While the UFC releasing fighters is certainly nothing new, it’s nevertheless jarring when high-profile fighters such as Yoel Romero – currently ranked No. 6 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie middleweight rankings – suddenly part ways with MMA’s premiere promotion.

Such was the case last week after UFC officials decided they no longer required the services of “The Soldier of God,” sending the 43-year-old four-time title challenger packing to the free agent market. Raising even more public concern this time around, UFC president Dana White said to expect in the neighborhood of “60 cuts coming up before the first of the year.”

“Our roster is very inflated right now, so we’re going to have some big cuts coming before the end of the year,” White said following Saturday night’s UFC on ESPN 19. “You’re going to see a lot of names going here in the next several weeks.”

Much has been made of these words in the roughly 48 hours since they were uttered. But it’s important to note that even massive roster purges are nothing new for the UFC.

A quick MMA Junkie backend search actually led me on a fun trip down memory lane earlier today. How about an October 2015 piece from former MMA Junkie columnist Ben Fowlkes asking a simple but direct question: What’s behind the latest UFC roster purge?

This came at a time when there were reports of 50 upcoming UFC releases, which Fowlkes partially attributed to a glut of injuries, forcing the company to build its roster beyond an ideal number of athletes. It sounds like a story incredibly familiar to 2020, if you simply take out the word “injury” and replace it with “positive COVID-19 test,” not to mention the incredible difficulty of obtaining international travel visas during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Fowlkes admitted in 2015, as well, that “for the UFC, the challenge will be avoiding another roster bloat.”

But if you think this is simply a recent phenomenon, go further down the Junkie rabbit hole with me.

There was an April 2009 piece that I believe was written by MMA Junkie founder Dann Stupp detailing the release of Canadian middleweight Jason Day, in which he mentions “the UFC has been in roster-purge mode in recent months and has axed dozens of fighters.”

Or how about a May 2008 teaser of an episode of the now-defunct weekly MMA news show “Inside MMA,” which aired on HDNet (later rebranded to AXS TV), which mentioned “the UFC’s recent roster cuts”? Perhaps surprisingly, UFC Hall of Famer Bas Rutten actually spoke in favor of such moves at the time.

“If they’re not fighting anywhere, they’re not going to make any money,” Rutten said. “So they said, ‘You know what, we’ll release you so you can go fight somewhere.’”

UFC matchmakers are, quite unfortunately, not allowed to go on the record, so the only official explanation we’re likely to get of the UFC’s decision on Romero will come from White, who on Saturday simply said, “Yoel has lost four of his last five. He’s 44 years old.”

It sounds like a rather calloused approach to roster management. After all, Romero is a fan favorite who has provided UFC viewers with some incredibly memorable moments in and out of the octagon. But if you think UFC brass takes the decisions lightly, you’re quite wrong.

MMA Junkie had a rare opportunity in 2013 to get then-lead matchmaker Joe Silva on record for a special USA TODAY publication, “The 25 Most Powerful People in MMA,” and the notoriously direct UFC Hall of Famer admitted releasing fighters was the least favorite part of his position.

“That’s the worst,” Silva said. “It’s the absolute worst. I’ve almost quit this job multiple times because of that. People have broken down and cried.”

Current matchmaker Sean Shelby echoed those same sentiments in 2013 but also explained a bit of the logic behind the moves.

“It never gets easier,” Shelby added. “We realize that these are human beings with wives, kids, and this is their dream. It’s a dream to become the best in the world at something. … It’s not like looking for someone to come in and work for some company and just be average. We’re not looking for that. We’re looking for the single best person on the planet in their respective weight class. You’re obligated to cycle through in search of that person, to find these challengers.”

UFC matchmakers Mick Maynard, left, and Sean Shelby at UFC 246.

Roster management, Silva said in 2013, is “a simple math problem.” Behind the scenes, it’s a mantra still preached to this day.

The formula goes something like this: In 2021, the UFC expects to put on 42 events, with an average of 12-13 fights per card. That means between 504 and 546 fights should take place, with, of course, two fighters in the cage each bout, meaning between 1,008 and 1,092 opportunities for an athlete to compete. Ideally, each athlete on the roster would compete two or three times each calendar year, so if you use two-and-a-half as a simple ballpark number, that equates to a range of 403 to 437 fighters needed on the roster, putting aside the added complication of deciding how many athletes you need in each weight class.

