Also put on the chopping block by the Ultimate Fighting Championship was welterweight Chuck O’Neil (8-4) who announced his release via his Facebook page.
O’Neil was a semifinalist on Season 13 of “The Ultimate Fighter” and made his UFC debut at the TUF 13 Finale last month against “TUF 13″ teammate Chris Cope. O’Neil would lose by unanimous decision and was subsequently released by the UFC.
O’Neil left this message on his Facebook page.
I was officially released by the UFC today. I will continue to work hard to improve myself as a person and a fighter everyday. I WILL make it back there because the UFC is where I belong. Thank you to everyone for your continued support and there will be a fight coming soon with a MUCH improved performance!
O’Neil was an alternate for the Spike TV reality series and stepped in as a member of Team Lesnar after Myles Jury was forced off the show due to an injury. He lost to Zach Davis in his first elimination bout and suffered a submission defeat. White then selected him for one of the two “Wild Card” positions and he went on to defeat Javier Torres with a D’Arce choke to move into the quarter-finals.
There he faced Davis in a rematch and was able to earn a unanimous decision to move into the semi-finals. He fought teammate Tony Ferguson and was eliminated by third round TKO.