MORE FIGHTERS RELEASED AS TOURNAMENTS ANNOUNCED

CHICAGO — A little over a week ago, Union GP President Dante Reed broke the news that UGP 12 was cancelled. The aftermath that followed was the release of 13 contracted fighters.

While the MMA promotion continues to work and rebuild to their next event, Dante Reed has ordered a second wave of releases. With Reed officially releasing 13 fighters right after the cancelled event, Dante has gone on to release 13 more contracted fighters. Those fighters include: Reno Nevada, Ivan Arlovski, Rosie O’Connell, Sang-Hyun Lee, Kevin Van Damne, Rovzan Ahkmadov, Nicky Rollings, Damiko Conrad, Calvin Webb, Ellis Belrose, Adegoke Muller, Kaukau Havili, and Dylan Michaels.

The reasoning behind it is while UGP prepares for championship tournaments with all of their divisions, including the newly added 135 pound Bantamweight Division, Reed wants the best possible competition moving forward. Dante has continued his endless scouting and as of now, six new fighters have been signed, which include: Mike Hunt, Ardan Kelly, Brendan McCarthy, Asher Jrue, Gracyn Knight, and Megan Reed. Sources close to Dante have stated that a deal is close to being finalized with Bantamweight fighter Dallas Meechan, a ScrapYard MMA fighter, but nothing has been inked as of this writing.

One big note to take away from the new signings is the competitors coming from Ireland. Outside of Gracyn Knight, a big cluster comes from the rebranded ScrapYard MMA, originally spearheaded by top Lightweight contender Delaney Donovan. Could an event be hosted in Ireland in the near future, possibly on the return? We’ll keep updated on any of the latest developments concerning signings and events as they break.