It takes a lot to get suspended from the UFC, let alone banned for life from ever competing in the promotion ever again. Of course, just because a lot of effort to get sacked does not mean a lot of effort has not been made by certain fighters. In most cases of suspensions or being banned, it has to do with something that a fighter has done outside of the octagon (usually it happens to be a felony charge, a fight, or simply failing a substance abuse test for the USADA).
In other cases, the fighter committed some unprofessional behavior during a fight in the octagon. But no matter what the reason may or may not be, it all just boils down to a fighter getting on Dana White's bad side enough that he wants to kick someone to the curb. Here are some cases where he did just that for often understandable reasons.
16 Ruslan Magomedov
Ruslan Magomedov had one too many doping violations while in the UFC. Fall 2018 saw him receive his third USADA failed test. When he refused to give another one for the following February, the Russian heavyweight was banned from any and all future UFC events forever. He is literally banned for life.
15 Jason High
You'd think Jason was high when you hear how and why he got banned from UFC. During his last fight in the company at Fight Night 42 with Adlan Amagov, he lost by TKO. Furious because he thought moments prior he won by referee stoppage, he shoved that same ref.
14 Wanderlei Silva
Wanderlei Silva was originally attached to fight Chael Sonnen at UFC 175, but not only did he fail to submit an application to fight in the state of Nevada, but he refused to undergo a mandatory substance abuse test. Due to committing both offenses, Dana White afforded Silva with a $70,000 fine, a release from his UFC contract, and a lifetime ban from the promotion.
13 Michael Graves
In 2016, on the landmark 100th episode of UFC Fight Night, Michael Graves was booked to fight Sérgio Moraes. In what would have been a huge opportunity for Graves, the fight was canceled the following October when Graves was arrested on grounds of a misdemeanor battery charge. The following April, UFC released him.
12 Cody East
Not many people remember the name Cody East, and if Dana White has anything to say about it, he'd like to keep it that way. After his life outside of the octagon was plagued by one domestic abuse charge after another, it is clear now that the UFC wants nothing to do with the man anymore.
11 Nick Diaz
After testing positive for an illegal substance for the third time in 2015, not only was Nick Diaz slapped with a five year suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission and fined $165,000, but Dana White slapped him with a lifetime ban from the UFC. Diaz has not fought in anyone's octagon since then.
10 TJ Dillashaw
During his Bantamweight Championship reign, TJ Dillashaw tested positive for EPOs ( recombinant human erythropoietins). These are performance enhancers. Out of guilt, Dillashaw voluntarily relinquished his title, but UFC still slapped him with a two-year suspension. Given how serious an offense like this is, especially coming during his title reign, UFC may extend it to a lifetime ban.
9 BJ Penn
BJ Penn is viewed as one of the best fighters to ever sign to the UFC and one of the best in the overall MMA sport, but his career seems in jeopardy now after the video hit the web of him having a drunken fight in Hawaii outside of a club in June, then another fight in a bar in August. He is no longer currently signed to UFC.
8 Diego Brandao
Heading into the new year in 2016, Diego Brandao's UFC career was already on shaky grounds after testing positive for an illegal substance - a big no-no in Dana White's book - on January 2nd. His release from the promotion was sealed after he suffered a felony charge later in the year.
7 Matt Riddle
Matt Riddle has always been open about his reefer usage over the years, but after testing positive for the substance twice in the same year in 2013, after previously serving a 90 day suspension over the last time, he was released by UFC. While Dana White has venomously spoken against ever hiring Riddle again, the "Bro" has now settled on becoming a wrestler.
6 Tom Lawlor
Another fighter turned wrestler, Tom Lawlor was merely suspended from the UFC for two years in 2016 - eligible to fight again after October in 2018 - after testing positive for Ostarine in an out of competition test for the USADA. Just a month before his ban was set to be lifted, he was released from the UFC.
5 Maiquel Falcao
Mere months before Maiquel Falcao was booked to face Tom Lawlor (someone else on this list) at UFC 134, he was abruptly released after fans called for Falcao to be fired once news hit the internet about a prior 2002 arrest for attacking a woman outside of a night club.
4 Thiago Silva
In 2014 when Silva was arrested in his South Florida home on grounds of aggravated battery. This prompted Dana White to tell Yahoo Sports that the Brazilian "will never fight in the UFC again." Despite this promise, White re-signed Silva after the charges were dropped, but after audio was released confirming the once-alleged incident that led to Silva's arrest, he was released again without any promise to return.
3 Rousimar Palhares
In his prime, Rousimar Palhares had a bad reputation for locking in submissions on fighters and refusing to release the hold after the ref called the fight. The last time he did it, he was already in hot water for a 2012 suspension. Henceforth, this was Dana White's last straw. He had no choice but to release Palhares.
2 Paul Daley
After losing to Josh Koscheck at UFC 113, Paul Daley sucker punched Koscheck afterward. He was then released. “I don’t care if [Daley] fights in every show all over the world and becomes the best, and everybody thinks he is the pound-for-pound best in the world,” Dana White said in a statement made soon after. “He will never fight in the UFC again.”
1 War Machine
Originally, Jonathan "War Machine" Koppenhaver was released from UFC due to foul comments he made about the late Evan Tanner, but it wasn't an offense bad enough to close the door on his UFC future. What sealed the deal was when was arrested for severely and repeatedly striking then-girlfriend, Christy Mack, hospitalizing her. He is currently serving a lifetime prison sentence.
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