Free agency in mixed martial arts (MMA) is alive and well.
What was once thought of as a crazy dream, top fighters can now look elsewhere other than Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to collect a paycheck for punching people in the face. Sure, that option has always existed; however, a few years ago, if you weren't with UFC, you weren't considered to be fighting at the the highest level.
That's the reason all up-and-comers and talented veterans wanted to either make it to the Octagon or keep plying their trade in the eight-walled cage to prove their worth.