UFC fighters react to latest roster cuts with more rumored to come

The latest roster of fighters to be cut from the UFC has had many in the elite MMA promotion on edge.

MMA Junkie caught up with several UFC fighters at UFC Fight Night in Dublin and got their thoughts on the latest shakeup.

“It’s a stressful thing for us as fighters because we don’t get paid a lot, especially the guys that are just coming up and don’t have a name built up,” welterweight Rory MacDonald said. “They’re fighting for ($5,000 to show and $5,000 as a win bonus) sometimes, and they’re getting cut, and they’ve already quit their jobs because they pursued this UFC career.”

While MacDonald and other fighters who seem to be at the top of their game have little to worry about, it looks like the only way to let new fighters enter the promotion and show their skillset to make their way to the top.

“I’m here to win a gold belt and not lose my job,” says Hawaiian fighter Max Holloway. “It’s really a crazy feeling,” Holloway said in regards to being on the fence of being cut. However, he uses that fear of being dropped from the UFC to his advantage in every fight he is in. “I go with that feeling in every fight now, like I’m a lion backed in a corner, you know? That’s the only way to do it.”