The UFC is seemingly still going through a transition of deciding who they will keep on their roster. Former UFC heavyweight contenders Junior Dos Santos and Alistair Overeem are no longer with the UFC. The news broke when media outlets realized that both fighters were not in the UFC rankings, with Dos Santos and Overeem officially acknowledging on their Instagram that they are no longer with the UFC. UFC President Dana White warned the MMA community that the UFC would be releasing fighters from their roster.
The decision to let go of talent started with the surprise release of former UFC middleweight contender Yoel Romero on December 4, 2020. The next day White told the MMAJunkie’s John Morgan at the UFC on ESPN 19 Post Fight Conference that the UFC was looking to make “Serious cuts at the end of the year.” Those cuts have gone through the end of 2020 into yesterday with the decision to release Dos Santos and Overeem. Both fighters have lost their last fight and have moved from being contenders for the UFC heavyweight championship.
Dos Santos fought in the UFC for 12 years. During his tenure, he became the UFC Heavyweight champion by defeating Cain Velasquez at UFC on Fox 1 on November 12, 2011, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The win sparked a legendary trilogy between the two fighters that saw Velasquez win their next two fights. Dos Santos also has wins over UFC heavyweight greats like UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, Fabricio Werdum, Frank Mir, and Shane Carwin. His last win in the UFC was against Derrick Lewis by TKO at UFC Fight Night 146 on March 9, 2019, at the Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas. Dos Santos ends his UFC career on a four-fight losing streak, with all being by TKO.
Overeem fought in the UFC for nine years. He made his UFC debut by defeating former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar by TKO at UFC 141 on December 30, 2011, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Overeem’s UFC career saw ups and downs after his win over Lesnar. He finally caught momentum by going on a four-fight win streak to get his chance to fight Miocic for the heavyweight championship at UFC 203 on September 10, 2016, at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Miocic retained his title by defeating Overeem by knockout. While not getting another chance at the UFC heavyweight championship, Overeem was also a contender in the division. His last loss was against Alexander Volkov by TKO at UFC Fight Night 184 on February 6th at the UFC Apex Facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.