UFC shockingly doesn't re-sign ranked heavyweight fighter after upset win

Originally posted on MMA on SI | By Drew Beaupre | Last updated Aug 1, 2025 7:00 AM ET

(Zuffa LLC)

The UFC has officially parted ways with a ranked heavyweight that’s only suffered one loss inside the Octagon.

Slated to return home to Las Vegas this Saturday for a UFC Fight Night card featuring a revamped main event, the UFC made the trip to Abu Dhabi last weekend for a stacked card that saw Reinier de Ridder establish himself as a legit middleweight title contender when he defeated Robert Whittaker in the night's main event.

UFC Abu Dhabi also included big wins from the likes of Petr Yan and Shara Magomedov among several other ranked fighters, and the night’s action opened with a heavyweight matchup between Martin Buday and promotional debutant Marcus Buchecha.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Martin Buday Exits UFC After Latest Win

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 to Buday.

“Badys” 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.

Yeah its true, yesterday we got a call that @ufc is not resigning us for the moment… well it is what it is atleast im leaving with my head up. Thank you
— Martin Buday (@MartinBudayUFC) July 31, 2025

“Yeah its true, yesterday we got a call that [UFC] is not resigning us for the moment… well it is what it is atleast im leaving with my head up. Thank you”

"Badys" Went 7-1 In UFC Heavyweight Division

It’s certainly uncommon to see ranked fighters not get re-signed to the UFC, but this is the second time in recent memory that it’s happened to a heavyweight after ranked contender Alexandr Romanov also exited the promotion last year.

Romanov joined the UFC as an unbeaten talent in 2020 and went 8-3 overall in the Octagon, but fans were surprised when “King Kong” wasn't offered a new contract following his win over Rodrigo Nascimento last November.

(Zuffa LLC)

A former Oktagon MMA heavyweight champion, Buday picked up a first-round finish on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021 to earn a UFC contract and scored four-straight wins before being stopped by Shamil Gaziev at UFC 296.

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’t take long before Buday finds a new home to continue his fighting career.