Jon FItch
With the absorption of the Strikeforce fighters into the Ultimate Fighting Championship promotion it was only a matter of time before we started to see deep cuts within the Zuffa owned promotion.
On Wednesday, MMAFighting.com brought news of the release of sixteen fighters from the UFC straight from it’s president Dana White.
Surprisingly on that list was former UFC welterweight contender Jon Fitch (24-5-1) who finds himself cut after suffering a loss earlier this month at UFC 156 to Demian Maia. Fitch had fought UFC champ Georges St-Pierre for the title back in 2008. The American Kickboxing Academy fighter is considered by many to be top-ten in the welterweight division.
Also on that list of fighters released by the UFC are Jacob Volkmann, Vladimir Matyushenko, Che Mills, Paul Sass, Terry Etim, Jay Hieron, Wagner Prado, Mike Russow, Jorge Santiago, Mike Stumpf, Simeon Thoresen, CJ Keith, Motonobu Tezuka, Josh Grispi and Ulysses Gomez.
Here is a breakdown of each fighters record and their last fight as listed by MMAFighting.com:
Jon Fitch (Overall record: 24-5-1, 1 no-contest; Last fight: Unanimous decision loss to Demian Maia at UFC 156; 1-2-1 in last four UFC fights)
Wagner Prado (Overall record: 8-2-1, 1 no-contest; Last fight: Submitted by Ildemar Alcantara at UFC on FX 6; 0-2 with 1 no-contest in last three UFC fights)
Mike Russow (Overall record: 15-3, 1 no-contest; Last fight: TKO loss by Shawn Jordan at UFC on FOX 6; 0-2 in last two UFC fights)
Jacob Volkmann (Overall record: 15-4; Last fight: Submitted by Bobby Green at UFC 156; 1-2 in last three UFC fights)
Vladimir Matyushenko (Overall record: 26-7; Last fight: Submitted by Ryan Bader at UFC on FOX 6; 0-2 in last two UFC fights)
Che Mills (Overall record: 15-6, 1 no-contest; Last fight: Lost split decision to Matthew Riddle at UFC on FUEL TV 7; 1-2 in last three UFC fights)
Jay Hieron (Overall record: 23-7; Last fight: KO loss to Tyron Woodley at UFC 156; 0-2 in last two UFC fights)
Terry Etim (Overall record: 15-5; Last fight: Unanimous decision loss to Renee Forte at UFC on FUEL 7; 1-3 in last four UFC fights)
Paul Sass (Overall record: 13-2; Last fight: Unanimous decision loss to Danny Castillo at UFC on FUEL 7; 0-2 in last two UFC fights)
Jorge Santiago (Overall record: 25-11; Last fight: Unanimous decision loss to Gunnar Nelson at UFC on FUEL TV 7; 0-3 in his last three UFC fights)
Mike Stumpf (Overall record: 11-4; Last fight: Unanimous decision loss to Pascal Krauss at UFC on FOX 6; 0-2 in his last two UFC fights)
Simeon Thoresen (Overall record: 17-4; Last fight: Unanimous decision loss to David Mithcell at UFC on FOX 6; 0-2 in his last two UFC fights)
C.J. Keith (Overall record: 8-2; Last fight: Submitted by Francisco Trinaldo at UFC on FX 7; 0-2 in his last two UFC fights)
Motonobu Tezuka (Overall record: 19-6; Last fight: Unanimous decsion loss to Vaughan Lee at UFC on FUEL TV 7; 0-2 in his last two UFC fights)
Josh Grispi (Overall record: 14-5; Last fight: Unanimous decision loss to Andy Ogle at UFC on FUEL TV 7; 0-4 in his last four UFC fights)
Ulysses Gomez (Overall record: 9-4; Last fight: Unanimous decision loss to Phil Harris at UFC on FUEL TV 7; 0-2 in his last two UFC fights)