UFC recently made an unexpected roster move by parting ways with a promising bantamweight fighter.
The athlete in question is Javid Basharat, who is coming off ahard-fought unanimous decision victoryover a promotional newcomer, Gianni Vazquez, after accepting the bout on just two days’ notice at UFC Vegas 113 inside the META Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Basharat was initially scheduled to face Said Nurmagomedov last Saturday, but the bout fell through after Nurmagomedov withdrew for undisclosed reasons, leading to a late replacement matchup against Vazquez.
Despite emerging victorious, “Snow Leopard” has now been released by the UFC in a surprising turn of events. The roster move was first reported on social media by MMA journalist Tom Feely.
Javid Basharat has been removed from thehttps://t.co/YHr2ZDqw9froster
Javid Basharat earned his way into the UFC with an impressive third-round submission victory over Oron Kahlon onDana White’s Contender Seriesin October 2021. He carried that momentum into his promotional debut in March 2022, securing a convincing unanimous decision win against Trevin Jones.
“Snow Leopard” kept his strong run going in his next two outings, earning back-to-back unanimous decision victories over Tony Gravely and Mateus Mendonca.
After rattling offthree straight wins, the 30-year-old Afghan fighter saw his run stalled when his bout with Victor Henry was ruled a no-contest following an accidental low blow that forced an abrupt stoppage at UFC 294 in October 2023.
Basharat struggled to regain his footing afterward, first dropping a unanimous decision to Aiemann Zahabi in March 2024 before suffering a first-roundknockout loss to Ricky Simonin February 2025.
Source: LowKickMMA.com
