Already fired once in early 2012 following a 3-4 stint at heavyweight — which ended in back-to-back losses against Stipe Miocic and Lavar Johnson — Beltran immediately shed some pounds and tried to reinvent himself as a light-heavyweight. After beating a dude named Anton Talamantes by decision last April, the UFC called Beltran back up to the big leagues two months later for an injury-replacement fight against James Te Huna. Beltran lost the fight by decision — but the match won a Fight of the Night award, and secured Beltran another shot in the Octagon. Everybody loves a gritty Mexican brawler, right?
Beltran followed up his return fight by testing positive for steroids after a unanimous decision win against Igor Pokrajac — the fight was overturned to a no-contest — and losing a split-decision to Fabio Maldonado earlier this month in an match that impressed nobody. All in all, Beltran’s run at 205 pounds resulted in a UFC record of 0-2 with one no-contest/steroid bust; he was winless in his last five Octagon appearances.
The only question that remains is this: Bellator or WSOF?
(We’ll say one thing for Joey: He kept it gangster. / Photo via Getty)
Already fired once in early 2012 following a 3-4 stint at heavyweight — which ended in back-to-back losses against Stipe Miocic and Lavar Johnson — Beltran immediately shed some pounds and tried to reinvent himself as a light-heavyweight. After beating a dude named Anton Talamantes by decision last April, the UFC called Beltran back up to the big leagues two months later for an injury-replacement fight against James Te Huna. Beltran lost the fight by decision — but the match won a Fight of the Night award, and secured Beltran another shot in the Octagon. Everybody loves a gritty Mexican brawler, right?
Beltran followed up his return fight by testing positive for steroids after a unanimous decision win against Igor Pokrajac — the fight was overturned to a no-contest — and losing a split-decision to Fabio Maldonado earlier this month in an match that impressed nobody. All in all, Beltran’s run at 205 pounds resulted in a UFC record of 0-2 with one no-contest/steroid bust; he was winless in his last five Octagon appearances.
The only question that remains is this: Bellator or WSOF?
Last night’s instance of poor sportsmanship and judgment from Palhares wasn’t his first. As we’ve mentioned earlier today, Palhares was previously suspended by the UFC for doing the exact same thing to Tomasz Drwal back in 2010.
Despite initial reports that Palhares has received a lifetime ban from the organization, MMAFighting.com is reporting that Palhares has simply been “released.”
We’ll keep you up to date as this story continues to develop.
Last night’s instance of poor sportsmanship and judgment from Palhares wasn’t his first. As we’ve mentioned earlier today, Palhares was previously suspended by the UFC for doing the exact same thing to Tomasz Drwal back in 2010.
Despite initial reports that Palhares has received a lifetime ban from the organization, MMAFighting.com is reporting that Palhares has simply been “released.”
We’ll keep you up to date as this story continues to develop.
(“Look, Andy, you’re clearly still upset about the pool party thing, but I swear, the Evite must have gone to your junk mail folder or something, because we totally included you on the-oh God noooooo NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!” Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting)
“Perennial contender” is a back-handed compliment — it means you were always good enough to hang in the top ten, but never good enough to hold the belt. It suggests a kind of career limbo, in which you’re forever in the mix, highly regarded, but ultimately unsuccessful. Jon Fitch was a perennial contender, and when he was fired by the UFC in February, fans who never liked him in the first place criticized the UFC for getting rid of their #9-ranked contender — as if rankings held any sort of accurate measure of a fighter’s value. Fitch may have been more talented than most welterweights in the world, but he had outlived his usefulness, from both a competitive and promotional standpoint.
“He’s been with us forever. He was always a tough guy and was right up there, but it’s almost like he’d become a gatekeeper. I like Okami, and you’ve heard me say this many times, that a win over Yushin Okami meant something. But he was never able to get over the hump and win one of those [significant] fights. We have a lot of guys coming in and I’ve been saying this all year: We have a full roster and there are guys who deserve opportunities. When you bring guys in, someone has to go. That’s why these fights are so meaningful.”
Okami was already a 16-3 veteran when he joined the UFC, with appearances in Pancrase, Pride, Hero’s, and Rumble on the Rock, where he scored a bizarre DQ victory over Anderson Silva in January 2006. “Thunder” made his Octagon debut later that year at UFC 62, and began to steadily rise up the middleweight ranks, winning his first four fights — including decision victories against Alan Belcher and Mike Swick — before losing a #1 contender fight against Rich Franklin at UFC 72.
The rest of Okami’s UFC career would play out the exact same way.
