Bagautinov, Makovsky no longer under contract with UFC
A pair of longtime UFC flyweight contenders are out of work.
Ali Bagautinov and Zach Makovsky have fought out their respective UFC contracts and won't be targeted for new deals, officials confirmed to MMAjunkie's Mike Bohn on Thursday. The promotion indirectly revealed as much by removing both fighters from their flyweight rankings.
The pair of 125-pounders had fallen on hard times in their last few outings. After winning his first three fights in the Octagon, Bagautinov faltered in his effort to dethrone division champ Demetrious Johnson at UFC 174 and was handed a one-year suspension by the British Columbia Athletic Commission for testing positive for EPO. The 31-year-old Russian has gone a lackluster 1-2 since serving his penance, last dropping a unanimous decision to Kyoji Horiguchi at UFC Fight Night 99 this past November.
A former Bellator bantamweight champion, Makovsky's resume didn't translate to much success in the UFC. The wrestler won three of his first four fights in the promotion before getting the short end of a trio of decisions against Joseph Benavidez, John Dodson, and Dustin Ortiz.
The 33-year-old Makovsky's last win came in the form of a unanimous decision over Tim Elliott nearly two years ago.