The UFC officially ended a few eras this week as they parted ways with Chris Weidman, Tony Ferguson, and Alexander Gustafsson. Weidman is a former UFC middleweight champion.
Ferguson was the interim lightweight champion in 2017 and Gustafsson fought for the UFC light heavyweight title twice–losing to Jon Jones in 2013 and Daniel Cormier in 2015.
Will Dana White and the UFC acknowledge their departures in any way? We’ll see.
All three men have been already signed and drafted by the Global Fight League for their upcoming season. Ferguson is headed to the Los Angeles team, Weidman will join Team New York and Gustafsson landed with Team London.
UFC Roster Watch, the foremost authority in fighter movement within the promotion, posted the updates on these three departures, and fans quickly shared their thoughts. While some were cruel, most of the comments were in tribute.
UFC Fans React to Alexander Gustafsson’s Release
One fan replied:
“Those uppercuts against Glover were insane.”
They were referencing the series of uppercuts Gustafsson landed on Glover Teixeira in their fight back in May 2017. Gustafsson won by fifth-round KO.
Another said:
“Fate is cruel. Gustafsson would have made a better champion.”
This was clearly referring to Jon Jones, whom Gustafsson fought and lost to twice.
Another fan replied:
“Gus vs. Bones was quite possibly one of, if not the best, ever scraps.”
I would concur. The first meeting was the best light heavyweight championship fight in history, and some believe Gustafsson deserved to win.
UFC Fans React to Tony Ferguson’s Release
One fan replied with a GIF of a young boy crying to express their disappointment. Another used a GIF from The Office with Michael Scott vehemently repeating the word, “NO!”
A third said:
“One of the best fighters of his era. It was fun watching him fight. He was nonetheless entertaining.”
A fourth added:
“Great run for Tony. Wish he didn’t end with so many losses.”
Ferguson is seemingly hyped to fight in the GFL. We’ll see if he finds the success that has escaped him in the final years of his UFC career. Ferguson is on a record eight-fight losing streak, but truthfully, the competition he’ll face in the GFL is likely on his level at this stage in his career.
It wouldn’t shock me to see him string a couple of wins together.
UFC Fans React to Chris Weidman’s Release
Weidman’s situation had a lot of people stumped. Some thought that when he retired from the UFC during the UFC 311 weigh-in show, he was done fighting. Even Weidman wasn’t sure which direction he would go.
As it turned out, the GFL reached out after his retirement. One fan showed his love for both Ferguson and Weidman, replying:
“Ferguson and Weidman back to back 😭😭😭.”
Another said:
“Damn. It’s a legend-cutting kind of day.”
He’s right. I’m not sure if the UFC has ever said goodbye to this many legends in such a short span of time. Perhaps the UFC’s discarded legends will become the GFL’s treasures. At least that appears to be the plan.
