With the UFC set to make “some serious cuts” to its roster in the coming weeks, one prominent fighter hopes his comrades are properly prepared.
After Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 19 event in Las Vegas, UFC president Dana White made the announcement of changes to come.
“We’re going to go through some serious cuts here at the end of the year. We’re probably going to have 60 cuts before the first of the year,” White said. “… Our roster is very inflated right now. We’re going to have some big cuts coming before the end of the year. You’re going to see a lot of names going here in the next several weeks.”
Those words are likely to have many UFC fighters worried – or at least thinking – about their futures. UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns shared a sobering message on Twitter for whomever might be a roster casualty.
Hope the 60 guys getting cut, have been smart about money and make the right decision on the next chapter
— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) December 7, 2020
Hope the 60 guys getting cut, have been smart about money and make the right decision on the next chapter
The UFC’s upcoming roster purge is on the heels of the promotion releasing Yoel Romero from his contract. Romero, 43, was a perennial contender in the middleweight division and spent seven years with the UFC.
Burns, 34, figures to be safe. In 2020, Burns finished Demian Maia by TKO and then soundly defeated former champion Tyron Woodley to earn a title shot vs. Kamaru Usman. The fight was booked for UFC 251 in July, but Burns had to withdraw after testing positive for COVID-19. Burns is still expected to be Usman’s next title challenger.
UFC’s Gilbert Burns shares sobering message after Dana White teases ‘serious’ roster cuts