‘The All American’ on the other side: “Had to happen. Love you, Chris, Godspeed many more treasures are waiting down the road”. What do you think about the three UFC legends being cut from the promotion on the same day?