UFC heavyweight contender Martin Buday’s shocking release confused the opponent he defeated at UFC Abu Dhabi.
Martin Buday prolonged his three-fight winning streak at UFC Abu Dhabi against certainly one of the promotion’s biggest signees of 2025. But despite his upset victory, the fight would find yourself being his final appearance contained in the Octagon.
Buday was not re-signed by the UFC following his unanimous decision win over Buchecha at UFC Abu Dhabi. It was a shocking decision by the matchmakers after Buday made a powerful case to maneuver up in the most recent heavyweight rankings.
Many around MMA expressed their confusion and criticism of the UFC’s decision to maneuver on from Buday, including Buday’s opponent Marcus Buchecha.
Marcus Buchecha ‘really sad’ over Martin Buday’s bizarre UFC release
In a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Buchecha was asked for his thoughts on Buday’s shocking dismissal.
“Truthfully, I used to be really sad,” Buchecha said.
“I used to be sad for him because he’s such a pleasant guy. I knew him from years ago, we ended up training together in Abu Dhabi — he was a blue belt, I already was a black belt, a world champion. We respected one another lots during fight week. And he’s 7-1 within the UFC. [Tom Aspinall] is 8-1. There was no reason to chop him.
“I used to be sad because he was well-ranked and everybody thought he would climb the rating much more, and ended up getting cut.”
Buday went 7-1 within the UFC with wins over Andrei Arlovski, Josh Parisian, and Jake Collier. His lone defeat got here against Shamil Gaziev at UFC 296 by TKO.
Buday, a Dana White’s Contender Series alum, earned a UFC contract by knocking out Lorenzo Hood with a knee in 2021. He went on to win his first 4 UFC appearances before the loss to Gaziev.
Buday revealed earlier this week that the PFL and Glory Kickboxing are two promotions which have reached out to him since he became a free agent. His former stomping grounds, Oktagon MMA, can also be taken with welcoming him back to the promotion.
Reinier de Ridder hit back at Paulo Costa in brutal fashion over UFC Abu Dhabi critique
Within the UFC Abu Dhabi principal event, Reinier de Ridder defeated Robert Whittaker by split decision to stay unbeaten in his promotional tenure. Despite De Ridder’s victory, not everyone was impressed together with his performance.
Former UFC title challenger Paulo Costa mocked De Ridder on social media after watching his win over Whittaker, claiming he would knock De Ridder out 3 times in the event that they squared off within the cage. De Ridder responded by reminding Costa that Whittaker outpointed him earlier of their careers.
De Ridder is on the verge of a possible middleweight title shot, and shall be keeping a keen eye on the UFC 319 headliner. UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis will face Khamzat Chimaev in his latest title defense.