Tag: and now he’s fired

And Now He’s Fired: Jared Rosholt Released by the UFC For Being Boring, Basically


(A fittingly memorable photo for a fittingly memorable fighter. Farewell to thee, Jeremy Rosewall.)

Because some of you fans (and to be fair, some of us in the media) are still convinced that MMA is a sport and not a form of entertainment, there has been a bit of a reaction to the firing of UFC heavyweight Jared Rosholt — if “(*wanking motion*)” counts as a reaction nonetheless.

The post And Now He’s Fired: Jared Rosholt Released by the UFC For Being Boring, Basically appeared first on Cagepotato.


(A fittingly memorable photo for a fittingly memorable fighter. Farewell to thee, Jeremy Rosewall.)

Because some of you fans (and to be fair, some of us in the media) are still convinced that MMA is a sport and not a form of entertainment, there has been a bit of a reaction to the firing of UFC heavyweight Jared Rosholt — if “(*wanking motion*)” counts as a reaction nonetheless.

Rosholt was officially released from the promotion this morning despite compiling a respectable 6-2 record in his tenure with the UFC that included three wins in his past 4 performances. The general consensus seems to be that Rosholt was the latest example of UFC valuing “entertainment” over “skill,” but in our eyes, his firing breaks down to two simple factors:

1) He was nicknamed “The Big Show” but never put on a show

2) He lost to Roy Nelson

As we all know, Dana White has as much love for Big Country as Donald Trump does for our Ecuadorian friends down there in Mexico, so if you’re a UFC heavyweight who both loses to Roy Nelson and doesn’t have the common decency to get knocked out by Roy Nelson, you should probably expect your walking papers come the morning.

For us, the bigger offense lies in Rosholt’s offensive and plain presumptuous decision to steal Paul Donald Wight Jr’s ring name. “The Big Show” is a name that has to be earned through the chokeslamming of thine, enemies, Jared. Not through sloppy, grapple-fucked decisions. You know who never once let the judges decide if he was the winner? The actual Big Show.

I mean, just look at that athleticism, that grace. The marks of a true champion, surely.

Anyways, because we are the “true” fans of the sport who will take a well-executed double leg over a fancy side check kick KO any day of the week, we have scoured the Internet for clips of Mr. Rosholt finest work to compile this highlight reel in his honor.

The post And Now He’s Fired: Jared Rosholt Released by the UFC For Being Boring, Basically appeared first on Cagepotato.

And Now He’s Fired (Again): Charlie Brenneman Gets the Boot Following Third Straight Loss


(Everyone remembers where they were the first time they heard the “Comfortably Numb” guitar solo. Photo via Getty.)

The inventor of the punch-hair (Clay Guida WHO?) has likely fought for the last time in the UFC. Two months ago.

Yes, after succumbing to a first round rear-naked choke against the un-Wikipedia-able Leandro Silva back at Fight Night 56, Charlie “The Spaniard” Brenneman has once again been released by the promotion. Experts expect his reactionary lawsuit against the UFC to be filed by the end of the week.

The announcement was made by Brenneman himself on Twitter last night.

Was released fr @ufc today. Looking forward to starting the next chapter. Thx to my supporters!

— Charlie Brenneman (@SpaniardMMA) December 30, 2014

Brenneman’s re-firing may not seem like that big a deal at first, but it does prove one thing…


(Everyone remembers where they were the first time they heard the “Comfortably Numb” guitar solo. Photo via Getty.)

The inventor of the punch-hair (Clay Guida WHO?) has likely fought for the last time in the UFC. Two months ago.

Yes, after succumbing to a first round rear-naked choke against the un-Wikipedia-able Leandro Silva back at Fight Night 56, Charlie “The Spaniard” Brenneman has once again been released by the promotion. Experts expect his reactionary lawsuit against the UFC to be filed by the end of the week.

The announcement was made by Brenneman himself on Twitter last night.

Brenneman’s re-firing may not seem like that big a deal at first, but it does prove that the UFC is actually willing to draw the line in the sand when it comes the quality of their roster. And I know what you’re thinking, ”If the UFC is still firing people these days, how will they ever be able to fill up that Fight Night: Penistone card in July?” I don’t have an answer for that, but I think we can all agree that a #BringBackKimbo Twitter campaign will at least help.

