Basharat denies Dana White’s claims after UFC exit

The unbeaten bantamweight insists he never turned down a fight.

Farid Basharat has commented on the UFC’s statements that have come to light in recent days. In those statements, Dana White explained a bit about the background behind their decision not to sign a new contract. This raised questions, given that Farid Basharat has a flawless record. White, however, stated that there had apparently been frequent problems with the matchmakers and that Farid Basharat had also turned down some bouts. Farid Basharat strongly denied this, saying he had never turned down an opponent. He also pointed to instances where he had even accepted less lucrative fights just so he could compete at all.

“He kind of alluded to, maybe I was turning down fights, or maybe I was difficult to deal with. I definitely didn’t turn nobody down. In fact, we’re talking about the same guy that, in Abu Dhabi, I fought in 2024; my opponent missed weight by 10 pounds and I still went ahead with the fight… Still put on a good show and won. In my Contender Series fight, I had a torn MCL, still went ahead with the fight… These are facts you can ask your UFC staff; you can ask the physio team”

So he’s actually saying pretty much the exact opposite of what White had reported. We’ll just have to wait and see what White has to say about this now, if he even comments on it at all. What do you make of the competing accounts?

I can well imagine that there were some situations where it might have been a little complicated to reach a common ground. I don’t really know what happened, though, I just keep wondering what must have happened for them to decide under no circumstances to renew the contract.