Editor’s Note: The article has been updated at 2:00 a.m. on May
7 to reflect the original source of this news.
One of the longest tenured active Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters is
currently no longer on the roster.
Social media user FullContactMTWF
initially reported the news on Friday that Brad
Tavares was no longer a member of the UFC.
Other outlets have since confirmed that the Hawaiian who joined
the promotion in 2010 had fought out of his current contract. The
middleweight may be re-signed by the organization, or he could join
another promotion, but for now he is a free agent.
The 185-pound stalwart first reached the major stage when he
appeared on Season 11 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” reaching the
semifinals in the season that first pitted Coach Chuck
Liddell against Coach Tito Ortiz—only
for Ortiz to withdraw on the final episode to be replaced by
Rich
Franklin. Beating James
Hammortree and Seth
Baczynski to get to the semis, eventual victor Court McGee
tapped him out.
Even though he suffered a loss before getting to the finals, the
promotion slotted him in to rematch Baczynski, as their first
encounter ended courtesy of an illegal Baczynski knee. The
workmanlike Tavares reached the top 10 and resided in its confines
for years, achieving several milestones including tying Michael
Bisping’s lead for the most victories at 185 pounds (16) while
appearing more times (26) than anyone else in the weight class. He
and Neil
Magny share the top spot for the most decision wins in UFC
history, with 14 apiece. Tavares departs the promotion—for the time
being, as he could get picked up again—having earned a win on the
scorecards over fellow grizzled veteran Gerald
Meerschaert in April.