Hall of Famer tops latest group of UFC fighters removed from active roster

Several veteran fighters, including one of the most decorated champions in the promotion’s history, have officially been removed from the active UFC roster.

The UFC’s summer schedule is in full swing as the promotion prepares to hold an event in Azerbaijan for the first time this weekend with UFC Baku, which will be followed by International Fight week in Las Vegas and a highly-anticipated UFC 317 card at T-Mobile Arena.

A rare two-week break will follow UFC 317 before UFC Nashville takes place on July 12. With such a busy slate of events, combat sports fans can be forgiven for not keeping track of every single change to the UFC’s active roster of fighters on UFC.com.

Ilia Topuria will try to become a two-division champion at UFC 317 later this month. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

José Aldo Officially Removed From Active UFC Roster

Social media accounts such as UFC Roster Watch make sure fans stay up to date on the UFC roster, and the latest rounds of changes saw José Aldo officially exit the list of active fighters following his second retirement after UFC 315.

Jose Aldo (red gloves) reacts after a fight with Aiemann Zahabi (not pictured) during UFC 315 at Bell Centre. | Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

Considered by many to be the greatest featherweight in MMA history, Aldo famously lost the 145 lbs. title to Conor McGregor at UFC 194 but continued competing at a high level and put together an incredible bantamweight run before he lost to current Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili in 2022.

“The King of Rio” retired from MMA following the loss to Dvalishvili in order to pursue a boxing career, but after three boxing bouts in 2023 the 38-year-old returned to the Octagon at UFC 301 and took a unanimous decision over Jonathan Martinez.

Jose Aldo (red gloves) shakes hands with Mario Bautista (blue gloves) after their fight during UFC 307 at Delta Center. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

A controversial loss to Mario Bautista halted the momentum of Aldo’s comeback before he also came up short against Zahabi, and it remains to be seen whether the UFC Hall of Famer’s latest retirement will truly stick.

"Queen Of Violence" & 2-Time TUF Winner Exit UFC

In addition to Aldo, UFC Roster Watch reports that veterans Ariane da Silva and Brad Katona were also removed from the UFC’s active roster.

The featherweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter Season 27, Katona’s initial UFC run ended after just four fights before he returned to the promotion by defeating Cody Gibson in the bantamweight finals of The Ultimate Fighter 31 at UFC 292.

Brad Katona (red glove) fights Garrett Armfield (blue gloves) during UFC 297 at ScotiaBank Arena. | Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

“Superman” went 1-3 following his victory over Gibson, and in his last outing at UFC 315 the Canadian was stopped in the first round by Bekzat Almakhan to put him on a two-fight skid.

Da Silva’s removal from the active roster ends an impressive 14-fight UFC career that began with back-to-back losses in 2019 before the Brazilian rebounded with a pair of wins over Isabela de Padua and Luana Carolina.

Ariane Da Silva (red gloves) fights Wang Cong (blue gloves) during UFC 316 at Prudential Center. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

“Queen of Violence” put together her best Octagon run with three-straight victories in 2023, but after missing weight and dropping a unanimous decision against Cong Wang at UFC 316 the 31-year-old ends her UFC career with three-straight losses.

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