The Ultimate Fighting Championship‘s employment hit squad has taken out five more athletes from the organization’s sizable roster.
Earlier today, MMAFighting confirmed that welterweight Emil Meek, lightweights Alexander Yakovlev and Joe Ellenberger, women’s flyweight Lara Procopio, and heavyweight Roque Martinez are no longer employed by the promotion.
Five more gets taken down in latest UFC roster cuts
After winning his UFC debut at UFC 206 five years ago, Meek, 32, lost three straight. Although, two of those three defeats came at the hands of current welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in 2018, and talented 170-pounder Jake Matthews last year. However, his inactivity in completing just four bookings in five years had to certainly affect his standing in the promotion.
Russia’s Yakovlev is the most tenured of this group of roster cuts, having competed in the Octagon nine times. Unfortunately for him, he came up short in six of those appearances and lost his last two.
Ellenberger, 36, is in a more unusual situation in that he’s not competed for the organization since a 2014 defeat to Bryan Barberena at UFC on FOX 13. The Victory Fighting Championship veteran only competed for the organization twice in all, making his addition on the list more a surprise over him still being on the active roster after seven years away from fighting.
Brazilian talent Procopio is a tough-luck case in getting only three opportunities inside the Octagon, despite signs of upside. She lost two of three, however, those setbacks came to unbeaten talent Casey O’Neil last month, and 14-3 fellow Brazilian Karol Rosa. Her lone victory came over another strong prospect in Molly McCann. In a division that lacks depth, not bringing back a 7-2 fighter in their mid-twenties seems an odd decision.
Finally, Martinez’s back was against the wall when he entered the Octagon at UFC Vegas 29 in June. He had lost both his two previous Octagon forays and badly needed to get a W against Josh Parisian. He did not, and his winless run ended his UFC stint at three bouts.
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