Dana White says the UFC will make serious cuts by the end of the year

SHANGHAI, CHINA - JUNE 20: Dana White, UFC President gives a speech during 2019 UFC Performance Institute Panel and UFC Fight Night Shenzhen Press Conference at UFC Performance Institute Shanghai on June 20, 2019 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Yifan Ding/Getty Images)

It looks like there’s going to be a lot of changes coming to the UFC roster in the next couple of weeks. Yesterday, fight fans were shocked to learn the news that former title challenger, Yoel Romero, had been cut by the UFC.Â

Romero is extremely popular with fans and he’s been one of the best middleweights in the UFC for a long time. Yet, the promotion parted ways with Romero yesterday while he still had three fights left on his current deal.

Tonight, after the UFC Vegas 16 event, the media had a chance to ask Dana White about Romero. It turns out that Romero might just be the beginning to the roster changes that will be coming to the UFC.

White told the media tonight, “It’s not just Yoel. We’re going to go through some serious here at the end of the year. Probably going to have 60 cuts coming up before the first of the year. Our roster is very inflated right now. You’re going to see a lot of names going.”

UFC Roster Changes

Throughout this pandemic year of 2020, the UFC has kept pushing through. They’ve hosted more MMA events than any other promotion. They were the first sport to start things up after everything was shut down earlier this year.

Despite the lack of crowds and the revenue from live gates, the UFC has continued to add talent throughout the year. The Contender Series alone added more than twenty fighters to the UFC roster.

At the end of the year, most businesses will evaluate where they are sitting financially. It appears that the UFC is needing to make some cuts to save a little money. The roster is massive, and the promotion will likely cut guys who earn a lot, but aren’t superstars.

Given the criteria of the cuts, I would expect some big names who’ve been with the promotion a long time get let go. The longer you’re with the UFC, the more money you’re likely going to be making in your contract.

If the promotion doesn’t see you as a part of their future plans, you might be on the chopping block. However, we don’t know exactly who will be let go. All we know is that there are going to be more names released before 2020 ends.