(via Fox Sports)
Like Chris Camozzi before him, Steven Siler was perhaps one of the more unexpected success stories to come out of The Ultimate Fighter. After being paired against the heavily-favored WEC vet Micah Miller in his TUF 14 elimination bout and emerging victorious via third round submission, Siler was viciously knocked out of the tournament by eventual season winner Diego Brandao. Like countless veterans of the reality show before him, most expected to see Siler put on a couple decent performances in the UFC before being released for simply not being up to par.
But as losses so often do, Siler’s quick defeat to Brandao actually fueled his 5-1 start in the promotion. While “Super” was always considered a grappling specialist with limited standup skills once was, his unanimous decision victory over fellow TUF standout Cole Miller at UFC on FX 2 painted him as a different fighter entirely. His combinations were quick and precise, his footwork on point. Siler lit up Miller for three rounds and sent a message to the featherweight division that he was a force to be reckoned with. A dominant victory over Joey Gambino would follow, along with wins over Kurt Holobaugh and former WEC champ Mike Brown.
The past year and a half, however, has been an incredibly frustrating period for Siler. First, he was outgunned by castmate Dennis Bermudez at Fight for the Troops 3, a loss that seems somewhat dismissible given the latter’s current 7-fight win streak. Then, Siler suffered a TKO loss to TUF Brazil‘s Rony Jason at Fight Night 38 that definitely violated the CagePotato “What the Fuck is Your Problem?” rule of fight stoppages.
Siler’s third straight loss came at UFC on FOX 12 in July, as he was decisioned by UFC newcomer Noad Lahat. Being that this Lahat character doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page, the UFC was forced to step in and do God’s work, handing Siler his walking papers and likely a congratulatory “Well, we never thought you’d mlast this long” handshake/nod of approval.
Siler broke the news of his release last night with a somewhat straightforward tweet. “I wanna thank the @UFC @danawhite @seanshelby for everything, I will be back in the UFC I’m not done yet.”
At just 27 years old, Siler already holds some 36 professional contests to his record, and with any luck, should be scooped up by Bellator or the WSOF in the coming weeks. The fact that he can make weight consistently should already put him ahead of 90% of Bellator’s roster, so good luck, Steve.