In another of a long series of surprising cuts to occur over the last year, the UFC released yet another ranked competitor from the promotional roster. According to Tom Feely on Twitter, in a report that was later confirmed by MMAFighting, No.15 middleweight Omari Akhmedov has been removed from the fan rankings pool and released.

Akhmedov (21-6-1 MMA, 9-5-1 UFC) most recently competed on the early preliminary card of UFC 264: Poirier vs McGregor 3, where he lost a split decision to Brad Tavares. Despite the defeat, he had remained in the official rankings. The loss is Akhmedov’s second in his last three bouts, after he lost a unanimous decision to former champion Chris Weidman in August 2020. He defeated Tom Breese on January 20, 2021.

Akhmedov’s promotional resume includes names like Weidman, Tavares, Marvin Vettori, and Ian Heinisch. He also competed at welterweight under the UFC banner, from 2014 to 2017.