UFC reportedly cuts 13 fighters including Mairbek Taisumov

The UFC has reportedly released 13 fighters from its roster including former top-15 ranked lightweight contender Mairbek Taisumov.

According to a report from Sherdog’s Tom Feely, the UFC has cut the following 13 fighters from its roster. The fighters are listed below, along with their records inside the Octagon.

Mairbek Taisumov (7-2 UFC)

The biggest name on this list and the most surprising to be cut, Taisumov was at one point one of the most dangerous lightweights in the world. After defeating Tae Hyun Bang in his UFC debut and then dropping a decision to Michel Prazeres, Taisumov racked up a six-fight win streak over Marcin Bandel, Anthony Christodoulou, Alan Patrick, Damir Hadzovic, Felipe Silva and Des Green before dropping a decision to Diego Ferreira. He has issues securing a visa to fight in the United States which likely played a large role in his release.

Dong Hyun Ma (3-5 UFC)

Known for putting on exciting fights for the fans, Ma defeated Takanori Gomi, Demian Brown and Brendan O’Reilly while dropping fights to Dominique Steele, Polo Reyes, Devonte Smith, Scott Holtzman, and Omar Morales.

Chance Rencountre (2-2 UFC)

Rencountre defeated Ismail Naurdiev and Kyle Stewart but lost to Lyman Good and Belal Muhammad. With a nice win over a solid prospect in Naurdiev, this is a surprising cut.

Cyril Asker (2-3 UFC)

Asker defeated Dmitry Smolyakov and Yaozong Hu while losing by knockout to Jared Cannonier, Walt Harris, and Tai Tuivasa.

Matthew Lopez (2-4 UFC)

Lopez defeated Johnny Eduardo and Mitch Gagnon, but he had losses to Rani Yahya, Raphael Assuncao, Alejandro Perez, and Brad Katona.

Khalid Murtazaliev (1-0 UFC)

Murtazaliev only had one UFC fight and he defeated CB Dollaway via TKO, but he tested positive by USADA and was suspended, so the UFC decided to let him go.

Talita Bernardo (1-3 UFC)

Bernardo defeated Sarah Moras in the Octagon, but she also lost to Marion Reneau, Irene Aldana, and Viviane Araujo.

Zhenhong Lu (0-0 UFC)

Lu was supposed to fight Movsar Evloev last summer but the fight was canceled. He ultimately never got his chance to compete inside the Octagon.

Isabela de Padua (0-1 UFC)

De Padua lost her only UFC fight to Ariane Lipski on short notice, then failed a USADA test.

Kyle Prepolec (0-2 UFC)

Prepolec lost both of his UFC fights, dropping decisions to Nordine Taleb and Austin Hubbard. The Canadian has since confirmed his release on his Twitter.

Marcos Mariano (0-2 UFC)

Mariano lost both of his fights in the Octagon to Lando Vannata and Claudio Puelles.

Tonya Evinger (0-3 UFC)

The former Invicta FC bantamweight champion, Evinger lost all three of her UFC bouts to Cris Cyborg, Aspen Ladd, and Lina Lansberg.

Jodie Esquibel (0-4 UFC)

The partner of former UFC light heavyweight contender Keith Jardine, Esquibel lost all four of her UFC fights to Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Jessica Aguilar, Angela Hill, and Hannah Cifers.

Were you surprised to see the UFC cut these 13 fighters, especially Mairbek Taisumov?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 3/19/2020.