In Brenneman’s first UFC run, the Pros vs. Joes winner went an even 4-4, with the obvious highlight being his massive upset of Rick Story at UFC on Versus 4 after taking the fight on less than a day’s notice. Unfortunately, TKO losses to Johny Hendricks, Anthony Johnson, and Kyle Noke saw Brenneman bounced in September of 2012 following two straight losses. The joke’s been made a million times, but I still find it necessary to point out that this guy and this guy were once in the same weight class and how hilarious that is.

After putting together four straight wins on the local circuit, Brenneman was invited back to the UFC in January, where he was steamrolled by Beneil Dariush, pancaked by Danny Castillo, and flibbity-flobbed by Silva. Let’s hope the WSOF treats him better.

For whatever reason, this was the first thing that popped into my head when I heard word of Brenneman’s firing. So everyone raise a parting glass to Charlie Brenneman: UFC fighter, and sing along.

–J. Jones 

And Now He’s Fired: Paulo Thiago Cut by UFC Following Three Straight Losses


(Paulo Thiago gets cracked by Sean Spencer during their fight in September. / Photo via Getty)

After losing his last three fights — and seven out of his last nine — Brazilian welterweight veteran Paulo Thiago has been released by the UFC. Thiago most recently competed at last month’s UFC Fight Night 51: Bigfoot vs. Arlovski, where he lost a unanimous decision to Sean Spencer on the prelims.

Thiago made his UFC debut in February 2009 as a 10-0 prospect, carrying a rad backstory as a B.O.P.E. supercop. He was immediately thrown to the wolves, drawing Josh Koscheck as his debut opponent at UFC 95. Koscheck was a heavy favorite to beat the unheralded newcomer. Instead, this happened:

Thiago dropped a decision to Jon Fitch in his next outing, but then posted back to back wins against Jacob Volkmann and Mike Swick. Suddenly, Paulo Thiago seemed like a legitimate threat in the welterweight division. Unfortunately, that was essentially his career peak in the UFC. He would never win two consecutive fights again, and the opponents he lost to went from top-of-the-food-chain (Martin Kampmann, Diego Sanchez) to pretty dangerous (Siyar Bahadurzada, Dong Hyun Kim) to downright obscure (Brandon Thatch, Gasan Umalatov). The last time people were talking about Paulo Thiago, it was because of his gig working security at the World Cup.

Before his latest loss to Sean Spencer, Thiago signed a new four-fight deal with the UFC, but of course, UFC contracts can be ended at any time by the promoter, because they’re not exactly “contracts” in the traditional sense; don’t get me started. Good luck with your next gig, Paulo.


(Paulo Thiago gets cracked by Sean Spencer during their fight in September. / Photo via Getty)

After losing his last three fights — and seven out of his last nine — Brazilian welterweight veteran Paulo Thiago has been released by the UFC. Thiago most recently competed at last month’s UFC Fight Night 51: Bigfoot vs. Arlovski, where he lost a unanimous decision to Sean Spencer on the prelims.

Thiago made his UFC debut in February 2009 as a 10-0 prospect, carrying a rad backstory as a B.O.P.E. supercop. He was immediately thrown to the wolves, drawing Josh Koscheck as his debut opponent at UFC 95. Koscheck was a heavy favorite to beat the unheralded newcomer. Instead, this happened:

Thiago dropped a decision to Jon Fitch in his next outing, but then posted back to back wins against Jacob Volkmann and Mike Swick. Suddenly, Paulo Thiago seemed like a legitimate threat in the welterweight division. Unfortunately, that was essentially his career peak in the UFC. He would never win two consecutive fights again, and the opponents he lost to went from top-of-the-food-chain (Martin Kampmann, Diego Sanchez) to pretty dangerous (Siyar Bahadurzada, Dong Hyun Kim) to downright obscure (Brandon Thatch, Gasan Umalatov). The last time people were talking about Paulo Thiago, it was because of his gig working security at the World Cup.

