Morning Report | Farid Basharat responds to Dana White saying there’s ‘a reason’ he wasn’t re-signed to the UFC

Farid Basharat does not agree with Dana White.

Last week, Basharat’s time in the UFC ended when the undefeated fighter was not re-signed to the promotion after completing his UFC contract. This caused quite the stir as Basharat was a ranked bantamweight and had a sterling 7-0 record in the UFC.

Following UFC Edmonton on Saturday, UFC CEO Dana White was asked why Basharat was not re-signed to the promotion, with White cryptically responding that “there’s definitely a reason” why the UFC parted ways with him, pointing out that in similar previous instances, it’s usually been because a fighter was hard to deal.

Well, on Sunday, Basharat responded to White’s claims on his social media, rejecting the implication entirely.

“I just want to address these comments made by Dana at the press conference last night. First of all, he kind of alluded to maybe I was turning down fights, or maybe I was difficult to deal with.

“First of all, and I’ve said this many times already, I definitely didn’t turn nobody down. In fact, we’re talking about the same guy that, in Abu Dhabi when I fought in 2024, my opponent missed weight by 10 pounds and I still went ahead with the fight. And from what I know, it’s the largest weight disparity in UFC history. Still went ahead with the fight, still put on a good show, and won. My Contender Series fight, I had a torn MCL in my elbow, still went ahead with the fight.

“So, these are facts you can ask your UFC staff, you can ask the nutrition team, you can ask the physio team. They will tell you these are facts. And with regards to if I was difficult to deal with, again, speak to your staff. Ask anybody about me, there was no issues with me in any way, shape, or form.

“I just feel like I had to put that out there, just to almost clear my name, because Dana’s gone out there and said all these things. In all my fights, my opponent had a combined record of, I think, 20-6. They’d only been finished once. And to go out there, I beat them all, I always put on a good show, every single one of my last three opponents I rocked or hurt. I just feel like I had to make this video to kind of almost clear things up.”

In a separate video posted to his YouTube account prior to White’s statement, Basharat also went into detail about how his UFC tenure ended and why he believes it happened.

“UFC 329 in July, that was my final fight on the contract,” Basharat said. “It was my fourth fight on my second contract. Generally, how it works in the UFC, before you fight your last fight out, you try to sit down with the organization and try and get a renewal going.

“We went through with the fight; obviously, I got the victory, and then subsequently after that we reached out to say, ‘Let’s renegotiate.’ They kind of stalled, just kind of put the talks on hold. And essentially, I didn’t hear anything from the UFC for about three months. I fought mid-July, and by the time I got the news was the end of October. So, over three months I didn’t really hear from them.”

“I don’t think I fit the direction that they’re trying to move in,” Basharat continued. “I think they’re trying to go for brawlers, spill your blood whether you win or lose type of stuff. And me, the way I fight, it’s high IQ, intelligent, defeat the opponent where they’re weak, and don’t fight them where they’re strong. And I don’t think that’s what they’re going for. …

“I think the company, the UFC, is manufacturing a fanbase that doesn’t appreciate good quality fighting, and they just appreciate these rock’em type fights where, even if it’s a mismatch, even if it’s a low-level fight, as long as there’s blood, as long as it’s a first-round finish, we’re happy. And in my opinion, you can’t build a sport off that. You might do well for a couple of years ratings-wise, but sooner or later, it’s going to delegitimize the sport.”

Dreams. Movsar Evloev thinks UFC 333 fight with Alexander Volkanovski could be 1st UFC finish: ‘Why not?’

Reaction. ‘That motherf*cker slept my ass’: Watch Joaquin Buckley’s reaction to UFC Edmonton knockout loss to Mike Malott.

Estimation. Jasmine Jasudavicius believes Erin Blanchfield made the mistake of underestimating her at UFC Edmonton.

Reason. Dana White addresses Farid Basharat controversy following UFC exit: ‘There’s definitely a reason.’

Return. UFC 336 announced for a return to Toronto in January.

Ouch. Ex-UFC fighter Jimmy Rivera delivers brutal faceplant knockout at BKFC 95

Erin Blanchfield: A Premature Obituary & A Potential Paralell

I was an Erin Blanchfield believer. When she blew the doors off of a slew of gatekeepers and former champions in her early 20s I wanted her to be the next great WMMA champion. But as MMA teaches us over and over again, progression is not purely linear. While her current reputation lies in ruin after a shocking stinker against Jasmine Jausdivicius, where she not only got out worked, but showed no ability to adapt, we are all left to wonder what could of been.

Or have we seen this story before?

It took me about 24 hours to recognize why it was bothering me that Blanchfield was being written off so harshly. Mike Heck stated “she will NEVER get a title shot” in the UFC like someone had asked him with a gun to his head what his first name was.

The facts are this. Blanchfield is a phenom who’s growth has stunted the past two years and soured the fans on her. She is also 27 with an insane amount of high level experience. Is this reminding you of anyone yet?

Enter Charles Oliviera. He’s 27 years old. In the next 12 months he will fight 4 times. He will be submitted by Ricardo Lamas via guillotine and then finished by Paul Felder in the division he would eventually reign in. That’s a very close mirror to Blanchfields last 12 months, losing to Fiorot and Jasmine.

Is Charles a rare talent who bucked the trend? Of course he is, but Blanchfield is special.

I think we may be digging her grave a bit too early when she has so much tread left on the tires.

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I’ll be honest, I never would’ve guessed that Farid Basharat would be a guy that had the MMA community split on his value to the sport. But that’s just one of the wonderful parts of MMA: you never know what’s coming.

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