Gregor Gillespie Speaks on Alleged UFC Release

With Gillespie removed from the rankings, fans began to wonder if the UFC had released the Lightweight competitor. A heavily followed twitter account-UFC Roster Watch got the MMA world in a frenzy after updating a tweet saying Gillespie was removed from the roster.

Gillespie Clears the Air

The former eighth-ranked lightweight took to social media to respond to the news. Gillespie tweeted “I am removed from the RANKINGS.. Not from the organization. (Fighters are removed from after 12 months of inactivity). I am NOT GOING ANYWHERE! The UFC has always been great to me! 100% class! It is not their fault that I don"t have a fight. They have offered me plenty of fights."

Gillespie detailed in his twitter response that he had accepted any opponents that were ranked above him that were offered to him by the UFC. Gillespie also noted that he had turned down a fight with anyone ranked below him. “The Gift" made it clear that he was on a mission to get to a title shot in the lightweight division by fighting those ranked ahead of him.

Some other good bits from Gillespie"s Instagram post included the lightweight saying “(UFC) Pay is great, everything super organized, the follow up after from medical staff is unbelievable." You can find the full post here.

Gillespie Calls out Potential Opponents

In Gillespie"s response to the news, the former NCAA D1 Wrestling Champion had some names to call out as well. Gillespie claimed Tony Ferguson had turned down a fight between the two multiple times. Gillespie went on to say Michael Chandler didn"t seem interested in fighting him after the former brought it up.

Calling out Rafael Dos Anjos, Gillespie said “RDA was cool with fighting me on 4 days notice (when I was on the top of a mountain 7 hours away) but turns me down on a full camp." Gillespie added the offer still stands for Chandler and Dos Anjos, Gillespie also called out Beneil Dariush saying “[give] me a 8 week heads up and let"s do this thing."

Gillespie (14-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) started his UFC career off hot, winning six straight before losing to former UFC fighter Kevin Lee by KO (head kick) in the first round at UFC 244 in November of 2019. After taking nearly two years off following the loss, Gillespie returned to the Octagon in May of last year in a winning effort by defeating Carlos Diego Ferreira via TKO in the second round.

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