Kay Hansen reacts after being released by the UFC

UFC strawweight Kay Hansen has been released from the UFC. The promotion officially removed her from the roster earlier today.

The move doesn’t come as a massive surprise. The 22-year-old was signed to the promotion in 2020. Her first outing to the cage was a solid third-round submission over former Invicta FC atomweight champion Jinh Yu Frey. For her efforts, she received a ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus.

However, after that win, it was downhill for Hansen. She wound up losing her following fight to Cory McKenna via a controversial unanimous decision. Hansen’s next outing came at UFC 270 in January against Jasmine Jasudavicius, this time, the loss wasn’t controversial as she got dominated en route to a decision defeat up at flyweight.

Her most recent bout came at UFC 273 last weekend. Hansen once again lost via decision to Piera Rodriguez, but she also missed weight for the bout. On weigh-in day, the 22-year-old came in 3.5 pounds over the strawweight limit. The loss to Rodriguez was the last on Hansen’s contract.

As such, the UFC has declined to renew her contract and has now parted ways with Hansen. While the prospect has yet to give a full-length statement, she did react to her release on Twitter. Hansen had a simple message, that at 22 years old, her career is just getting started.

22 years young. My career is just getting started ❤️⭐️ pic.twitter.com/QIv9gTLryp

— Kay Hansen (@KayHansenMMA) April 13, 2022

Hansen was signed to the UFC with a fair bit of hype, but it didn’t work out. Prior to her UFC signing, she enjoyed a successful stint in Invicta FC and was also an accomplished grappler hailing from the 10th Planet gym. While her UFC run absolutely didn’t end the way she wanted, at only 22 years old, her MMA run is likely far from over.

What do you think about Kay Hansen being released from the UFC? Where do you think she’s going to fight next?