UFC releases Impa Kasanganay

UFC has slightly trimmed its massive roster by cutting one-time Contender Series prospect (and unfortunate viral video star) Impa Kasanganay (per MMA Junkie). The…

By: Tim Bissell | 2 years ago
UFC releases Impa Kasanganay
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

UFC has slightly trimmed its massive roster by cutting one-time Contender Series prospect (and unfortunate viral video star) Impa Kasanganay (per MMA Junkie).

The 27-year-old Kasanganay came to the UFC in 2019 and announced himself with two wins on the Contender Series, beating Kailan Hill and Anthony Adams (both by unanimous decision).

His debut for the UFC proper came in August 2020 when he took a unanimous decision over Maki Pitolo. A few months later Kasanganay got booked on a Fight Island card opposite Joaquin Buckley. In that bout Kasanganay fell victim to the most viral moment of the year, being knocked out cold by a spinning back kick.

Kasanganay regrouped and scored a win this April, beating Sasha Palatnikov by submission. His most recent fight, in September, ended in a TKO at the hands of Carlston Harris.

He leaves the promotion with a 9-2 record (4-2 UFC).

Kasanganay joins the recently released John Allen, Liana Jojua and Bharat Khandare.

Allan’s first Octagon appearance was a loss to Vinicius Moreira on the Contender Series Brazil in 2018. Despite this, Allan got the call up to the UFC a year later. In July 2019 he took a no contest opposite Mike Rodriguez. The fight was originally a unanimous decision win for Allen, but it was overturned after he tested positive for tamoxifen. Allan lost his next two bouts, both by decision.

Jojua is a former Fight Nights Global bantamweight champion. She went 1-3 in the UFC with her sole win coming against Diana Belbiţă (via submission) in 2020. Most recently she lost to Cortney Casey by unanimous decision. She missed weight for that bout.

Khandare only appeared for the UFC once. He lost to Song Yadong back in 2017. He had two fights booked since then, but both fell through due to injury.

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About the author
Tim Bissell
Tim Bissell

Tim Bissell is a writer, editor and deputy site manager for Bloody Elbow. He has covered combat sports since 2015. Tim covers news and events and has also written longform and investigative pieces. Among Tim's specialties are the intersections between crime and combat sports. Tim has also covered head trauma, concussions and CTE in great detail.

Tim is also BE's lead (only) sumo reporter. He blogs about that sport here and on his own substack, Sumo Stomp!

Email me at tim@bloodyelbow.com. Nice messages will get a response.

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