Former Ultimate Fighter winner Bryan Battle has been released from the UFC after missing weight for the second straight time.
Battle was scheduled to face Nursulton Ruziboev at UFC 319, but the fight was canceled after he failed to make weight. Days later, the promotion officially released him from his contract. The move didn’t come as a major surprise, as Battle had already struggled with weight issues at welterweight and later at middleweight, where he came in at 190 pounds — four pounds over the non-title limit. Overall, he missed weight three times during his UFC run.
Despite the setback, Battle remains optimistic about his future. Battle admitted that cutting weight has become tougher as he gets older.
“Circumstances aside, I didn’t make weight for the last one. It was kind of hard getting another fight,” Bryan Battle told MMA Fighting ahead of UFC 319. “I told my agent, I’m not afraid of these dudes up at middleweight. I used to fight there. I’m a pretty big guy myself. I’m not afraid of these middleweights and as soon as I said that, a fight came as fast as you know what.
“I would love to go back down to welterweight at some point. Just because I feel like the story’s not finished down there. I’m a prizefighter. Whoever they pay me to fight is who I’m going to fight.”
“I’m getting older, and I think my body just can’t do the things it used to do. I thought it was going to be a piece of cake, a walk in the park,” he said. “When you’re cutting weight and things go south — once things start going downhill, it’s hard to recover from it.”
Even after his release, Battle remains confident that he’ll make a return to the sport’s biggest stage.
“Regardless, no matter what happens, I know I’m still one of the best on the planet, so I know I’ll be back,” he said. “If I have to go out, whoop some ass, prove myself, and show that I can still do it and still make weight, then that’s what I’ll go do. I’ll come back and fulfill my potential, but I’m in a place right now where I don’t feel entitled to anything. I would understand if the UFC releases me. If they’re gracious, I’ll be extremely thankful for that. But this is just a time where I must focus on the day-to-day.”
During his UFC career, Bryan Battle went 7-1 with one no-contest, winning The Ultimate Fighter 29 and earning notable victories over Randy Brown, Kevin Jousset, Tresean Gore, and Gabe Green.