(“Look, Andy, you’re clearly still upset about the pool party thing, but I swear, the Evite must have gone to your junk mail folder or something, because we totally included you on the-oh God noooooo NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!” Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting)
“Perennial contender” is a back-handed compliment — it means you were always good enough to hang in the top ten, but never good enough to hold the belt. It suggests a kind of career limbo, in which you’re forever in the mix, highly regarded, but ultimately unsuccessful. Jon Fitch was a perennial contender, and when he was fired by the UFC in February, fans who never liked him in the first place criticized the UFC for getting rid of their #9-ranked contender — as if rankings held any sort of accurate measure of a fighter’s value. Fitch may have been more talented than most welterweights in the world, but he had outlived his usefulness, from both a competitive and promotional standpoint.
“He’s been with us forever. He was always a tough guy and was right up there, but it’s almost like he’d become a gatekeeper. I like Okami, and you’ve heard me say this many times, that a win over Yushin Okami meant something. But he was never able to get over the hump and win one of those [significant] fights. We have a lot of guys coming in and I’ve been saying this all year: We have a full roster and there are guys who deserve opportunities. When you bring guys in, someone has to go. That’s why these fights are so meaningful.”
Okami was already a 16-3 veteran when he joined the UFC, with appearances in Pancrase, Pride, Hero’s, and Rumble on the Rock, where he scored a bizarre DQ victory over Anderson Silva in January 2006. “Thunder” made his Octagon debut later that year at UFC 62, and began to steadily rise up the middleweight ranks, winning his first four fights — including decision victories against Alan Belcher and Mike Swick — before losing a #1 contender fight against Rich Franklin at UFC 72.
The rest of Okami’s UFC career would play out the exact same way. He won three fights in a row following his loss to Franklin — until a decision loss to Chael Sonnen bumped him back down the ladder. He won three more consecutive fights after that, including a decision win against Nate Marquardt — and was completely blown out by old rival Anderson Silva at UFC 134, during Okami’s first and only UFC title fight. He lost to Tim Boetsch after the Silva fight, in a come-from-behind shocker at UFC 144, but then cobbled together yet another three-fight win streak in the Octagon. Take a wild guess what happened next.
Theoretically, Yushin Okami could have continued his “win three, lose one” pattern forever, but would anybody care to watch it? Like Fitch, Okami’s grappling-based no-flash style gave him a limited ceiling of fan support. (His limited English didn’t help, either.) He had gone as far as he could go, and the UFC felt it was the right time to pull the plug on their investment. It’s hard to blame them for that. Okami is now a top-ten ranked free-agent, and between Bellator and the World Series of Fighting, guys like him don’t stay unemployed for long.
(Here we are, just a couple of wild and crazy guys!)
After collecting an impressive 6-1 streak in Strikeforce, Hyan Couture (son of “Handy”) was among the faces to make the transition to the UFC when the promotion was bought out by Zuffa earlier this year*. Unfortunately, it seems that Couture will also be joining the small-but-growing list of Strikeforce fighters who weren’t able to hack it in the big leagues, as the UFC confirmed his release following two consecutive losses earlier today.
Couture last competed at UFC 164 in August, where he dropped a unanimous decision to TUF 15 *finalist* (ouch) Al Iaquinta on the Facebook preliminary portion (Daaaaang!) of the card. In his UFC debut at UFC on FUEL 9, Couture was TKO’d by TUF 9 winner Ross Pearson in the second round.
Although we’re sure this has absolutely nothing to do with the UFC’s ongoing war of words with Randy Couture and company, it will be interesting to see just how many wins Randy Lite will have to score in smaller promotions before he is invited back. Or, if he is invited back (DUN-DUN-DUN).
UPDATE: Three more profiles have been removed from UFC.com. To see who they are, join us after the jump.
(Here we are, just a couple of wild and crazy guys!)
After collecting an impressive 6-1 streak in Strikeforce, Hyan Couture (son of “Handy”) was among the faces to make the transition to the UFC when the promotion was bought out by Zuffa earlier this year*. Unfortunately, it seems that Couture will also be joining the small-but-growing list of Strikeforce fighters who weren’t able to hack it in the big leagues, as the UFC confirmed his release following two consecutive losses earlier today.
Couture last competed at UFC 164 in August, where he dropped a unanimous decision to TUF 15 *finalist* (ouch) Al Iaquinta on the Facebook preliminary portion (Daaaaang!) of the card. In his UFC debut at UFC on FUEL 9, Couture was TKO’d by TUF 9 winner Ross Pearson in the second round.
