Yoel Romero's UFC run has come to an end.
Romero and the promotion have parted ways, his manager, Malki Kawa, confirmed to ESPN on Friday.
Romero had three fights left on his deal, sources said.
"While we didn't expect Romero's time in the UFC to end like this," Kawa told ESPN, "we are grateful for the opportunities [UFC president] Dana White, [general counsel] Hunter Campbell and [matchmaker] Mick Maynard gave him over the years. He's ready to move on now and resume his career, and we are already talking to other promotions as we speak."
White discussed Romero's release Saturday, mentioning his age as a factor as well as the fact that he had lost four of his past five fights. Romero is 43 years old.
White also said the promotion would have more cuts this month, saying, "Probably gonna have 60 cuts coming up before the first of the year."
Romero's most recent fight was a loss to middleweight champion Israel Adesanya via unanimous decision in March. Both Romero and Adesanya received criticism after the fight because it did not live up to expectations.
Romero won a silver medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He made his UFC debut in 2013, winning his first eight fights in a row.
He fought for the interim or undisputed middleweight title four times but never won. He leaves the promotion as one of the greatest fighters in UFC history never to win a title.
