Brad Tavares has returned to the UFC, even if he didn’t leave technically.
After a dominant victory over Gerald Measschart in April, the 15-year UFC veteran was suddenly removed from the roster after a promotional official confirmed the MMA fight that Tavares had completed his contract. Generally, the UFC removes fighters from the active roster when the contract ends or when the promotion actually releases the athlete from the contract.
In the Tavares situation, he had not cut off his contract, but in a short time, he had already had discussions with the UFC on a new deal that had already been completed.
“So my last battle was the last battle of my previous contract, so the contract expired,” Tavares said. Still my friends show it Podcast. “It’s funny, the UFC, whatever it is, I don’t know if it’s some AI type shit or department they have, but they’re on top of it.
“Anyway, I was in the middle of negotiating a new contract. That’s what I did. It was when all the news came out and it was interesting for me.”
Tavares was amazing after he spent almost the entire career in the UFC, even reaching the end of his contract.
When the removal from his roster was made public, Tavares said he had received many messages asking him what had definitely happened, but he already knew the situation would resolve soon.
“It’s funny, everyone was reaching out, people, close friends, even family members have others who have seen it, like, ‘I saw this’. “Me, me, I’m the type of guy. I’m just going to leave it behind, I’ll try not to address anything and let people guess.”
It all worked out in the end, but Tavares admits that despite his years of spending with the UFC, he understood the gambling he was taking by going to his latest fight with just one match left in his deal.
Before defeating Meerschaert by decision, Tavares suffered consecutive losses, and his third consecutive loss would have probably marked the end of his UFC career.
“That’s your chance to take, right?” Tavares said. “It certainly would have been my last 100% if I had fallen below or lost that fight.
“It was like my whole career. That final fight, either in the third or fifth fight, depending on the contract, you always want to show up, because you’re going to be appearing and it’s going to negotiate. If you reduce your losses with it, it’s hard to negotiate. At the end of the day, that’s the chance you take.”
Ultimately, Tavares has reached an agreement to re-sign with the UFC and is now waiting worriedly for his next mission, hoping to set the most victory records in the history of the middleweight division. He is currently tied with Michael Bispin for that honor with 16 wins at 185 pounds.
“The UFC has always been great for me,” Tavares said. “They gave me another contract. Now I can go out there and keep my own records.”