mma / News
UFC Releases Junior Dos Santos, Alistair Overeem
The UFC has cut two of their most well-known heavyweights in Junior Dos Santos and Alistair Overeem. MMAjunkie reports that Dos Santos and Overeem have parted ways with the company. The two were removed from the UFC rankings on Wednesday, but the promotion has yet to officially announce their release.
Dos Santos, however, confirmed his release by posting on Instagram, writing:
“Thanks @ufc for a great 12 years! I fought through MMA’s Murderer’s Row to get my shot at the belt. Holding and defending it was one of the great honors of my life. Thanks to every opponent, thanks to every fan and every critic. I’m going to spend some time back at the drawing board, but I’m excited to move on. OSS.”
Dos Santos is a former UFC heavyweight champion who debuted at UFC 90 in 2009 and went 15 – 8 during his time with the company. He won the title from Cain Velasquez at the first UFC on Fox show in 2011, holding it for a year before losing it back to Velasquez at UFC 155. He leaves the company on a four-fight skid, having last fought at UFC 256 in December.
Meanwhile, Overeem had a run with the company that started at UFC 141 in December of 2011, where he beat Brock Lesnar. He went on a 1-3 run immediately after that, but turned things around and leaves the company with a 13 – 8 record. His last fight was a loss to Alexander Volkov at UFC on ESPN+ 42 in February.