Nate Maness has officially become a free agent and is no longer contracted under the UFC banner.
Nate let his fans and the fight world know the news on his X account earlier in the day.
“As of today, I am no longer with the UFC and officially a free agent. They still have a matching period for other offers and can also offer a new contract at any time.
We could also fill in for a short notice at 135lbs. If this is the end, at 5-2 (3 finishes) I feel like we represented our small town well and I’m proud of that.
Now it’s time to hear some other offers and see if I can continue to make a living doing this. If not, I will more than likely be retiring and getting a job to help support the family.
I’ve been a professional now for 10 years this month. It’s been a wild ride. As always, we appreciate all the love and support.”
It is quite shocking as a fan of Nate’s to witness the UFC let an exciting fighter like him go to free agency.
With a record of 5 wins and 2 losses with the UFC, one would think that his contract would be signed for 6 more fights.
We are unsure why the deal wasn’t met. As a result of being a fan favourite, one would have thought it was a no-brainer, but that’s another unpredictable element to the fight game.
What’s Next for Nate Maness?
If he is committed to going forward in the sport, many fight promotions would love to have his exciting style on their roster.
The money he could earn with the PFL (if he decided to go that route) by winning one of their tournaments would be significant. We could be seeing one of those huge million-dollar cheques in his hands.
Maybe even ONE Championship would like to boost their flyweight division by signing Nate Maness.
Rizin is a quality fight promotion that would benefit from a little Mayhem.
Retirement? Now, this is an option but not one we are pushing for. Retirement could be on the table. Maybe Nate doesn’t want to restart climbing the rankings of a new promotion.
Maybe time with his family is more important and not being re-signed with the UFC could be a blessing.
We know that whatever Nate Maness decides, it will be exciting news for the fans he earned by always putting on entertaining fights.
It is still early and the UFC might have a change of heart. As a matter of fact, Nate has received plenty of support on social media meaning a deal might be signed by the end of the week.
What would you like to see next for Nate Maness? Let us know.
Featured image credit to Embed from Getty Images
