Is MMA really in a period of recession? That’s a question that almost every single fight fan has been asking after watching the UFC head honcho, Dana White, remove yet another fighter from the UFC roster. The UFC has bid farewell to about 10 fighters since the beginning of the year, and now, after 3 days of UFC Des Moines, one more fighter saw his way out of the roster. And he’s none other than Don’Tale Mayes.
‘Lord Kong’ has 11 wins on his professional MMA record, along with 9 defeats and a no-contest. He was undefeated during his amateur days and won the titles at HOOK nSHOOT: Fightpalooza 3, and Hardrock MMA 4, before turning to become a professional fighter. Mayes found the way into the Octagon via Dana White’s Contender Series, where he won his fights at DWCS 2018 and DWCS 2019. However, his UFC debut didn’t go as planned, and he lost it via a third-round KO by Ciryl Gane. Nevertheless, he did manage to win 4 fights in the UFC, but also lost a total of 7 bouts in the organization.
Currently, he’s on a 3-fight losing streak, and his last loss came at UFC Des Moines. Mayes took on Thomas Petersen and lost the lackluster fight via a unanimous decision. Needless to say, the bout disappointed the fighting community. And they offered nothing but boos for the heavyweight contender. Maybe that’s what pushed White to remove Mayes from the roster. Yes, @realkevinK announced that “Don’Tale Mayes Been Removed From The UFC Roster.” And then he went on to highlight ‘Lord Kong’ for his “Unique creative striking,” in the comments section.
ROSTER UPDATE
Don’Tale Mayes Been Removed From The UFC Roster
Per @FullContactMTWF pic.twitter.com/sDche1IOFZ
— Kevin (@realkevink) May 7, 2025
We can actually expect the UFC boss to take more such drastic measures if a fighter fails to entertain the fighting realm with his performances and loses back-to-back fights. But does that mean that the UFC is actually in a recession? Well, not really. You see, Chael Sonnen recently made a video about it after he came across Ariel Helwani’s tweet claiming, “MMA is in a recession.” According to ‘The American Gangster’, MMA has been flourishing and he provided the example of UFC Des Moines. Sonnen claimed that the venue for the event was sold out, with over 14K fans planning to attend in a location that doesn’t really rhyme well with UFC. And that was the biggest proof that MMA wasn’t in a recession.
So why did Dana White and Co. remove so many fighters from the roster? Let’s take a look at who they are and how they performed in their last few bouts.
Every fighter that Dana White and Co. removed from the UFC roster in 2025
The UFC CEO said goodbye to 6 fighters within 24 hours of UFC 313. The list included Cody Stamann, who was also on a 3-fight losing streak, Kleydson Rodrigues, who lost his last two bouts in a disappointing fashion and missed weight twice, and Jonathan Pearce, who was also on a 3-fight losing streak.
Josh Culibao also found his way out of the UFC after he faced defeats in his last three matchups. Julio Arce, on the other hand, was likely about to make a comeback with a 6-4 UFC record. However, Taylor Lapilus is a cut that the world refused to accept. Unlike the others, Lapilus was actually on a winning spree with a record of 21-4. It might be his recent decision wins that probably pushed White to make such a decision.
In April 2025, Seung Woo Choi, Diana Belbita, and Istela Nunes had to step out of the organization. Of course, the reasons that the fighting world guessed pointed to their last losses. And the one who became the 10th fighter to say goodbye to the MMA promotion was Brad Tavares. After spending about 15 years with the promotion, and even defeating someone like Chris Weidman, Tavares was reportedly removed from the UFC roster in May 2025.
What are your thoughts on White removing around 11 fighters from the UFC in just 5 months in 2025? Do you think Don’Tale Mayes could have performed better had he remained in the organization? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
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