Bryan Battle UFC Release: Why He Joined The Excitement at Mike Perry’s Dirty Boxing

In 2021, he entered The Ultimate Fighter 29. Bryan Battle stormed through the competition, winning the middleweight tournament with a submission of Gilbert Urbina in the finale. “The Butcher” had arrived.

UFC Run: The Highs of Bryan Battle

Bryan Battle built a 7–1 (1 NC) UFC record, showing versatility and flair:

• Head-kick KO of Takashi Sato in just 44 seconds.

• 14-second KO of Gabe Green in Charlotte, his fastest finish.

• Submission of A.J. Fletcher in Round 2.

• TKO win at UFC Paris (2024), a performance capped with a brash post-fight mic moment: “I know you all didn’t think Bryan ‘The Butcher’ Battle was going to lose in a fist fight to a French dude.”

He collected three Performance of the Night bonuses and seemed positioned for a ranking push.

Discipline Problems on the Scale: Why Battle Was Released

Alongside the wins, a troubling pattern emerged. Battle missed weight multiple times:

• Against Gabe Green (173 lbs at welterweight).

• Against Randy Brown (175 lbs at welterweight).

• Most damaging, at UFC 319 (Aug. 2025), where he weighed in at 190 lbs for a middleweight fight — four pounds over the non-title limit. That fight was canceled outright.

Social media chatter made things worse. Clips circulated of Battle drinking late at night and eating hot dogs during what appeared to be training camp periods. Regardless of the timing, the optics reinforced a narrative: a fighter with elite skills but questionable discipline.

Contrition and Speculation: Bryan Battle on Helwani’s MMA Hour

Three days after the UFC 319 debacle, Battle appeared on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani. At the time, he had not yet been cut, though speculation was swirling.

Battle didn’t make excuses. He said plainly that he only had himself to blame, admitted his body wasn’t responding to cuts the same way, and spoke about needing to “punish himself” by giving up drinking. He accepted that being released was a real possibility, calling it “justifiable” if it happened.

Helwani, trying to end on a positive note, suggested that if the UFC hadn’t announced a cut three days later, maybe they wouldn’t. Still, the uncertainty hung heavy.

Days later, the UFC made the decision: Battle was off the roster.

Enter Dirty Boxing: Why Bryan Battle Fits Perry’s Chaos League

Where one door closed, another opened quickly. Dirty Boxing Championship (DBX), founded in 2024 by Mike Perry, signed Battle within a week.

DBX markets itself as the anti-MMA spectacle: no grappling, no submissions, just striking and raw violence. Fights are contested in an 18-foot ring with 5 oz. gloves, and fighters can use elbows, open-palm strikes, and ground-and-pound on downed opponents. The ruleset is built to create collisions.

Dirty Boxing Rules Snapshot

• 5 oz. gloves – closer to bare-knuckle than boxing

• Elbows allowed – slicing chaos in tight

• Open-palm strikes – Pancrase throwback

• Ground-and-pound permitted – until the ref stops it

• No grappling or submissions

• 18-foot ring – forces exchanges

Think UFC fights are intense? Dirty Boxing turns every bout into a phone-booth war.

On paper, Battle’s boxing-heavy skillset should translate. But the real story isn’t technical — it’s whether he can keep his discipline intact in a league that rewards chaos.

Broader MMA Implications of Bryan Battle’s Move

Battle’s shift to DBX reflects the changing MMA landscape:

• For the UFC: His release reinforced the promotion’s zero-tolerance policy toward repeated weight-cutting failures.

• For DBX: Signing him signals their willingness to embrace flawed but entertaining fighters, building an identity around volatility.

• For fighters: DBX, like BKFC, offers an outlet for names who burn out in the UFC but still attract fans.

What’s Next: Bryan Battle vs. Derik de Freitas

Battle debuts at DBX 3 on Aug. 29, 2025, against Brazil’s Derik de Freitas (3–9). The matchup is clearly designed to showcase him, build momentum, and sell his story to DBX fans.

But this is more than just a debut. At 30 years old, Battle is out of second chances. Even a dominant run in DBX won’t likely bring him back to the UFC; Dana White’s hardline stance on weight misses makes that almost impossible.

️ Poll #2: Will Battle Succeed in Dirty Boxing Championship?

• Yes – perfect fit for his style

• No – needs traditional MMA structure

• Too early to tell

• He’ll be back in UFC within a year

Final Round: Can Bryan Battle Find Discipline?

From overweight teenager to TUF champion, from highlight-reel finishes to canceled bouts, his career has been defined by extremes. Dirty Boxing Championship is now the stage for his next act.

If he embraces the opportunity, Battle could become a cornerstone for DBX. If the same cracks appear, the “discipline problem” narrative will follow him here too.

Battle still has the skills. The question is whether, this time, he has the discipline to make them matter.