Farid Basharat has become the latest undefeated fighter to be shown the door by the UFC, with the promotion declining to offer the 16-0 bantamweight a new contract despite a perfect 7-0 run inside the Octagon. The news, first reported by MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz on Wednesday, makes Farid Basharat a free agent — and has split fan opinion down the middle over how the sport’s biggest promotion values winning.
The 29-year-old’s UFC contract expired after his unanimous decision victory over John Garza at UFC 329 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 12, a win that extended his professional record to 16-0. Speaking to Joe Rogan in the Octagon immediately afterwards, Basharat made a direct public pitch for a new deal, pointing to his unblemished record and the longest active win streak in the bantamweight division. The UFC’s matchmakers, however, decided his services were no longer required.
The elephant in the room is entertainment value. Six of Basharat’s seven UFC victories went the distance, and the promotion has shown a growing reluctance to retain fighters who win without finishing — the same fate recently befell Michael “Venom” Page despite four straight wins, and Muhammad Mokaev before him. With a record 46 prospects earning contracts from Dana White’s Contender Series Season 10, the UFC has been clearing roster space aggressively over the past ten weeks, and even an unblemished record proved no protection.
Farid Basharat’s road from Contender Series to free agency
The Afghan-born British fighter earned his UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022 and made his Octagon debut in March 2023. Fighting out of American Top Team, the Paktia native built his 16-0 record methodically: seven of his victories came inside the distance — six by submission, five of them rear-naked chokes, plus one knockout — though only one of his seven UFC wins ended before the final bell.
His Octagon résumé is deeper than the “boring” label suggests. Victories over Jean Matsumoto, Chris Gutierrez, Taylor Lapilus and Da’Mon Blackshear took Farid Basharat as high as No. 9 in the official bantamweight rankings, and his suffocating top game made him one of the division’s most avoided puzzles. Fans who watched closely argue he was “mid, not boring” — effective rather than explosive — and question whether the UFC is sacrificing sport for spectacle.
Why the UFC cut Farid Basharat despite 16-0
Beyond the decision-heavy record, money likely played its part. An undefeated, top-10-ranked contender coming off a contract would command a significant raise, and the UFC evidently decided Farid Basharat’s asking price exceeded his value to the matchmakers. It is a cold business calculation the promotion has made before with unbeaten fighters, and it drew immediate backlash online, with supporters arguing his undefeated record could have been used to build the next contender rather than discarded.
There is also a strategic logic, however uncomfortable. The UFC’s roster churn after the Contender Series has been ruthless by design: with dozens of hungry, cheaper prospects arriving, expensive veterans who do not move the needle commercially become expendable. Winning, it turns out, is necessary but not sufficient.
What’s next for Farid Basharat?
The obvious landing spot is the PFL — soon to be rebranded as MVP MMA — where his older brother Javid Basharat has already rebuilt after being let go by the UFC off a win in February. Javid has made a winning start in his new home, offering a ready-made family blueprint for thriving outside the Octagon’s spotlight.
The UFC could also re-sign Farid down the line, as it has done with others who proved their worth elsewhere first. For now, though, one of MMA’s few undefeated records belongs to the open market. At 29, with his prime years ahead of him and a style built on control rather than chaos, Farid Basharat will have no shortage of suitors — and his next chapter may yet prove the UFC wrong for letting him walk.