Dana White Brutally Axes Three Fighters From UFC Roster in Shock Move

Three fighters have been released from the UFC roster in the latest round of cuts, including a ranked fighter.

The UFC is back in the swing following a brief hiatus, with UFC 324 - headlined by Justin Gaethje vs. Paddy Pimblett - kicking off a new era on Paramount.

That was followed by UFC 325, with the first fight night event of the year taking place last weekend.

A bantamweight clash between Mario Bautista and Vinicius Oliveira topped the card, with Bautista emerging victorious with a big submission win.

Kyoji Horiguchi outpointed Amir Albazi in a UFC flyweight title eliminator and Rizvan Kuniev scored a unanimous decision victory over Jailton Almeida.

A few days removed from the event, Almeida has been cut in a shock decision given the heavyweight fighter had a ranking next to his name.

Jailton Almeida has been released from the UFC following his defeat to Rizvan Kuniev. Image: Getty

Almeida was ranked ninth in the UFC heavyweight division before his fight against Kuniev.

Despite boasting a spot in the top ten, the Brazilian has been released after losing back-to-back fights.

He came through Dana White's Contender Series, where he beat Nasrudin Nasrudinov to earn a spot in the UFC.

The 34-year-old won six UFC contests in a row before succumbing to Curtis Blaydes.

He returned to the win column with consecutive wins over Alexander Romanov and Serghei Spivac.

But, as mentioned, Almeida's on a two-fight losing skid following his defeats to Volkov and Kuniev.

Suspended Mohammed Usman removed from UFC, one other fighter also cut

Mohammed Usman, brother of ex-UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, has also parted ways with the UFC.

He was recently hit with a 30-month suspension after admitting to testosterone use.

Usman went 4-2 and won his last fight against Hamdy Abdelwahab.

He was scheduled to face Valter Walker in October but was pulled from the bout due to an anti-doping violation.

Mohammed Usman beat Hamdy Abdelwahab in his last appearance. Image: Getty

Welterweight Adam Fugitt has also been removed from the UFC roster.

He made six appearances inside the famed Octagon and went 2-4 during his spell with the MMA leaders, which included losses to Michael Morales, Mike Malott and Islam Dulatov.

Fugitt last fought when he was stopped by Ty Miller at last month's UFC 324.