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The UFC is undoubtedly the world’s biggest MMA promotion, but despite paying more than its rivals and offering more prestige, fighters don’t always want to be there.
Over the years, we’ve seen a number of high-profile fighters stun fans by demanding their release from the UFC, either in public or behind the scenes.
Usually, cooler heads have prevailed or Dana White and company’s hard-nosed business acumen has kicked in and the fighter remains exactly where they are. Nevertheless, it’s still interesting to note that even the best fighters get tired of the promotion’s behaviour at times.
With that in mind, here are five high-profile fighters who requested their release from the UFC.
#5. Jorge Masvidal – UFC welterweight contender
Jorge Masvidal might’ve recently bragged to the MMA media about his new deal with the promotion, which reportedly pays him more highly than most of the fighters on the roster, but it wasn’t that long ago that ‘Gamebred’ was demanding his release from the promotion.
At the time, Masvidal was coming off the three huge wins that turned him into a superstar. Those victories came over Darren Till, Ben Askren and Nate Diaz, the most recent of which gave him the infamous ‘BMF’ title.
However, he clearly didn’t see eye-to-eye with Dana White and the company with regards to their offer of a new deal. He took to social media to slam the promotion.
‘Gamebred’ not only claimed that he deserved more money, but also went to town on the promotion on their overall business practices, notably the idea that the COVID-19 pandemic was to blame for their lowball offer and the fact that the promotion’s revenue split only offered the fighters somewhere between 12% and 18%.
When White then responded by essentially telling Masvidal that he wasn’t being forced to fight, ‘Gamebred’ responded by demanding his release.
Of course, it didn’t take long for both sides to come to a mutual agreement for the Cuban-American to stay where he was.
Just weeks after the Twitter spat, a new opponent for welterweight champion Kamaru Usman was needed for the promotion’s big debut on Fight Island. So Masvidal was offered the spot, complete with a contract that apparently paid him exactly what he was after.
#4. Georges St-Pierre – former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion
While Georges St-Pierre seemed to be the stereotypical company man during his reign as welterweight champion from 2006 to 2013, once he hung up the gloves, some cracks in his relationship with the promotion began to show.
St-Pierre was involved in an attempt to start a fighter’s union in late 2016. While the idea went by-the-by when the Canadian returned to beat Michael Bisping for the middleweight title in 2017, his refusal to defend the title quickly strained his relationship with Dana White in particular.
That may have been the catalyst for the UFC’s decision to refuse to grant St-Pierre his release in 2021 when the former champion wished to pursue a boxing match with Oscar De La Hoya.
It felt like a curious decision from the promotion, particularly as GSP had been retired for four years, wasn’t going to be fighting in MMA and the proceeds of the bout were reportedly to be given to charity.
However, to St-Pierre’s credit, he refused to throw heat at the promotion on social media. The issue was only reported when it was mentioned by Triller Fight Club CEO Ryan Kavanaugh in a shot at Dana White.
St-Pierre later went on to state that he wasn’t willing to sue the promotion for his release, claiming that it would make him look like the bad guy and was happier to wait for his contract to come to an end in 2023, leaving him free to pursue new avenues off his own back.
#3. Jon Jones – former UFC light heavyweight champion
While former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones didn’t always see eye-to-eye with his employers during his reign as titleholder, when ‘Bones’ relinquished his title in 2020 to pursue a career at heavyweight, it seemed like a win-win scenario for both parties.
However, things quickly went wrong when the promotion simply couldn’t agree with Jones on exactly how much he was worth.
Whether you believe Dana White, who claimed that Jones was demanding "Deontay Wilder money" in the form of around $30m for a fight with Francis Ngannou, or ‘Bones’, who claimed White was lying about his demands, is still very debatable.
However, what was definitely undeniable was the fact that, at the time, Jones was desperate to get out of the UFC.
In a tweet that was eventually deleted by the former champion, ‘Bones’ stated “please, just cut me already” and then claimed that the organization had become “depressing” for him. He then pleaded with the promotion to “just f*cking let me go, let me take my business elsewhere.”
Unsurprisingly, White wasn’t willing to let one of his biggest draws go. While he did later state that the promotion had “moved on” from Jones with regards to the heavyweight title picture, ‘Bones’ remains part of the roster even if he hasn’t fought in over two years at this stage.
#2. Dan Hardy – former UFC welterweight contender
Not all of the fighters who have requested their release from the UFC over the years were driven purely by a need for a bigger pay cheque. In the case of former welterweight champion Dan Hardy, it was a little different.
After joining the promotion in late 2008, ‘The Outlaw’ quickly became one of the most popular fighters in the UK. While he was unable to defeat Georges St-Pierre for the welterweight crown in 2010, by late 2012 he appeared to be on a resurgence after winning two straight bouts.
However, disaster then struck in 2013 when Hardy was diagnosed with a rare heart condition called Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. The condition meant that ‘The Outlaw’ was unable to gain a license to compete, essentially forcing him into retirement.
By the time Hardy was medically cleared, it was 2018, some six years after his last fight. While he did express interest in returning, it seemed like a fruitless idea as he’d settled into a role as a commentator with the UFC instead.
When ‘The Outlaw’ was allegedly involved in an altercation with an employee of the promotion in March 2021, though, the UFC were quick to terminate his deal as a commentator, much to the surprise of the UK favorite.
Just months later, it came as no surprise to learn that Hardy had also requested his release from his fighting contract with the promotion. In this instance, the UFC were happy to acquiesce to his demands.
While he hasn’t fought since, ‘The Outlaw’ is believed to be planning a comeback outside of the octagon in the near future.
#1. Nate Diaz – UFC welterweight contender
It’s probably fair to say that Nate Diaz’s relationship with the UFC has always been a rocky one. That's despite the fact that since 2016, he’s been widely recognized as one of the promotion’s biggest drawing cards.
Essentially, Diaz is a highly unpredictable character who clearly knows what he believes he’s worth. Over the years, he’s been more than willing to sit out to wait for the fights that interest him the most.
Most fighters probably would’ve looked to capitalize on their popularity following two mega-drawing fights with Conor McGregor, for instance. Instead, Diaz walked away from the octagon for the best part of three years, only returning in 2019 for a pair of bouts with Anthony Pettis and Jorge Masvidal.
More recently, Diaz came back in a losing effort against top contender Leon Edwards. Despite a number of reports linking him to a third fight with McGregor, a second bout with Masvidal or even a clash with Dustin Poirier or Khamzat Chimaev, nothing has come to fruition just yet.
It came as no surprise, then, when Diaz took to Twitter last month to demand his release from the UFC entirely, despite only having one fight left on his current deal anyway.
Diaz even went as far as suggesting that he’d tried to contact the promotion’s brass in person but had been unable to. Whether this was to do with his reported interest in fighting for Bellator MMA, the UFC’s biggest competitor, remains a fair question.
Either way, it’s unlikely that the UFC will let one of their big drawing cards simply walk away, so this is a situation worth watching in the near future.
