UFC roster update: Ben Saunders, Brandon Davis among eight fighters released

The UFC is trimming its roster entering February, with eight fighters parting ways.

Ben Saunders | Welterweight (22-13-2 MMA, 10-10 UFC)

The veteran name of the bunch, [autotag]Ben Saunders[/autotag] rounds out his third UFC stint – bringing him up to a grand total of 20 promotional fights. A fan-favorite through and through, Saunders became known as a do-or-die fighter who seldom went the distance – in his 20 UFC fights, he only saw the scorecards five times. From his first UFC fight in 2007 to his most recent vs. Matt Brown at UFC 245 in December 2019, Saunders faced a who’s who of the welterweight division. His UFC opponents included Jon Fitch, Mike Swick, Marcus Davis, Patrick Cote, Lyman Good, Jake Ellenberger, and more. Saunders was finished in six of seven fights, leading to his UFC release.

Jin Soo Son | Bantamweight (9-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC)

[autotag]Jin Soo Son[/autotag] was only in the UFC for a short time, but it was fun while it lasted. After Douglas Silva de Andrade pulled out of his UFC Fight Night 136 fight against Petr Yan, Son stepped up as a short-notice replacement. Despite being the proverbial lamb in the eyes of many, Son held his own against one of the division’s future stars. His toughness that evening proved there might, in fact, be a second “Korean Zombie” in MMA. In his second UFC fight, Son continued radiating excitement. His back-and-forth brawl with Mario Bautista earned UFC on ESPN 4 “Fight of the Night” honors. Two losses were enough for the UFC to decide to let him go.

Daniel Spitz | Heavyweight (6-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC)

Aptly nicknamed “Daddy Long Legs,” [autotag]Daniel Spitz[/autotag] provided a unique matchup for any heavyweight he stepped in the cage with. The 6’7″, 240-pounder fought four times in the UFC from March 2017 to October 2019. After losing to Mark Godbeer in his UFC debut, Spitz picked up the lone victory of his UFC career when he knocked out Anthony Hamilton in 24 seconds at UFC Fight Night 116. After a TKO loss to Walt Harris and a unanimous decision defeat to Tanner Boser in October 2019, Spitz decided to walk away from MMA.

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