Latifi off UFC roster after fighting out contract

MMA veteran Ilir Latifi has fought out his contract and is no longer on the UFC roster, promotion officials said Monday.

Latifi, who had developed something of a cult following among fans, lost May 20 via split decision to Rodrigo Nascimento on a UFC Fight Night card in Las Vegas. That was the final fight of his UFC deal.

Latifi’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz of Dominance MMA, told ESPN that Latifi has not yet determined what his next step will be. The native of Sweden competed in the UFC’s light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions.

Latifi (16-9, 1 NC) entered the UFC unexpectedly 10 years ago. He replaced then-teammate Alexander Gustafsson in the main event of UFC on Fuel TV 9 on April 6, 2013, against Gegard Mousasi on short notice — during fight week — when Gustafsson suffered a cut. Latifi lost via unanimous decision but performed very well against Mousasi, who had been a champion in multiple MMA promotions.

In 10 years with the UFC, Latifi accumulated a 9-7 record. He had two finishes inside of one minute, tied for the most such stoppages in UFC light heavyweight history (with Anthony Johnson and Volkan Oezdemir).