UFC Shockingly Parts Ways With Top-Ranked Fighter After Nearly 10-Year UFC Career

The UFC has elected to part ways with one of its top-ranked fighters less than a week after they picked up a big win in Las Vegas.

Currently on a rare break following last weekend’s UFC Vegas 117 card where Arnold Allen defeated Melquizael Costa in the night’s main event, the UFC returns next week with a pair of Road to UFC cards before UFC Macau takes place on Saturday.

First reported by Guilherme Cruz, this week the UFC opted to part ways with four fighters, including #5-ranked women’s bantamweight contender Ketlen Vieira.

Ketlen Vieira Leaves UFC as #5-Ranked Bantamweight Contender

A member of the UFC roster since 2016, Vieira joined the promotion as an unbeaten talent and extended her record to 10-0 before being knocked out by future title challenger Irena Aldana at UFC 245.

The Brazilian remained a fixture of the women’s bantamweight Top 15 for the majority of her UFC tenure, and her list of victories includes back-to-back wins over former women’s bantamweight titleholders Miesha Tate and Holly Holm.

Ketlen Vieira (red gloves) fights Pannie Kianzad (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at O2 Arena. | Per Haljestam-Imagn Images

"Fenômeno" suffered a split decision loss to Raquel Pennington in the latter fighter’s last win before claiming UFC gold, and she also dropped a unanimous decision to current Women’s Bantamweight Champion Kayla Harrison at UFC 307 before Harrison unseated Julianna Peña.

Ketlen Vieira (red gloves) fights Kayla Harrison (blue gloves) during UFC 307 at Delta Center. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Vieira was in action last weekend at UFC Vegas 117, where she scored a minor upset over Jacqueline Cavalcanti to end Cavalcanti’s eight-fight win streak and the unbeaten run the started her UFC career.

UFC Releases 3 Other Fighters After Latest UFC Fight Night

In addition to Vieira, Cruz also reports that the UFC has parted ways with Ivan Erslan, Tuco Tokkos, and Daniel Barez following their respective fights at UFC Vegas 117.

Ivan Erslan and Tuco Tokkos face off ahead of UFC Vegas 117. | (Zuffa LLC)

A two-time title challenger with top Polish MMA promotion KSW, Erslan defeated Tokkos via unanimous decision for his first and only UFC victory last Saturday. Erslan and Tokkos exit the UFC after each going 1-3 in the promotion, and both men also made their Octagon debuts on the same night at UFC Vegas 92 in 2024.

Jafel Filho (red gloves) fights Daniel Barez (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at O2 Arena. | Per Haljestam-Imagn Images

Like Tokkos and Erslan, Barez’s UFC career also comes to an end after a 1-3 run. The 37-year-old initially missed out on a chance to join the UFC when he lost a split decision to Carlos Hernandez on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021 before rebounding with four first-round finishes to earn a call to the promotion in 2023.

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