SIGNINGS, RE-SIGNINGS, AND RELEASES

CHICAGO — Over the last few months, Union GP President has been very busy behind the scenes. With the shocking news that the founder of Union Battleground and all of its branches Axel Graves announced that he will be relinquishing all of his duties, Reed has been the go-to man in every decision. With that, Dante Reed has simultaneously bolstered his roster while also trimming the fat.

After the dust settled with Boss Fight XXII, I spoke with Mr. Reed and he told me that he will not renew the contract of Dang Tay. It came as a bit of a surprise, given that Tay, despite the loss to the returning Lauren Moore, sits at 4-3 and was on the cusp of title contention. From my understanding, the decision was mutual, perhaps Tay will focus solely on Muay Thai for the foreseeable future.

Other fighters officially released are former Heavyweight Champion Derrick La’Bell and Bantamweight contender Griffin Dawson. This may come to a surprise to the fans, but there have been whispers that both of these fighters were on the way out. Again, from what I’m told, these were mutually agreed decisions, and the door has been left open for a return in the future.

With those three cuts, Dante Reed has signed three new fighters. Two of which will compete in Everest MMA. Those two are coming from RAW Graps in Heavyweight Dax Levandrier and Featherweight Bevin Gordon-Starr. It’s great to see RAW Graps getting some more representation other than former Lightweight Champion Natalie King. The third signing is Throne MMA prospect Andre Drayton. Drayton has elected to make his pro debut in Union GP, and rumors have already swirled that he has shown a lot of interest in competing in the Openweight Division.

We’ve also got some news about some moves that will tie into our re-signings. Former Everest MMA Featherweights Blue Barrera and Abbie Peterson have officially moved up to Union GP. Both Abbie and Blue were the main event on the very first Everest card, and quickly made a splash in the headlines. Barrera entered the Union GP Openweight Tournament while still under the Everest umbrella, losing in the first round to Daniel Fisk, but now will compete in Union’s Bantamweight Division. Peterson will compete in Union’s Lightweight Division where one of her idols, Natalie King, competes. The final move comes with Maliyah Lyons. Lyons fought out her rookie contract, finishing 3-3, and has signed a new contract. One of the stipulations was that she will now compete in Everest MMA, on a reported 4 fight deal worth $50k per fight.

And finally, the rest of the re-signings. You’d have to be living under a rock to not know the displeasure of Lena Lyons’ contract discussions. We can report that her new deal is a 4 fight deal worth $400k per fight. No news on who her next opponent will be. Also throwing out contract ultimatums in the Real Killas camp, Zion Momo’a signed a new 3 fight deal worth $450k per fight, with added undisclosed incentives. The final contract that was made official is another Real Killa. Travis Decker has reached a 1 fight deal worth $400k. The word is that Decker is in line to compete for a title next, but there have been disputing reports whether it is for an interim title or the undisputed title.