UFC Abu Dhabi also included big wins<\/a> from the likes of Petr Yan and Shara Magomedov among several other ranked fighters, and the night\u2019s action opened with a heavyweight matchup between Martin Buday and promotional debutant Marcus Buchecha. <\/p>\n Martin Buday during weigh-ins for UFC 303 at T-Mobile Arena. \/ Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n Buchecha joined the UFC following a 5-1 run in ONE Championship to kick off his MMA career. Despite coming into his Octagon debut as the favorite, the grappling star suffered a unanimous decision loss<\/a> to Buday. <\/p>\n READ MORE: Teddy Atlas: Boxing’s Dana White could fix what the Ali Act failed to cure<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cBadys\u201d left Abu Dhabi on a three-fight win streak after upsetting Buchecha and also moved up one spot in the UFC heavyweight rankings to #12. Less than a week after the event, Buday confirmed with fans that the promotion elected not to re-sign him following his latest win.<\/p>\n Yeah its true, yesterday we got a call that @ufc<\/a> is not resigning us for the moment\u2026 well it is what it is atleast im leaving with my head up. Thank you\ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffb<\/p>\n \u2014 Martin Buday (@MartinBudayUFC) July 31, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cYeah its true, yesterday we got a call that [UFC] is not resigning us for the moment\u2026 well it is what it is atleast im leaving with my head up. Thank you\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s certainly uncommon to see ranked fighters not get re-signed to the UFC, but this is the second time in recent memory that it\u2019s happened to a heavyweight after ranked contender Alexandr Romanov also exited the promotion<\/a> last year. <\/p>\n Romanov joined the UFC as an unbeaten talent in 2020 and went 8-3 overall in the Octagon, but fans were surprised when \u201cKing Kong\u201d wasn’t offered a new contract following his win over Rodrigo Nascimento last November. <\/p>\n Martin Buday during his fight with Marcus Buchecha at UFC Abu Dhabi. \/ (Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n A former Oktagon MMA heavyweight champion, Buday picked up a first-round finish on Dana White\u2019s Contender Series in 2021 to earn a UFC contract and scored four-straight wins before being stopped by Shamil Gaziev at UFC 296. <\/p>\n READ MORE: ‘Needs to be stopped’ Doctor speaks out against Dana White’s Power Slap<\/a><\/p>\n The 33-year-old rebounded against Andrei Arlovski and Uran Satybaldiev before his latest victory over Buchecha, and after going 7-1 in the UFC it likely won\u2019t take long before Buday finds a new home to continue his fighting career. <\/p>\n \u2022 Teddy Atlas names UFC’s best boxer and praises Alex Pereira\u2019s ‘beautiful’ left hook<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Dominick Reyes reflects on Jon Jones fight and what the judges missed<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Jon Jones shuts down GOAT fight with retired MMA legend<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 UFC legend officially removed from active roster<\/a><\/p>\n Stick with MMAKnockout<\/a> for more FREE coverage of the UFC and MMA.<\/p>\n Follow MMAKnockout on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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