Heavyweight fighter Martin Buday has announced the UFC has decided not to re-sign him – at least for the time being – despite the fact he has a 7-1 record in the organization.
The 33-year-old from Slovakia confirmed an initial report from Mike Heck and Guilherme Cruz of MMAFighting that the UFC was electing to not sign Buday to a new contract.
Buday earned a unanimous decision win over 13-time jiu-jitsu world champion Marcus Buchecha at a Fight Night event in late July in what was Buchecha’s anticipated UFC debut and Buday’s final fight on his contract.
The victory improved Buday’s UFC record to an impressive 7-1 and it resulted in him moving up one spot in the official contender rankings to No. 12 in the heavyweight division.
“Yeah it’s true, yesterday we got a call that UFC is not re-signing us for the moment,” Buday confirmed Thursday on social media. “Well it is what it is at least I’m leaving with my head up. Thank you.”
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Buday made his UFC debut in 2022 after earning a contract through the Contender Series in 2021. After beginning his UFC tenure 4-0 he suffered his first loss to Shamil Gaziev, who’s currently ranked No. 11 at heavyweight.
He rebounded from his first UFC loss with a win over former champion Andrei Arlovski in his lone fight in 2024 and is riding a three-fight winning streak after picking up two wins this year.
Buday is 16-2 in professional mixed martial arts and was one of the biggest heavyweights on the UFC roster, needing to cut weight to get down to the 266-pound non-title limit.
Although Buday is not known as one of the most exciting fighters on the UFC roster – six of his seven wins have gone the distance – the heavyweight division has a dearth of contenders. While it is possible the two sides eventually agree to a new deal, parting ways with a young, ranked contender with an impressive record and an active winning streak like Buday is a puzzling decision.
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