Adios! Dana White cuts Yair Rodriguez for turning down Zabit Magomedsharipov at UFC 227

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) just said goodbye to one of its brightest young stars on Friday (May 11, 2018) after a proposed match up failed to materialize for the upcoming UFC 227 pay-per-view (PPV) event this August in Los Angeles.

According to promotion president Dana White, who assured mixed martial arts (MMA) fans on Twitter this was “Real News,” featherweight striking sensation Yair Rodriguez was released for turning down fellow 145-pound up-and-comer Zabit Magomedsharipov.

“The guy’s off a year, rejects a fight with (Ricardo) Lamas and then doesn’t want to fight a guy below him in the rankings?” White asked Los Angeles Times on Thursday night. “He can go somewhere else. We have no use for him.”

Rodriguez (10-2) has not competed since a brutal, technical knockout loss to Frankie Edgar roughly one year back. The 25-year-old Mexican striker leaves the promotion with an Octagon record of 6-1.

No telling where “Pantera” ends up, but I hear these guys are pretty big in Latin America.