Two UFC Veterans Removed in Latest Update to Official UFC Roster

These two fighters both made eight Octagon appearances each between the UFC and DWCS.

(Zuffa LLC)

Two fighters that won UFC contracts on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022 have both been removed from the UFC roster as of this week.

Following a return home to Las Vegas, NV, and a welcome off week last week, the UFC returns to action this weekend with a UFC Fight Night in Macau that features a headlining bout between former UFC flyweight titleholder Deiveson Figueiredo and Song Yadong.

This week will also see the world’s leading MMA promotion hold events on consecutive days at Macau’s Galaxy Arena, as Thursday and Friday will also feature 10-fight cards showcasing the quarterfinal bouts of this year’s Road to UFC tournaments.

Jesus Aguilar & Austen Lane Removed From UFC Roster

Easily lost in the shuffle of fight week and a pair of rare non-Saturday cards for the UFC, the UFC Roster Watch account reports that veteran fighters Austen Lane and Jesus Aguilar have both been removed from the official UFC roster.

After falling short in his professional MMA debut in 2015, Aguilar put together an eight-fight win streak capped off by a third-round submission of Erisson Ferreira to win a UFC contract on DWCS in 2022. The 30-year-old was submitted by recent flyweight title challenger Tatsuro Taira in his UFC debut before rebounding with three-straight victories.

Sumudaerji (red gloves) fights Jesus Aguilar (blue gloves) during UFC 326 at T-Mobile Arena. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Aguilar’s winning run was snapped by Rafael Estevam before he defeated Luis Gurule via unanimous decision in what turned out to be his final UFC victory, as the Mexican flyweight dropped a decision to Sumudaerji at UFC 326 and was forced to pull out of a scheduled UFC Macau fight with Rei Tsuruya due to injury.

Austen Lane Opts to Retire From MMA After Three-Straight Losses

Following the news that he was no longer on the UFC roster, Adam Martin reports that Lane’s removal comes after the 38-year-old informed the promotion that he’d made the decision to retire from MMA.

A former Fury FC heavyweight champion, Lane secured his UFC contract with a first-round finish of the formerly-undefeated Richard Jacobi on DWCS in 2022. His promotional debut against Justin Tafa ended in disappointing fashion due to an eye poke in the opening minute, and Tafa ended up stopping
Lane in their rematch before Jhonata Diniz also knocked him out in 2024.

Iwo Baraniewski and Austen Lane at weigh-ins for UFC Fight Night at O2 Arena. | Peter van den Berg-Imagn Images

The 38-year-old scored a sizeable upset over Robelis Despaigne later that year to secure his first and only UFC win. Following stoppage-losses to Mario Pinto and Vitor Petrino, Lane dropped down to light heavyweight in March and was knocked out by Iwo Baraniewski in 28 seconds.