Farid Basharat can live with the UFC letting him walk. The part that still stings is how Dana White explained it.
The unbeaten bantamweight told MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin that White’s public comments about his exit hurt him both personally and professionally. “The problem is Dana’s got such an influence and power that when he says something, everyone takes it as factual,” Basharat said. “Although I think he was talking generally or quite broadly or vaguely, it did damage to me.”
The backstory is short and strange. Basharat went 7-0 inside the Octagon and held a top 10 ranking at 135 pounds, then fought out his contract and was never offered a new one. When White was asked why, he said “if you’re 16-0, with seven wins in the UFC and don’t get re-signed, there’s definitely a reason.” He followed that by suggesting “either guys aren’t good to deal with and the matchmakers don’t want to deal with them, which could be turning down fights or whatever the reasoning is.”
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Basharat had already pushed back on both points. He says he never turned down a fight and never had a bad relationship with the matchmakers, and he called the accusations people now throw at him because of those comments ridiculous.
He isn’t aiming his frustration at White personally, though. Basharat’s read is that White no longer handles fighter contract negotiations and simply didn’t know the details of his case. His only real interactions with the UFC president, he said, have been handshakes at weigh-ins and the night on the Contender Series when White praised him and decided to sign him. Since then, Basharat argued, he has kept improving, kept fighting his way into tougher spots and kept turning in better performances. “I don’t think Dana is fully aware of myself and the contract negotiations. I think it’s the people below or whoever makes the decisions in that regard,” he said.
What’s next
Nothing is close. Basharat said his manager has told him he’s in touch with every organization about a potential deal, but nothing is imminent, and after a recent surgery he’s in no hurry to book his next fight.
A UFC return is still on the table, at least in theory. Basharat called the UFC the dream and said it would be tough to say no, though it depends on the stance the promotion takes with him. He also admitted he wasn’t in the company’s good books before his exit.
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“Basically what I’m trying to say is I don’t need the UFC to have a successful career and do well.”
That’s a line every rival promotion should screenshot.
My take: a Contender Series signee running up seven straight UFC wins is the exact kind of story this sport should love, and the promotion is free to pass on anyone it wants. But telling the world there’s definitely a reason, from the biggest podium in MMA with no actual reason attached, lands on an undefeated fighter’s résumé like a red flag on a background check. Whoever signs Basharat once he’s healed gets a top 10 bantamweight who has never lost, and the UFC gets to watch someone else build him.
