Josh Thomson can’t fathom why the UFC would let go of rising heavyweight contender Martin Buday.
The UFC parted ways with Buday (16-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) just days after he fought out his contract in a unanimous decision win over Marcus Buchecha (5-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) earlier this month at UFC on ABC 9 in Abu Dhabi.
Buday, 33, was released as the No. 12 ranked UFC heavyweight.
“Let’s not pretend there is a ton of great heavyweights,” Thomson said on his “Weighing In” podcast. “If you want to get him beat, then get him beat so he leaves. Not re-signing him? One of two things happened: The contract negotiations didn’t go well or he’s just been so boring that they were like, ‘Look, we don’t want to have anything to do with you. You’re too wrestling-based, you’re too top-control based.'”
Thomson takes issue with the UFC’s decision, especially because of how shallow the heavyweight division is.
“What I get upset about, though, is stop saying you have the best fighters in the world when you’re pushing away some of the best fighters,” Thomson added. “This guy is 7-1 in a weak heavyweight division where you need the best fighters. You can say this guy is the best fighter. Have him fight the guys in the top seven, top eight. If he wins, he wins. Maybe the cream rises to the top. Maybe you get a great performance out of him that makes him something that he never would have been.
“If he’s used to being that guy, have him fight Jailton Almeida, have him fight (Alexander) Volkov who’s used to being taken down. Let’s see what happens. Let’s see if he rises to the occasion. You can sometimes find that little diamond in the rough by making them fight somebody that’s going to pull it out of them. I just hate when I hear all the best fighters are in the UFC because we know that’s not true. It bothers me when they’re cutting guys that are good, and who are beating UFC fighters, and they still let them go.”
Buday earned his UFC contract though Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021 when he knocked out Lorenzo Hood. His lone octagon loss came to Shamil Gaziev by TKO in December 2023.
