Farid Basharat Reveals the Moment He Knew the UFC Was Cutting Him
Farid Basharat had a faint idea that the UFC would not re-sign him following his fight against Chris Gutierrez last year; the UFC expressed its disapproval.
Being undefeated inside the Octagon usually guarantees job security, but bantamweight standout Farid Basharat learned the hard way that winning isn't always enough for UFC decision-makers. Despite building a flawless professional record, the Afghan-born prospect recently revealed the exact moment he realized his time with the promotion was coming to an end.
Speaking on former champion Demetrious Johnson’s podcast, Basharat opened up about the rift between himself and company matchmakers during his seven-fight UFC run. The issues began following his decision victory over Chris Gutierrez last year, when UFC officials explicitly told his team that they were not fans of his fighting style.
A High-Paced War Labeled "Boring"
Determined to silence the critics, Basharat took a risky matchup in February against top Brazilian prospect Jean Matsumoto. The fight pitted two elite records against each other, with Matsumoto sitting at 17-1 and Basharat at 14-0. The resulting 15-minute contest was a relentless, back-and-forth battle that saw the two bantamweights throw 372 combined strikes.
Basharat secured a hard-fought split decision and walked out of the cage convinced he had delivered a fan-favorite performance.
"I left the fight, I won by split decision, and I thought yes, I got 100Gs, I got Fight of the Night," Basharat told Johnson.
However, that excitement quickly vanished. When Basharat’s manager called the UFC after the card to check if matchmakers enjoyed the action, the feedback was cold. Matchmakers insisted they still found the fight boring and were unimpressed with his performance.
That single phone call was the moment Basharat knew he would not get re-signed once his contract wrapped up. Despite holding an undefeated record and consistently beating top-tier competition inside the Octagon, technical efficiency simply wasn't enough to satisfy the promotion's demand for finishes. For Basharat, the realization was bitter, but it clearly exposed where he stood in the eyes of UFC management.