Before his latest loss to Sean Spencer, Thiago signed a new four-fight deal with the UFC, but of course, UFC contracts can be ended at any time by the promoter, because they’re not exactly “contracts” in the traditional sense; don’t get me started. Good luck with your next gig, Paulo.

And Now He’s Fired: TUF 14 Alum Steven Siler Given the Boot Following Three-Fight Skid

(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…


(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.

–J. Jones

And Now He’s Fired: Chris Camozzi Announces Second UFC Release After Four Straight Losses

(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 […]


(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.

–J. Jones

And Now He’s Fired: Francis “Frankie Cars” Carmont Axed Following Three Straight Losses


(“Hang on a second, Frankie, cause you just blew my f*cking mind.” via Getty)

Francis Carmont — or as they refer to him on the CME podcast, “Frankie Cars” — has experienced one of the more surprising career downswings of them all in recent months. A training partner of Georges St. Pierre up at Quebec’s Tristar gym, Carmont kicked off his UFC career with six straight victories, including wins over Costa Philippou, Chris Camozzi, and Lorenz Larkin to name a few. While his grapple-heavy style was never exactly crowd-pleasing (and some of his aforementioned victories overshadowed by questionable judging decisions), Carmont was steadily working his way toward becoming a top contender in the middleweight division according to many.

Then 2014 happened, and Carmont suddenly couldn’t buy a win. In successive appearances, he dropped a pair of unanimous decisions to Ronaldo Souza and CB Dollaway at Fight Night 36 and 41, respectively. If that wasn’t bad enough, poor Frankie Cars was then crumbled by the patented overhand right of Thales Leites (a.k.a Tally Lates) at Fight Night 49 last month, making it three straight losses for the once promising French Canadian.

And today, the news of Carmont’s release comes straight from the horse’s mouth, er, Facebook page:


(“Hang on a second, Frankie, cause you just blew my f*cking mind.” via Getty)

Francis Carmont — or as they refer to him on the CME podcast, “Frankie Cars” — has experienced one of the more surprising career downswings of them all in recent months. A training partner of Georges St. Pierre up at Quebec’s Tristar gym, Carmont kicked off his UFC career with six straight victories, including wins over Costa Philippou, Chris Camozzi, and Lorenz Larkin to name a few. While his grapple-heavy style was never exactly crowd-pleasing (and some of his aforementioned victories overshadowed by questionable judging decisions), Carmont was steadily working his way toward becoming a top contender in the middleweight division according to many.

Then 2014 happened, and Carmont suddenly couldn’t buy a win. In successive appearances, he dropped a pair of unanimous decisions to Ronaldo Souza and CB Dollaway at Fight Night 36 and 41, respectively. If that wasn’t bad enough, poor Frankie Cars was then crumbled by the patented overhand right of Thales Leites (a.k.a Tally Lates) at Fight Night 49 last month, making it three straight losses for the once promising French Canadian.

And today, the news of Carmont’s release comes straight from the horse’s mouth, er, Facebook page:

I announce that after 6 win and 3 defeat, I am no longer a UFC fighter. However it is with determination that I will continue my career in combat sports. A friend told me, after my loss against Thales, ” You will come to understand it is the best thing that could’ve happen for your career, it’ll make you stronger.” At that moment i did not quiet understand, and after reflecting i came to auto-criticize myself. I come to the conclusion that in sports just like in life, there are many and different stages. By looking for perfection on my technique, i slowly estrange myself from the combat by instinct. Seeking to score points instead of finishing my opponent. My last loss pushes me to grow everyday. Life is a learning path and my career is far from finish. Thank you very much for your constant support.

We imagine that Carmont will likely get scooped up by either Bellator or WSOF based on his former UFC status alone, but his firing just proves more than anything that the three strike rule still applies to guys with boring styles.

Our advice to Carmont: Train dem hands, score a few quick KOs on the local scene, and maybe get arrested a time or two from some really sketchy sh*t. The three strike rule doesn’t apply to knockout artists, Frankie, and that’s the God’s honest truth. Just be thankful that you are living in an MMA landscape where all can be forgiven because DAT FEIJAO KO DOE.

–J. Jones