Unbeaten yet out: Farid Basharat confirms his UFC exit
Seven UFC wins and 16-0 overall – yet the bantamweight is without a new contract. Basharat says the organisation "just isn't what it used to be".
Graphic: TERRA WORLD NEWS (own graphic based on the sources listed)
Farid Basharat is no longer with the UFC. The bantamweight confirmed reports of his departure on Instagram: "The news is confirmed, I am no longer with the UFC." Basharat is unbeaten in 16 pro fights and won all seven of his UFC appearances – six by decision. A win over John Garza in July completed his contract.
He was then offered neither a new contract nor an opponent, Basharat wrote: "I waited, but it never came." He said he never turned down a fight. His exit "clearly has nothing to do with my fighting capabilities", and the organisation "unfortunately just isn't what it used to be". There was no statement from the UFC.
Basharat earned his UFC contract on Dana White's Contender Series. He considers himself the holder of the longest active winning streak at bantamweight – and leaves, in his words, "with a stainless record".