Dana White & Co. continue to cut fighters who fail to deliver smash finishes. This strategy is not new, as the promotion has followed it for years, but the pace accelerated after the UFC signed its seven-year deal with Paramount in 2026. Lately, the company released several undefeated and highly skilled fighters who struggled to secure finishes. UFC veteran Roxanne Modafferi also commented on the trend.

The cuts affected some of the promotion’s most dominant and undefeated MMA talents. For example, the UFC let go of familiar names such as Javid Basharat, Rinat Fakhretdinov, Alex Morono, Adam Fugitt, Rafael Cerqueira, and Lucas Almeida. Modafferi doesn’t see these moves as mistakes but rather considers them a natural evolution in the sport.

“I feel sad when fans talk about fight card being boring or bad. Everybody’s fighting really hard to win. Of course the UFC is only gonna hire talented people, and you know how hard it is to submit or knock out a talented person? With everybody being skilled, people don’t just get smashed anymore,” wrote Roxanne Modafferi on X.

Modafferi’s perspective is particularly insightful given her own career. Despite a tough 3-6 record in her final UFC stretch and finishing just nine of her 25 opponents in the promotion, her legacy as a fan-favorite pioneer kept her on the roster, highlighting a time when exciting finishes weren’t the only metric for a fighter’s value.

Even Merab Dvalishvili and Khamzat Chimaev have sometimes struggled to deliver exciting bouts despite their grappling skills. For instance, at UFC 319 last year, Chimaev dominated Dricus Du Plessis with relentless wrestling, controlling more than 20 of the 25 minutes. As a result, fans quickly flooded social media to voice their disappointment.

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Similarly, many viewed the UFC 306 bout between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley as one of the most “lackluster” fights of all time, though The Sphere’s unique structure helped salvage the spectacle.

As a result, Dana White & Co. cut several wrestling-heavy fighters from its roster. At the same time, Dana White introduced systems to motivate fighters to push for finishes.

UFC raises fight bonuses to encourage more finishes in bouts

Last year, the UFC struggled with gate revenue because it lacked an American champion, which made it harder to draw fans to arenas. Then, at the start of 2026, UFC commentator Laura Sanko warned fighters that the promotion would release those considered “boring,” as Dana White and his team are seeking more action and finishes.

At the same time, the UFC introduced systems to motivate fighters and updated performance bonuses. At the year’s first event, UFC 324: Gaethje vs Pimblett, the promotion awarded $50,000 each for Performance of the Night and Fight of the Night.

This year, the UFC doubled its performance bonuses to $100,000 for each of the four awards. They also introduced a new bonus where fighters who score a knockout or submission will be rewarded a $25,000. Because of this, the system clearly pushes athletes to chase more finishes and deliver exciting fights.

But what about those who can’t? Will the UFC still cut them? If so, who might the promotion remove next? Share your thoughts below.