UFC parts ways with John Makdessi, eight others

The UFC has parted ways with nine athletes, including longtime veteran John Makdessi.

A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to MMA Fighting that the UFC has cut ties with Makdessi, Andre Fialho, Hannah Goldy, JP Buys, Carl Deaton, A.J. Fletcher, Kamuela Kirk, Tucker Lutz and Shane Young.

Twitter user Roster Tracker first reported the news.

Makdessi (18-9) came up short in three of his past four under the UFC banner, losing decisions to Francisco Trinaldo, Nasrat Haqparast and Jamie Mullarkey, dropping to 11-9 inside the octagon between 2010 and 2023. The Canadian lightweight, who had been with the UFC since 2010, recently posted a breakdown of his most recent pay on social media, complaining he was deducted a major cut in taxes, medical, airfare, and other expenses, in the end pocketing only $28,461.65 of his original $58,000 show purse.

Fialho (16-8, 1 no contest) suffered four straight knockouts in a span of 15 months, walking away with a 2-5 company record following a third-round stoppage defeat to Tim Means this past September, earning a Fight of the Night bonus in the process.

Goldy (6-4) won only once in five UFC appearances, suffering defeats to Molly McCann and Mizuki Inoue in recent bouts. Fletcher (10-3) and Lutz (12-4) completed their four-fight UFC deals with just one victory each.

Young (13-8), who fought future champion Alexander Volkanovski in his debut, was let go after losing his past four. Young missed weight and got choked out by Gabriel Miranda in his final match.

Buys (9-6), a Dana White’s Contender Series signee, went winless in all four UFC fights.

Deaton (17-7, 2 no contests) also lost both fights under the bright lights of the UFC.

Kirk (11-6), who famously won a decision over Makwan Amirkhani in his octagon debut, was let go after losing his following matches to Damon Jackson and Esteban Ribovics.