20 former UFC fighters who could return to the promotion in 2024

Who of these former UFC fighters could get a second chance with the promotion in 2024?

It’s hard to make it to the UFC.

Thousands of professional fighters try every year – and most fail. For a small percentage, however, they sign their names on the dotted line to fight for the biggest MMA promotion in the world.

Sometimes the opportunity comes a bit too soon. Other times, they’re faced with difficult matchups that time proves were bigger challenges than originally anticipated.

When the pink slip comes and a fighter departs the promotion, there is often a phrase they hear on the way out: “Go get a few more wins, and the UFC will consider bringing you back.”

Easier said than done.

For the vast majority, they won’t be back. However, it’s not impossible. A number of fighters have done it over the years. Just look at former UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno. He was released from the promotion, built his way back, became a contender, and then won a UFC title.

Current roster members Nicolas Dalby, Dustin Jacoby, Modestas Bukauskas, Kurt Holobaugh, Roosevelt Roberts, and Rhys McKee are among those who have reinforced the possibility.

With the new year upon us, here are 20 former UFC fighters who could return to the promotion in 2024.

Note: Fighters considered for this list had to have competed in at least one UFC bout.

UFC veterans in MMA action Dec. 29-31

Check out which veterans of the UFC are competing in combat sports across the globe this weekend.

This week, the UFC remains idle during its holiday season following the final pay-per-view event of the year.

Many other combat sports events are taking place that feature several familiar names that have competed under the UFC banner.

Check out which veterans of the global MMA leader are competing Dec. 29-31.

Scroll below to see how the UFC veterans fared last week, and see the names and details of this weekend’s competitors.

Upcoming event information from Tapology.

UFC veterans in MMA and bareknuckle boxing action July 28-30

Check out which veterans of the UFC are in combat sports action across the globe this weekend.

This week, the UFC returns to pay-per-view for UFC 291 in Salt Lake City.

The event at Delta Center features a lightweight rematch, this time for the BMF title, between [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] and [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag].

Elsewhere, many other combat sports events are taking place that feature a number of familiar names that have competed under the UFC banner.

Check out which veterans of the global MMA leader are competing in MMA and bareknuckle boxing this week from July 28-30.

Check out the names and details about their bouts below.

Upcoming event information from Tapology.

7 former UFC fighters, other notables added to XMMA 6 in South Carolina

Check out the latest fight card from XMMA, a promotion which has centered around pairing notable names from the UFC and beyond.

XMMA is back for its first event of 2023 and putting on another card filled with notable names.

This time, seven UFC alumni and two former Bellator standouts are on tap for the event Wednesday. XMMA 6 will take place at John T. Rhodes Myrtle Beach Sports Center in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and streams free on YouTube.

The promotion launched in January 2021 with XMMA 1 in West Palm Beach, Fla., and was headlined by Andre Fialho vs. James Vick. XMMA 2 took place in July 2021 with a Ben Saunders vs. Ramsey Nijem main event. XMMA 3 followed shortly thereafter in October, headlined by Cody Gibson vs. John Dodson. XMMA 4 took place on April 2, headlined by John Dodson vs. Francisco Rivera. The most recent show the promotion put on was XMMA 5 in July, headlined by Will Brooks vs. Luis Pena.

Keeping with notable names as top-billing, XMMA 6 features nine major promotional notables from years past. Scroll below to see which UFC alums and other fighters are currently scheduled to compete.

UFC Fight Night 215 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Lowest payout in program history

UFC Fight Night 215 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 215 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $80,000.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC Fight Night 215 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 215 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Kennedy Nzechukwu[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Waldo Cortes-Acosta[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Chase Sherman[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Muslim Salikhov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Andre Fialho[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Jack Della Maddalena[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Danny Roberts[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Charles Johnson[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Zhalgas Zhumagulov[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jennifer Maia[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Maryna Moroz[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Miles Johns[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Vince Morales[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Ricky Turcios[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Kevin Natividad[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Vanessa Demopoulos[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Maria Oliveira[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Brady Hiestand[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Fernie Garcia[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Natalia Silva[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Tereza Bleda[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts. Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2022 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $7,634,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $13,812,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 215.

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UFC Fight Night 215 post-event facts: Jack Della Maddalena makes waves with third-straight KO

Check out all the facts and figures from UFC Fight Night 215, which featured a number of notable feats.

The UFC closed its November schedule on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 215, a decision-heavy event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

One fighter who didn’t need the judges, however, was [autotag]Kennedy Nzechukwu[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC), who made the most of his makeshift main event opportunity with a second-round TKO of [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag] (16-9-1 MMA, 5-8-1 UFC) in their light heavyweight clash.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 215.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Oct. 31-Nov. 6)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Oct. 31-Nov. 6.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Sept. 26-Oct. 2)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Sept. 26-Oct. 2.

UFC Fight Night 206 post-event facts: Jailton Almeida delivers shutout in heavyweight debut

Check out all the facts and figures from UFC Fight Night 206, which saw six of 11 fights end in a finish including a shutout.

The UFC closed its May schedule on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 206, which went down at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and saw six of 11 fights end in a finish.

The main event was among the bunch to go to the scorecards. [autotag]Ketlen Vieira[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) edged former UFC champ [autotag]Holly Holm[/autotag] (14-6 MMA, 7-6 UFC) by split decision in the women’s bantamweight headliner, marking her second consecutive win over a former UFC champion.

For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 206.

UFC London: No replacement for Nathaniel Wood, bout against Vince Morales to be rescheduled

Nathaniel Wood will no longer compete at UFC Fight Night 204.

There will be no homecoming for [autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag] at UFC Fight Night 204.

The London-born bantamweight was set to face Vince Morales on Saturday at 02 Arena, but was left searching for a short-notice replacement on Wednesday. Morales (11-5 MMA, 3-3 UFC) arrived in England to face Wood (17-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) as scheduled, but has dealt with fever since his arrival and was forced out of the fight.

However, instead of scrambling for a replacement, all sides will move forward with keeping the bout between Morales intact, and look to reschedule the contest for a later date, Wood announced via social media.

“I’m absolutely heartbroken to announce I will not be competing on Saturday due to my new opponent Vince morales being sick,” Wood wrote on Instagram. “As everyone knows this was everything to me but unfortunately it’s not meant to be. Thank you to the whole team at the @ufc @ufceurope who have been amazing this week. We will be looking to reschedule with Vince morales ASAP.

“Thank you everyone who has been messaging and apologize if I haven’t replied, my team, sponsors and family. I’m going to switch off my phone for a while.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CbNgym2sBwQ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Liudvik Sholinian was the original opponent set to face wood, but following his withdrawal, Morales stepped up as a replacement. Unfortunately for Wood, his second attempt at fighting in London fell through as well, and will look to rebound from his UFC 254 loss to Casey Kenney by facing Morales at a later date.

With Wood confirmed as off the card, the UFC Fight Night 204 lineup now includes:

  • Alexander Volkov vs. Tom Aspinall
  • Arnold Allen vs. Dan Hooker
  • Paddy Pimblett vs. Kazula Vargas
  • Gunnar Nelson vs. Takashi Sato
  • Luana Carolina vs. Molly McCann
  • Jai Herbert vs. Ilia Topuria
  • Makwan Amirkhani vs. Mike Grundy
  • Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Sergei Pavlovich
  • Paul Craig vs. Nikita Krylov
  • Jack Shore vs. Timur Valiev
  • Cory McKenna vs. Elise Reed
  • Nathaniel Wood vs. TBA
  • Cody Durden vs. Muhammad Mokaev

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