Unbeaten Farid Basharat off UFC roster despite 7-0 Octagon run, MMA Fighting reports

Farid Basharat, unbeaten at 16-0 and 7-0 in the UFC, is no longer on the UFC roster, MMA Fighting's Guilherme Cruz reported on Wednesday. His contract ran out and the UFC didn't offer him a new one, according to the report.

His free agency isn't new. He said he was a free agent going into UFC 329 in July and repeated it after the win, Cageside Press reported. "They just haven't come to me with an offer," he said in a July 16 interview, per Middle Easy. What's new is that the UFC let it lapse and took him off the roster.

The UFC hasn't confirmed the move. Its official rankings still list him at No. 13 at 135 pounds, and his athlete page is still up. MMA Fighting adds that the UFC could still re-sign him later. We found no comment from Basharat, his team or the UFC since the report.

The last fight on his deal

His last fight was the final one on his deal. He beat John Garza by unanimous decision on the UFC 329 early prelims in Las Vegas on July 11. Garza was a newcomer who replaced Ethyn Ewing, who pulled out with an injury, Slam Wrestling reported. Cageside Press had the scores at 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.

Basharat knew going in what was at stake. "This is going to be the last fight on my contract, so I'm hoping it does reward me," he told MMA Fighting before the card. EssentiallySports carried the interview, in which he said the UFC wanted to see that fight first and called it "a gamble."

"I think I'll be undeniable to re-sign."

He later told Boxing News he had torn his MCL and meniscus three weeks before the Garza fight. In August his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, called it "crazy" that the UFC hadn't re-signed him, AgentMMA reported. No new offer had been made at that point.

No reason for the decision is on the record. Some outlets point to his style. Six of his seven UFC wins went to the scorecards; the only finish was an arm-triangle choke of Kleydson Rodrigues in September 2023. That's their guess, not a reported reason.

The record and the betting

Born in Afghanistan and raised in England after arriving as a refugee, Basharat earned his contract on Dana White's Contender Series in September 2022. His UFC wins came over Da'Mon Blackshear, Rodrigues, Taylor Lapilus, Victor Hugo, Chris Gutierrez, Jean Matsumoto and Garza, per Wikipedia. The Matsumoto win, in February, was a split decision.

He closed as the favourite in all seven of his UFC fights, our records show. He was -294 against Lapilus, -715 against Garza and -741 against Victor Hugo. Our page's -6667 close for the Gutierrez fight is a data error, so we've left it out. The other six wins each paid between 0.13 and 0.34 units on a one-unit stake.

After UFC 329 he called out David Martinez, now No. 9, for a Noche UFC fight. He also said "the UFC is where I want to be at."

What comes next

Nothing is booked, and no new promotion has been named, Middle Easy notes. His brother Javid went the same way. Javid's UFC contract ran out after he beat Gianni Vazquez on the Feb. 7 card where Farid beat Matsumoto.

Javid signed with the PFL on June 24, per Wikipedia. He won his debut there by unanimous decision over Movsar Ibragimov at PFL Tampa on Aug. 22.

There's a UFC precedent too. In July 2024 the UFC let Muhammad Mokaev go at 12-0, straight after a win on the last fight of his deal, SI reported. Dana White said then: "The matchmakers aren't big fans of his for many different reasons."

We think Basharat is the most valuable free agent at 135 pounds right now: unbeaten, ranked and still 29. In July he said he planned another MRI on the knee to decide between rehab and surgery, Middle Easy reported. No result has been made public.