(Photo via Camozzi’s Instagram/Vital Imagery)
For the past four years, TUF 11 alum Chris Camozzi has become one of the most reliable, if not completely overlooked staples of the UFC’s middleweight division. In an era of the sport that sees champions go an entire year without defending their belt, Camozzi was the increasingly rare kind of fighter that neither turned down an opponent nor pulled out of fights due to injury more often than he didn’t. He was a workhorse, a gamer — a guy the UFC could consistently count on to kick off a pay-per-view (or carry the FS1 prelims) — and should be remembered as one of the promotion’s most consistent scrappers during his two-tour run in the octagon.
But Camozzi’s fallen on hard times as of late. He’s dropped his past four fights in a row to increasingly lower ranked fighters, most recently suffering a controversial split decision loss to Rafael Natal at Fight Night 50 in September. And yesterday, word of his release from the UFC was made public by none other than Camozzi himself, who posted this even-headed and grateful goodbye on the blog of his MMA apparel website, PerformanceMMA. Give it a read after the jump.
Cuts are minor nuances that sometimes leave a scar as a reminder. They are not life changing and if you treat them the right way you can possibly learn how to avoid them in the future.
I knew this Natal fight was win or move on, probably for both of us. In my heart I felt like I had done enough to win. I left my UFC contract in the judges hands. They felt like I lost and getting cut is what comes with that decision. It is unfortunate that MMA judging and statistical fight analysis is so far off. Instead of looking back I am going to look forward, look forward to building my MMA career.
I am thankful the UFC gave me the opportunity to fight the best in the World. They treated me fair and gave me a lot of great experiences and the opportunity to meet some amazing MMA fans. At the end of the day I am a MMA fighter at heart. That means my future is not tied to being in the UFC. My future in MMA will continue. I am in the gym already working on all aspects of my fighting skills.
My coaches have helped me evolve into a more complete fighter. There are a lot of great Middleweights not in the UFC and I look forward to facing some of them. We get better through battles and I am always looking to do just that.
I can’t thank my sponsors enough, your commitment to me in and out of the cage has allowed me to realize my dreams and help others. I am honored to continue to represent you and thankful for all of your support.
To my fans, I promise you that I will train harder and continue to showcase the style and heart that you have come to expect from me. I will always keep coming forward and always go out on my shield. I can’t express how much you mean to me, your support and love make the hard days easier and the good days great.
–Chris
He might not have been the most memorable guy to ever come through the TUF house, but with a 12-fight UFC career behind him, he lasted longer than about 90% of his fellow alums, which is definitely an accomplishment in and of itself.
Best of luck wherever you land, Chris. We imagine we’ll be seeing you back in the UFC before too long.