Farid Basharat admits that "deep down" he knew the UFC was not going to bring him back.
Despite owning a spotless professional record, Basharat (16-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) was not offered a new contract with the promotion after completing his deal with a UFC 329 win over John Garza in July.
Basharat told MMA Junkie immediately after that win that he was hopeful and optimistic a fresh offer would come, but then the days turned into months, and he received final word that the relationship was over.
He's been classy about the whole situation since breaking the news this past week, and Basharat said the feeling that this would be the end result helped him mentally prepare for the public fallout.
"Part of the reason I'm taking it so well is I already shifted my mindset a while ago," Basharat told MMA Junkie on Monday. "When the writing is on the wall, and they let you fight out your contract, and you don't hear anything for a month, two months, three months. Then you kind of have to make your peace with whatever if you have to go somewhere else and fight. And that's cool. To be fair, I let go of the mindset the UFC is everything for me. I'm a family man. I'm a faithful man and have my faith. This is just something I do cause I'm young and my ego of wanting to be world champion. I know one day I'm going to retire, and life moves on. The UFC isn't the be-all and end-all to me."
Just as Basharat had fully accepted his new reality, UFC CEO Dana White was asked about the organization's decision to part ways with the undefeated 29-year-old at the UFC Fight Night 291 post-fight news conference in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
White could not give a specific reason for why Basharat was not re-signed, using vague explanations about potentially being a malcontent or turning down fights and summing it up by saying, "there's definitely a reason." But that's not true according to Basharat, who said he never declined a fight offer, nor did he act in a problematic manner toward matchmakers or UFC employees behind the scenes.
"I don't think he's fully aware of my dealings with the UFC," Basharat said. "I know he's doing a lot of ventures and other stuff. He's quite involved in Zuffa Boxing and Power Slap and all that. I'm not sure how much he's aware of my dealings with the UFC. I think he was talking more generically. I think even my Instagram video, the reason I still made it is because everyone's like, 'Oh, well Dana said it, so it must be true.' I felt like I had to defend myself a little bit and clear it up to people like, 'No, I wasn't, in fact, difficult to work with.'
"At the end of the day, it's all speculation. I'd imagine they just don't like my fighting style. That's what I think if I'm trying to make sense of it. Gathering everything they've been saying in the media about entertainment and all that. You could just see. We know it's taken a shift in direction. When I'm putting two and two together, it's probably that they don't like – I'm not even sure if it's my fighting style. Maybe it's just the statistic of six decisions. But it doesn't take much to kind of delve in and see a few of them were actually bangers and the others were clean fights where the guy didn't give much resistance. It's tough to nitpick when a guy has won every fight."
Basharat said he's currently recovering from knee surgery, but will be prepared to resume his fighting career in early 2027. Where that will take place is currently still undecided, Basharat said, and ultimately it will come down to the type of offers his management is presented with.
It's clear Basharat's next fight will not take place in the octagon, but does he expect to return there eventually? He admits he's not putting many eggs in that basket, but if there's a future where he's approached about coming back, he wants to make sure his relationship with the UFC is still healthy.
"I don't want to burn bridges with UFC," Basharat said. "What good is it going to do with me coming out and insulting people and saying bad about them? I'm just focused on myself. We'll see what the future holds. If you put yourself in my shoes, let's say I have a bunch of fights somewhere else and let's say I win and am on big money there. It's all about what the UFC comes back with. Is it a pay cut? Will they have the same attitude toward me they've had this whole time? Or will they be even more upset with me after all that's transpired? It's all about what's going on at that point.
"I'm open to whatever. I'm in no rush. I've just started recovering from the surgery I had on my knee from the last camp. I'm getting into training, focusing on myself and improving. I'm open to whatever. We've got to sit down on the table and see what everyone else is offering in terms of money, but also strategy. What direction do they want to take me in? I'm in no rush."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Farid Basharat not hopeful for UFC return but won't 'burn bridges'