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In a major announcement last night, it was confirmed via various sources that the UFC has released two of their biggest Heavyweight stars – former champion Junior Dos Santos and longtime contender Alistair Overeem.
It’s likely that the UFC’s recent cutting spree won’t end with Dos Santos and Overeem, so which other big stars could be joining them in leaving the promotion?
Sure, the UFC cuts fighters all the time, but they mainly tend to be low-card fighters on losing streaks. In recent months though, bigger stars have been released, meaning anyone not on top form could be under threat.
On that note, here are five big-name fighters that could follow Junior Dos Santos and Alistair Overeem out of the UFC in 2021.
#1 Robbie Lawler (UFC record: 13-9)
With the UFC now looking to trim their roster of ageing veterans who’ve fallen on hard times, one fighter who could see his spot under threat is ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler.
The former UFC Welterweight champion is currently on a four-fight losing streak, and he hasn’t won inside the octagon since his July 2017 win over Donald Cerrone.
Lawler’s best run inside the UFC came once he returned from StrikeForce in 2013. He defeated the likes of Josh Koscheck, Rory MacDonald and Matt Brown before unseating Johny Hendricks to win the UFC Welterweight title at UFC 181.
He went on to defend his crown against MacDonald and Carlos Condit in two of the UFC’s greatest-ever title fights. However, Lawler has fallen on hard times since dropping the title to Tyron Woodley in 2016.
The punching power that gave him so many violent finishes remains, but Lawler’s athleticism and ability to explode into his strikes now appears to be gone. And at the age of 38, with plenty of injuries under his belt, it’s unlikely he’ll ever recapture his best form.
Lawler’s quiet personality means he isn’t the best fit to move into an on-screen role ala Michael Bisping or Paul Felder. And given there wasn’t a lot of fanfare over his most recent loss to Neil Magny, it’s likely that only longtime, hardcore UFC fans would miss him if he were to be released at this stage.
#2 Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza (UFC record: 9-6)
Arguably one of the greatest fighters to never receive a title shot during his tenure with the UFC, the end seems to be nigh for Middleweight contender Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza now.
A world-class Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt with countless accolades from the world of grappling under his belt, Jacare has been with the UFC since 2013. Since then, he has defeated the likes of Gegard Mousasi, Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort but has always fallen short of gaining a shot at the title.
In fact, the first three fighters he lost to inside the octagon – Yoel Romero, Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum – all went on to fight for the UFC Middleweight crown.
Now 41 years old, it’s plain to see that Jacare’s best fighting days are behind him. He was outpaced by Jack Hermansson in a 2019 loss, while a move to 205lbs failed to reignite his career, as he was well beaten by Jan Blachowicz.
Most recently, the Brazilian suffered his second KO loss in his UFC career when he was violently stopped by Kevin Holland at UFC 256.
The fact that Jacare reportedly made $225k overall for that fight puts him in further danger. Only Junior Dos Santos – who was cut this week – was paid a heavier base salary than the Brazilian at UFC 256.
With the UFC looking to trim costs, getting rid of an ageing veteran like Jacare probably makes a lot of sense.
#3 Andrei Arlovski (UFC record: 19-14)
One of the longest-tenured fighters in UFC history, Andrei Arlovski first debuted in the UFC back in 2000. He went onto capture the UFC Heavyweight title in 2005 by beating Tim Sylvia and then defended it twice before dropping it back to Sylvia at UFC 59.
‘The Pitbull’ left the UFC in 2008 but returned to the octagon in 2014 as a hardened veteran. While he has never come close to recapturing the UFC Heavyweight title, he has main-evented numerous UFC shows in the years that have followed.
However, more recently, Arlovski’s usefulness has begun to slip somewhat. While he’s still capable of the odd exciting fight – such as his brawl with Ben Rothwell in 2019 – for the most part, his wins have become slower, largely dull affairs.
He has also had his fair share of losses, dropping fights to prospects like Augusto Sakai, Jairzinho Rozenstruik and, most recently, Tom Aspinall.
Andrei Arlovski is now 42 years old. While he’s still a capable fighter, it’s unlikely he’ll ever make a run at the UFC Heavyweight title again. And more importantly, a victory over him no longer possesses the value it once did for an up-and-comer.
Thus it may not be surprising to see Arlovski released from his UFC deal in the near future.
#4 Luke Rockhold (UFC record: 6-4)
A lot of UFC fans would be forgiven for thinking that Luke Rockhold had already departed the UFC roster.
The former UFC Middleweight champion has not fought since his loss to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 239 in July 2019. He has largely branched out into the world of modelling in recent years, forgoing his fighting career for the most part.
However, Rockhold remains a part of the UFC roster and has recently been talking about a comeback. He even mentioned two potential opponents for a return fight – Middleweight contenders Marvin Vettori and Darren Till.
However, given that Rockhold is 36, hasn’t fought in the best part of two years, and has had a laundry list of injuries to deal with, it's unlikely he'll be able to beat too many quality fighters now.
Moreover, given Rockhold’s inactivity and his hefty paycheque – he reportedly earned $200k for his loss to Blachowicz – it’s unlikely the UFC would want to keep him around if he were to lose.
Luke Rockhold’s status as a former UFC champion will mean that the promotion could probably give him at least one fight if he does follow through with his comeback. But the chances of him being one-and-done seem pretty high.
#5 Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua (UFC record: 11-10-1)
One of the greatest Light-Heavyweights in MMA history, Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua is one of a handful of fighters to hold gold in both the UFC and PRIDE.
However, at the age of 39, the Brazilian legend has likely reached the end of the road in his UFC career. In fact, given the promotion’s recent cutting spree, it’s surprising that ‘Shogun’ still remains part of the UFC roster in 2021.
Rua famously won the UFC Light-Heavyweight title back in 2010, becoming the first fighter to stop Lyoto Machida in the process. But after a severe knee injury kept him out for a year, he was dethroned by Jon Jones in his first title defence.
To tell the truth, ‘Shogun’ hasn’t been the same fighter since. Sure, he has been able to beat ageing veterans like Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and middling talents like Gian Villante and Tyson Pedro. But he has also been beaten on numerous occasions and seems to have lost his durability.
In fact, his last four UFC losses have come via KO or TKO.
‘Shogun’ is 39 years old, but the damage he’s taken over his near-two decade long career makes him appear much older than that. After his loss to Paul Craig at UFC 255 last year, many observers called for him to call it a day.
That hasn’t happened yet, but it would be almost irresponsible for the UFC to book Shogun Rua again. In this case, cutting him from the roster could well be seen as a mercy of sorts.
