Brazilian legend Demian Maia and bantamweight Jimmie Rivera have been released by the UFC following the completion of their contracts.
News of the double departure was first revealed by MMA Junkie’s John Morgan on Twitter. According to the post, the two athletes fought the last fight on their contract and then were released by the organization.
It was brought to my attention that both Demian Maia and Jimmie Rivera have been removed from the UFC’s online roster.
Spoke to a UFC official who confirmed that “both have fought out their deals” at this time and are not currently under contract.
— John Morgan (@MMAjunkieJohn) August 23, 2021
“It was brought to my attention that both Demian Maia and Jimmie Rivera have been removed from the UFC’s online roster. Spoke to a UFC official who confirmed that “both have fought out their deals” at this time and are not currently under contract.” John Morgan wrote on Twitter.
The 2-time title challenger Maia rose to the top in the UFC a couple of times but fell short in those few title opportunities. First, Maia was tasked with fighting the great Anderson Silva for the title, and then later fought and lost to former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley back in 2017.
Rivera came into the UFC red-hot and compiled a 20-fight win streak before running into Marlon Moraes. The two bantamweights met in the middle, but unfortunately, Rivera would have a lapse in attention and got TKO’d by a vicious head kick.
Despite the loss, the above-average work rate that Rivera possesses is an effective weapon. Following the round one head kick loss to Moraes, Rivera struggled to put together a nice win streak and lost to the likes of Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan. While both of those losses came by unanimous decision, it seemed Rivera could never really get to second gear in the promotion he’s called home since 2015. Prior to being released by the UFC, the bantamweight lost to Pedro Munhoz in a contender’s bout in February.
With the Contender Series waiting in the wings, surely the promotion will be looking to add some news faces with a fresh season set to start on August 22.
Do you think both releases were appropriate?
