“The news is confirmed, I am no longer with the UFC,” Farid Basharat wrote in a social media statement published on Thursday, confirming his departure a day after the news broke.
The Afghan-born bantamweight is 16-0 as a professional and went seven for seven inside the Octagon. He has not been beaten in a cage. According to MMA Fighting’s reporting carried by Yahoo, the UFC simply declined to offer him a new deal once his contract expired after UFC 329 in July.
7-0 record, six decisions
Basharat beat John Garza by unanimous decision on the UFC 329 preliminaries in July, a short-notice booking after original opponent Ethyn Ewing withdrew with an injury. It was the seventh win of his UFC run and the sixth to go to the judges. The promotion’s preference for finishers, together with the raise he was likely due as a ranked fighter, has been widely cited by MMA outlets as a plausible reason for the parting.
Before that fight, the 29-year-old had already told reporters the uncertainty felt out of his hands.
“It’s a gamble. If it were up to me, I’d re-sign straight away because ultimately the UFC is where everybody wants to be.”
Afterwards, with the win in the books, he pushed the point again.
“It’s worth keeping me around. I think I tick all the boxes. I’m not sure what else could be required of me.”
“I waited but it never came”
Thursday’s statement was blunter. Basharat said no contract and no opponent were put in front of him after UFC 329, and he spent the months since idle.
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“Since my last fight I was never offered a contract or an opponent, I waited but it never came. I’ve certainly never declined a fight.”
He framed the exit as a wider problem with the promotion rather than a verdict on him.
“My departure clearly has nothing to do with my fighting capabilities. Unfortunately the organisation just isn’t what it used to be.”
“They’re heading in a different direction from what we all grew up loving.”
He also leaned on the numbers.
“I leave with a stainless record. Holding the longest active win streak in my weight division and the fourth longest in the entire UFC.”
His manager Ali Abdelaziz had warned in August that letting him walk made no sense, telling MMA Fighting: “It will be crazy if they don’t sign him, honestly. … I think Farid is one of the best bantamweights on the planet.”
A second Basharat on the market
Farid’s older brother Javid Basharat left the UFC earlier this year after a win, signed with the PFL and debuted there in August with a unanimous decision over Movsar Ibragimov. The PFL and Bellator-era free-agent market is the obvious landing spot for a ranked bantamweight with an unblemished record.
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Basharat ended the statement looking forward rather than back: “The best is yet to come.”
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