We might still be less than two full months into 2025, but there have already been countless well-known names who have exited the UFC roster.
Already this year, fans have seen the likes of Urijah Faber, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Chris Weidman, Alexander Gustafsson, and Tony Ferguson all parting ways with the MMA world leader.
Whilst the latest fighter to be removed from the roster certainly doesn’t match the caliber of those fighters; the UFC has still lost a popular promotional veteran, one who went toe-to-toe with the absolute best in the world.
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UFC veteran Warlley Alves exits the promotion after four-fight skid
Following a string of reports on social media, MMA Fighting has learned from inside sources that Brazilian welterweight veteran Warlley Alves has parted ways with the UFC.
Alves made his promotional debut all the way back in 2014 when he claimed the middleweight trophy on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil – representing team Chael Sonnen.
His UFC tenure couldn’t have gotten off to a better start; scoring a unanimous decision win over Alan Jouban and finishing Nordine Taleb via a guillotine choke… Before coming up against future UFC interim welterweight champion, Colby ‘Chaos’ Covington.
Despite being a sizable underdog to ‘Chaos’, Alves showed no signs of nerves and certainly had his timing on point that night in Las Vegas, which took place on the undercard of UFC 194: Aldo vs McGregor.
As the brash American darted in for an early takedown, Alves found the space to lock up a second consecutive guillotine submission, with Covington tapping out at 1:26 of the very first round.
Colby Covington remained the best win of Warlley Alves’ UFC career
After that shock underdog victory, the UFC opted to quickly move Alves up the welterweight ladder; arguably too quickly, as he lost his next two fights via unanimous decision – one to Bryan Barberena and the other to future champion Kamaru Usman.
The Brazilian then experienced a stop-start time between 2016 and 2020, picking up three wins in between losses to James Krause and Randy Brown.
Alves looked to have turned a corner in early 2021 when he dispatched Mounir Lazzez in round one with vicious body kicks to ground-and-pound; however, that would be the last time he tasted victory inside the UFC octagon.
Between 2021 and May 2024, Alves would suffer four straight defeats including stoppage losses to both Jeremiah Wells and Ikram Aliskerov.
Alves exits the UFC with a professional record of 14-8 and a promotional record of 8-8.