Popular UFC veteran signs new deal following speculation of departure

One longtime UFC veteran will keep his 15-year run intact.

Not every fighter in MMA can remain competitive, regardless of their placement on the card. This is especially true in UFC, where a couple of bad performances, along with other factors, can lead to a release. In the case of one fan favorite, who won his most recent outing, his old contract expired and many wondered if this marked the end of the business relationship.

As it turns out, Brad Tavares is staying put.

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Brad Tavares Remains on UFC Roster

Damon Martin of MMAFighting reported about Brad Tavares’ contract expiring. The report was accurate, and even noted that it was possible Tavares could sign a new UFC deal. During an episode of the “Still Friends Show,” Tavares confirmed that while his old deal expired, he has inked a new deal with the top MMA promotion.

“So, my last fight was the last fight of my previous contract, so that contract expired,” Tavares said on the Still Friends Show podcast. “Funny enough, the UFC, whatever it is, I don’t know if it’s some AI-type shit or department they have—but they are on it because boom, that contract expired, and boom, I was removed from the roster.

“Anyway, I was in the midst of negotiating my new contract, which I did. That’s when all the news came out, and it was funny to me.”

Tavares admitted that he had a bit of fun staying quiet when the report surfaced, knowing that he’d be staying put.

“It’s funny, everybody was reaching out, even people, close friends and family [saying] ‘hey, I saw this’ or whatever and then there’s other people that seen it and were like ‘I don’t like asking him about that’ or whatever,” Tavares said. “Me, the type of guy I am, I was like I’m just going to leave it and not address anything and just let people speculate.”

Tavares has been a member of the UFC roster since 2010. He even competed on “The Ultimate Fighter” before signing his first UFC deal. Tavares has shared the Octagon with some of the biggest names at middleweight. This includes current UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus du Plessis and former two-time titleholder Israel Adesanya.