The LA Times reports that Yair Rodriguez has been cut by the UFC for refusing to take a fight against Zabit Magomedsharipov at UFC 227 this August in Los Angeles.
Rodriguez has an 11-2 record and is the number 11-ranked featherweight. He was a rising superstar until he was stopped by Frankie Edgar in May 2017.
Dana White says he’s cut Yair Rodriguez for refusing to take a UFC 227 fight at Staples Center https://t.co/6CVKtpL3zJ
— Lance Pugmire (@latimespugmire) May 11, 2018
Previously, Rodriguez had turned down an offer to fight No. 7-ranked Ricardo Lamas.
The proposed matchup with Magomedsharipov would have been a battle of up and coming fighters. Instead, White told the LA Times that a letter informing Rodriguez of his dismissal was sent on Thursday.
Dana White had posted a FakeNews tweet when news surfaced about the potential Yair-Zabit matchup. He then posted a cryptic Real News tweet when the release of Yair became public which one might infer affirmation of the fighter’s release.
Payout Perspective:
This is the unfortunate circumstance of the labor structure in the UFC. While Nate Diaz has been turning down fights, Rodriguez’s choices landed him a release from the company. Obviously, it is the UFC’s prerogative to release someone if they refuse to take fights but it also shows the leverage the UFC yields over its fighters and how the athletes have little to no input into their own careers. But, even if athletes had a union or association, its hard to say whether it would have save Rodriguez’s job in the UFC.
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