Despite a 12-year unbeaten streak and a violent, first-round finish over Swedish slugger Andreas Gustafsson just a few months back, the 34 year-old “Gladiator” was not re-signed after completing his UFC contract at UFC Paris. the promotion didn’t specify why matchmakers were no longer high on Fakhretdinov, but the 24-1-1 Russian points to “small nuances” that may have been a contributing factor.
“Yes, the information is reliable, but there is one catch: No one fired us,” Fakhretdinov said on Instagram (translated by ParamPam1990). “Our contract just expired and for certain reasons, it was not renewed. There are small nuances that I will not tell you here. Nothing terrible happened and the offers are pouring in with very different pay.”
“As they say, I am basically not in this sport for money,” Fakhretdinov added. “In no case are we worried. We fought with dignity there. Believe me, we have not said everything there, of course. We would have caused problems to some people there, but apparently this also got in someone’s way.”