4 Fighters Who Could Be Released After Loss

Dana White and his team have dropped dozens of fighters from the roster over the past year, and the signs are usually there before the news hits.

After UFC Vegas 102, at least four fighters who lost on Saturday night at the Apex could be in danger of being cut from the roster.

Dylan Budka

Despite being just 25 years old, Budka may be at a point in his career where the UFC sees it in his and the promotion’s best interest to part ways. Budka was on the business end of Edmen Shahbazyan’s performance-bonus-winning KO on Saturday night.

The KO produced Budka’s third straight loss, and all of the defeats have come since he earned a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series with a unanimous decision win over Chad Hanekom in September 2023.

With an 0-3 record on the main roster, two of the losses coming by stoppage, and having missed weight ahead of his unanimous-decision defeat to Andre Petroski in September 2024, the writing appears to be on the wall.

Budka has time to work on his game, and it might be time for him to do that with a smaller promotion before attempting to return to the UFC.

Connor Matthews

Matthews isn’t quite where Budka is, but it’s close. He’s lost his last two fights, and both have come by stoppage. On Saturday, he was clobbered by the promising Jose Delgado.

Matthews is also 32, which means the UFC might not have as much patience with him moving forward. It’s been a long road for the Fall River, Massachusetts, native to get to the UFC. He failed in his first attempt to earn a contract on DWCS in August 2022.

He won on the regional scene to get another shot on the show and punched his ticket to the main roster with a unanimous decision win over Jair Farias in October 2023. Unfortunately, he has been knocked out by Dennis Buzukja and Delgado since getting to the main roster.

While he’s older than Budka, it seems like the UFC might give Matthews another fight before releasing him.

Vince Morales

Morales’ situation is a bit more complicated. The rugged 34-year-old can definitely compete in the UFC. He pushed super-prospect Elijah Smith to the brink on Saturday before losing a unanimous decision—his second such loss in a row.

Before the back-to-back losses to Taylor Lapilus and Smith, respectively, Morales had won five fights in a row. The problem is: none of those fights were in the UFC.

Since failing to earn a roster spot on DWCS back in 2018, Morales has had two stints in the UFC. During that time, he has compiled a record of 6-0 outside the UFC, but just 3-8 with the world’s No. 1 promotion.

He hasn’t won in the UFC since December 2021, when he stopped Louis Smolka. He’s an exciting fighter, which helps, but I’d guess he’d get one more shot as well before potentially being released.

Don’Tale Mayes

Coming into UFC Vegas 102, Mayes was ranked No. 15, but we’ve seen the UFC repeatedly release underperforming veteran heavyweights over the past few months.

Most recently, the promotion punted on Jairzinho Rozenstruik after a lackluster performance against Sergei Pavlovich on February 1. Rozenstruik was ranked No. 9 when he lost to Pavlovich and was released.

Mayes looked dreadful getting submitted via heel hook by Valter Walker on Saturday.

The loss was Mayes’ second in a row and his fourth in the last six fights. The only opponents Mayes has defeated during that stretch are Caio Machado (a released fighter who is currently on a three-fight losing streak) and Andrei Arlovski, a legend fighting well past his prime.

I’d expect Mayes to be released soon and for Jhonata Diniz or even young heavyweight Tallison Teixeira to take his place in the Top 15 next week.

Here is a look at all of the results from UFC Vegas 102.

UFC VEGAS 102 MAIN CARD RESULTS

• Jared Cannonier def. Gregory Rodrigues via fourth-round TKO
• Youssef Zalal def. Calvin Kattar via unanimous decision (29-28×3)
• Edmen Shahbazyan def. Dylan Budka via first-round KO
• Nazim Sadykhov def. Ismael Bonfim via second-round TKO
• Andre Petroski def. Rodolfo Vieira via unanimous decision (29-28×3)

UFC VEGAS 102 PRELIMS RESULTS

• Jose Delgado def. Connor Matthews via first-round TKO
• Angela Hill def. Ketlen Souza via split decision (29-28×2, 28-29)
• Rafael Estevam def. Jesus Aguilar via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
• Gabriel Bonfim def. Khaos Williams via submission (D’Arce choke)
• Elijah Smith def. Vince Morales via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
• Valter Walker def. Don’Tale Mayes via submission (heel hook) (R1, 1:17)
• Jacqueline Cavalcanti def. Julia Avila via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)