Losing at UFC Vegas 99 was like the kiss of death.
The turnover continues on the lower levels of the UFC’s roster, and losers on that card continue to be given their walking papers.
On Tuesday, October 29, the promotion said goodbye to eight fighters, and five of them lost at the UFC’s Apex on October 19, per Roster Tracker.
Including Jake Hadley, who wasn’t re-signed after losing a fight he was favored against a short-notice opponent, six fighters who lost at that event are no longer with the UFC.
The names of the fighters let go were more significant this time around as the promotion cut ties with No-9-ranked Matheus Nicolau.
The 31-year-old Brazilian has lost three straight fights, but the defeats have come to solid competition. Nicolau was knocked out in April 2023 by No. 1 contender Brandon Royval. He lost by KO against Alex Perez, who is currently ranked sixth, though he snapped a losing streak with the win.
Most recently, Nicolau lost a unanimous decision at UFC Vegas 99 to the hard-charging No-7-ranked Asu Almabayev. That streak is less than ideal, but it doesn’t seem like a skid worthy of being released or not being re-signed.
Here is a look at the fighters removed from the UFC’s roster on October 29.
Robelis Despaigne
Towering Cuban Olympic bronze medalist in taekwondo, Robelis Despaigne didn’t prove to be for the journey. Despaigne, 37, went 1-2 in the UFC in his three-fight stint with the promotion.
He scored an 18-second KO win over Josh Parisian in his promotional debut in March 2024. Still, Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Austen Lane easily defeated him through a unanimous decision in his last two fights. The loss to Lane happened 10 days before his release, and the critical factor was the same in both defeats.
Despaigne has no ground game and proved incapable of defending takedowns on the highest level of competition. He could try to continue his development outside the UFC with hopes of returning later, but because he is pushing 40 years old, it may be a case of too little grappling training, too late in his life.
Jessica Penne
Penne, 41, is on a three-fight losing streak. She hasn’t won a fight in more than four years. While she is a bit of a pioneer and one of the people who helped legitimize women’s MMA, it feels like the end of the road.
When watching Penne lose a unanimous decision to Elise Reed at UFC Vegas 99, I posted she is tougher than she is good at this point, and that’s a dangerous place to be as a combat sports athlete.
Tamires Vidal
The 26-year-old Brazilian is another fighter on a three-fight losing streak. Her one-sided loss to Joselyne Edwards at (you guessed it) UFC Vegas 99 was highly revealing.
While Edwards missed weight by an eye-popping three pounds, Vidal was outfought in every aspect of the sport. Vidal didn’t look like she belonged in the UFC, and that’s a bad look when you’re on a three-fight losing streak.
Vinicius Salvador
While Salvador hadn’t fought since May, he did have something in common with most of the other fighters on this dubious list. Salvador’s last defeat put him on a three-fight losing streak. He’s 14-7 as a pro.
Daniel Pineda
Pineda’s situation is different than the others. Yes, he, too, is on a three-fight losing streak, and he failed to get the win at UFC Vegas 99, dropping a split decision to Darren Elkins.
However, Pineda, a 45-fight MMA veteran, announced his retirement in the Octagon following the loss. He did go out with a Fight of the Night performance.
Charalampos Grigoriou
How crazy is MMA?
Grigoriou earned a UFC contract on Dana White Contender Series when he scored a 60-second KO of Cameron Smotherman in Season 7 of the show. Grigoriou lost both of his fights with the promotion as a member of the main roster, and he gets released with a group of fighters who also lost on a card that saw Smotherman defeat Hadley, precipitating his separation from the UFC.
Jesse Butler
It was tough two fights for Butler in the UFC. In his promotional debut, Butler was knocked out in 23 seconds by Jim Miller. In his next fight, Butler lost a unanimous decision against Brad Katona in June.
Butler is now 32 years old and 12-6 as a pro. Like everyone else on this list, he has some decisions to make about his career.
