Aleksei Oleinik has been released from the UFC following the conclusion of his current deal with the promotion.
The 45-year-old ‘Boa Constrictor’ was coming off a unanimous decision loss to Ilir Latifi at UFC Fight Night 211 earlier this month, which proved to be the final fight on his deal and it seems the UFC have opted not to re-sign him at this stage.
A true veteran of the sport, Oleinik’s career goes back as far as 1996 and has seen him rack up no less than 78 professional fights in the 26-years since.
Along the way he’s shown a remarkable ability to submit opponents, finishing 47 of his 60 career wins via submission, including proving to be a master of the ezekiel choke.
Oleinik didn’t join the UFC until relatively late in his long career, relatively speaking, with his first fight in the Octagon coming in 2014, after having submitted both Mirko Crop and Jeff Monson on the regional circuit a year earlier.
Since then he’s gone on to compile a 9-7 record in the UFC, with his most notable wins coming against the likes of Fabricio Werdum, Mark Hunt and Travis Browne, leaving his current career record at 60-17-1 overall.
At this stage it’s not clear if Oleinik will look to continue competing elsewhere or if he’ll see this chapter closing as the right time to hang up his gloves for good.