Less than a week after UFC 161, the UFC decided to do a little housecleaning, removing six fighters from the roster page of its website.
Those removed from the page include:
- Eddie Mendez: One and done with the UFC it appears, Mendez recently debuted with the promotion at UFC on Fuel 10, suffering a first-round submission loss to Daniel Sarafian.
- Roger Hollet: The Canadian was never able to get much of a footing in the UFC, dropping two decisions at 205 without punching his name into the win column.
- Anthony Smith: Strikeforce import Anthony Smith was on thin ice with the UFC from the beginning. After being submitted in his final fight with Strikeforce, he failed to make it out of Round 1 in his first action with Zuffa’s bigger (now only) promotion.
- Nah-Shon Burrell: Burrell posted a 1-1 record inside the Octagon, but missed weight (by quite a lot) for the bout he did win.
- Karlos Vemola: The heavyweight-turned-light-heavyweight-turned-middleweight lasted six fights in the UFC but only managed two wins. His submission loss to Caio Magalhaes at UFC on Fuel 10 was evidently the last straw.
- Leandro Silva: Though his one UFC fight came on short notice and a weight class above his preferential level, Silva, it appears, is done with the promotion after just one outing.
These six men are the latest casualties of the UFC’s 2013 fat-cutting measures. Many fighters have received the axe during the first half of the year, including perennial welterweight contender Jon Fitch.
It is likely that the purge will continue, so look for some new names to join these after UFC 162. Best of luck to everyone fighting on that card….
H/T to Bloody Elbow for first reporting the removed names and for confirming with Burrell that he had indeed been released.
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