Current number of fighters on the UFC roster according to company officials as of Monday: 659.

Of course, the roster does need some flexibility due to the nature of the sport, with injuries in training a constant battle. Replacement athletes are needed. Coupled with the complications of COVID-19 and the current difficulty in obtaining visas, and one UFC official told MMA Junkie that 575-600 fighters is likely the perfect mark.

Shelby is also quoted in that 2013 piece as saying his job is “to bring challengers to the champion.” Romero adds an absolutely perfect opportunity to analyze that job function.

Romero’s recent losses have come to Israel Adesanya, Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa, who occupy the top three spots in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie middleweight rankings. At 43, and with four failed championship bids, it seems unlikely that he would be able to get back to a title shot based on recent results. Further complicating matters, fan appetite would likely be minimal for a rematch with Adesanya based on their lackluster UFC 248 bout earlier this year.

Meanwhile, the UFC has a batch of contenders below that top tier who could serve as the future of the division, at least in terms of bringing fresh challengers to the reigning champion. While veteran Whittaker seems to be in the driver’s seat for a UFC middleweight title shot right now, fresh challengers like Jared Cannonier, Jack Hermansson, Darren Till, Marvin Vettori – and maybe even Khamzat Chimaev – lurk in waiting.

Of course, the chief criticism right now seems to be that the company is simply on a mass mission to trim fighter salaries, culling out veterans making big wages and replacing them with younger, cheaper athletes, such as those signed as a part of Dana White’s Contender Series.

Multiple UFC reps insisted to MMA Junkie that fighter pay is simply not part of conversations based around potential roster cuts.

“We’ve been making these same moves every weekend for 20 years,” White told MMA Junkie. “We haven’t in the past few months. It has nothing to do with fighter pay or anything else. It just hasn’t been done in a few months during the pandemic.

“If I was trying to save money, I would be laying off employees like every other company in America right now. That’s how you save money during something like this. I have honored every fighter contract and have not laid off one employee during this pandemic.”

UFC execs also pointed out that while DWCS contract winners are initially brought in at a standard entry-level base pay, nothing requires them to stay at such a level for long.

Sean O’Malley, for instance, has just five fights with the UFC but was paid a disclosed $80,000 for his June win over Eddie Wineland. Nevada Athletic Commission officials did not disclose his most recent purse for his August loss to Marlon Vera.

Maycee Barber provides another example: In her fourth UFC contest, and just her ninth bout overall, NAC records reveal she was contracted at $29,000 to show, $29,000 to win. Barber lost a decision that night to Roxane Modafferi – at the time competing in her 40th pro bout and seventh for the company (including a title shot) – who earned $31,000 to show and an additional $31,000 for the victory.

In short, Contenders Series talent can be less expensive initially, but based on results, it’s not guaranteed to stay there long enough to be considered a true savings tool.

While he didn’t come through DWCS, take a look at a different example: Still a relative octagon neophyte, Chimaev’s first three paydays haven’t been disclosed, for instance, but with a No. 15 spot in the UFC’s official rankings and an expected headlining slot on the horizon, it would be foolish to think he’s still competing on an entry-level contract.

The UFC departing with long-familiar names is never easy to process.

Former UFC and WEC champ Benson Henderson’s departure to Bellator was a shock to the system in 2016. Ditto for the 2017 move for Rory MacDonald, who almost certainly will one day be a member of the UFC Hall of Fame when his epic 2015 clash with Robbie Lawler is inducted into the Fight Wing.

Watching Anderson Silva compete on a surface other than the UFC octagon will prove a complete mind-blowing moment, and hopefully one more palpable than watching Chuck Liddell in a Golden Boy MMA cage. But it’s an inevitable reality of the sport, and of the UFC.

At some point, regardless of exact circumstances, it becomes necessary for the promotion to bring in new talent for evaluation, fighters who bring something unique and fresh to the company. Oftentimes, that will come at the expense of the old guard. It’s never an easy decision to make, and not one that’s taken lightly.

The mathematical equation of roster management always wins. How often that means mass layoffs changes due to circumstance.