UFC Opts To Not Renew Contract Of Record-Holding 15-Year Veteran

Forbes

05-05-2025

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - APRIL 05: Brad Tavares is interviewed after his victory over Gerald Meerschaert ... More in their middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on April 05, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Brad Tavares made his UFC debut in June 2010 with a decision win over Seth Baczynski. It appears his last fight with the promotion will be his April 2025 decision win over Gerald Meerschaert, as the UFC has removed Tavares from the active roster.
According to MMA Fighting, the UFC did not release or cut Tavares. Instead, the promotion opted not to review the contract of the 37-year-old middleweight competitor. Tavares could re-sign with the promotion, but he is no longer on the roster for now.
Tavares opened his UFC career on a 7-1 between June 2010 and January 2014. A win over Lorenz Larkin in January 2014 earned Tavares the No. 13 spot in the UFC middleweight rankings and a main card spot on a UFC FOX fight card in April 2014. His opponent on that night was the No. 14 ranked Yoel Romero. Romero defeated Tavares by unanimous decision in Florida that evening.
Tavares went 1-2 in his next three fights, but he returned to his winning ways in September 2016 with a decision over Caio Magalhães. He would prove victorious in his next three outings, climbing to No. 8 in the division.
In July 2018, the UFC matchmakers booked Tavares against future UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, who was unranked and 2-0 in the UFC at the time. Adesanya defeated Tavares by decision. Three fights later, Adesanya captured the interim UFC middleweight belt.
The loss to Adesanya was the start of an up-and-down run for Tavares under the UFC banner. Over the next six years, he would put together a 4-5 record. In his most recent outing, Tavares scored a decision victory over Gerald Meerschaert on the UFC Vegas 105 fight card.
Tavares ends his UFC run with a promotional record of 16-10 and an overall record of 21-10. His win over Meerschaert tied UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping for the most wins in UFC middleweight history with 16.
"I think for one, it ties me for the most wins in UFC middleweight history," Tavares said a the time (via MMA Junkie). "Two, I think it just shows the rest of the division that if anyone thought I was on my way out, or whatever they were thinking, that I'm still here, I'm still learning, I'm still growing.
"I feel like I still have room, as crazy as it is, I've been in it 20-plus fights, 15 years, and I still feel like I have that mentality that I can do more, I can do better. I can still evolve. There's a lot more things that we were working on that I wasn't able to show tonight."
"To be honest, the stats thing, it's important, I like it," Tavares added. "I'm humbled by it, but it's not something I really think about or look forward to. Tonight, I didn't even realize that. I knew I was up there close to Mike or whatever, I didn't know if I was past him or whatnot.
"Like I said, I don't really pay attention too much. But he brought it to my attention in the post-fight interview. I was like, 'Oh, yeah! I caught you Mike.'... Nothing but respect for that guy and all he's accomplished."