UFC 321 was trash … and the matchmakers took notice.
It’s been fewer than three days since the event concluded, and already two athletes have been released from the UFC roster. Per automated UFC roster tracker roster.watch, Heavyweight Hamdy Abdelwahab and Flyweight Azat Maksum have been cut from the promotion (h/t Al Zullino). Both men fought at UFC 321, but what’s a little shocking here is that Abdelwahab actually won his bout versus Chris Barnett in a fairly one-sided affair.
There’s more here than
first meets the eye, however. Abdelwahab concluded his initial four-fight UFC contract with the Barnett fight and generally hasn’t been that impressive. His UFC career began with a split-decision win over Don’Tale Mayes which was quickly overturned due to a failed drug test. His next two bouts were decisions as well — a win over Jamal Pogues, a loss to Mohammed Usman — and then he lost a point for illegal strikes against Barnett in a 15-minute slog. At the time of writing, Barnett is still on the UFC roster despite his two-fight losing streak.
I wouldn’t expect many fans to cry about this particular injustice, though Valter Walker will have to find somebody else to heel hook.
As for Maksum, he suffered his third-straight loss at UFC 321 in a decision loss to Mitch Raposo. The leash is generally short at 125-pounds anyway, but Maksum didn’t help his odds by missing weight and losing as a -500 favorite.