Although we’re sure this has absolutely nothing to do with the UFC’s ongoing war of words with Randy Couture and company, it will be interesting to see just how many wins Randy Lite will have to score in smaller promotions before he is invited back. Or, if he is invited back (DUN-DUN-DUN).
Anyone have the slightest idea where Couture will land? The best bet is probably Bellator — in which case, he can forget all about being invited back for amultitudeofreasons – but we could just as easily see Couture winding up in a lower level promotion like Legacy Fighting Championships. Worst case scenario: We see Couture powerbombing his way through the Super Fight League’s elite (that’s a thing, right) in a year’s time. Ah, to be an MMA fighter.
[UPDATE]
As first passed along by BloodyElbow, the following profiles have also recently been removed from their respective rosters on UFC.com:
Papy Abedi: 1-3, with all 3 losses coming via stoppage to Thiago Alves, Dylan Andrews, and…
James Head: 2-3, with a notable victory over Brian Ebersole and losses to Nick Ring, Mike Pyle and Jason High
Ben Alloway: After scoring an impressive front kick KO over Manuel Rodriguez in his UFC debut, this TUF: Smashes alum has dropped two straight to Ryan Laflare and Zak Cummings.
*Does anyone else feel like it’s been years since Strikeforce was bought out? Maybe the days are slipping away from me, or maybe watching Tarec Saffiedine’s grow into a future serial killer has skewed my sense of time. In any case…damn.
Following his conviction by a court of law in Sweden, the UFC organization has elected to terminate its relationship with Reza Madadi based on its Fighter Code of Conduct and the provision of its promotional agreement concerning fighter conduct.
Does anyone else wonder how Matt Hughes managed to stretch the above paragraph into an 8 hour work day?
“Do you want this in Times New Roman or the standard Calibri body, Dana? Dana?”
Madadi was last seen competing in his home country at UFC on FUEL: Mousasi vs. That Other Guy, where he improved his octagon record to 2-1 with a third round submission via D’arce victory over Michael Johnson. In retrospect, we should all just assume that Madadi’s arrest and possibly his decision to compete in MMA in the first place was all part of an elaborate ruse designed to draw attention away from Barack Obama so he could steal the Hope Diamond. BOOM BABY!
After the jump: A Colombian purse snatcher gets hit by a bus. I don’t know, it seems relevant to me.
(Further proof that handbag thievery is a dangerous game to get into.)
Following his conviction by a court of law in Sweden, the UFC organization has elected to terminate its relationship with Reza Madadi based on its Fighter Code of Conduct and the provision of its promotional agreement concerning fighter conduct.
Does anyone else wonder how Matt Hughes managed to stretch the above paragraph into an 8 hour work day?
“Do you want this in Times New Roman or the standard Calibri body, Dana? Dana?”
Madadi was last seen competing in his home country at UFC on FUEL: Mousasi vs. That Other Guy, where he improved his octagon record to 2-1 with a third round submission via D’arce victory over Michael Johnson. In retrospect, we should all just assume that Madadi’s arrest and possibly his decision to compete in MMA in the first place was all part of an elaborate ruse designed to draw attention away from Barack Obama so he could steal the Hope Diamond. BOOM BABY!
After the jump: A Colombian purse snatcher gets hit by a bus. I don’t know, it seems relevant to me.
(“And he couldn’t be more thrilled. Back to you in the studio, Ariel!” Photo via Getty.)
It’s safe to say that time has not been kind to the Gracie family, at least in the UFC. Hell, it’s safe to say that time has been kinder to the Sumatran Tiger than it has to the Gracies, and I see at least fourteen adds asking me to save the former from poachers every goddamn day.
It all started when Rolles Gracie shit the bed in his octagon debut at UFC 109. While you could argue that he might have been called up to the UFC a little prematurely (being that he was only 3-0 at the time), Dana & Co. showed no such consideration or hespect for the Gracie name when they gave him the boot. Next, Renzo Gracie was leg kick TKO’d by Matt Hughes at UFC 112 and that’s all we are willing to say about that. Most recently, Roger Gracie rode a two-fight win streak in Strikeforce over to the UFC, where he was upended by Tim Kennedy in an absolute snoozefest at UFC 162.
Unfortunately, it looks like the most qualified Gracie to…grace the octagon in years will suffer the same fate as the former two. Combate.com is passing along word that the Brazilian’s four fight Strikeforce contract — which transferred/expired following Roger’s uninspiring UFC 162 loss — has not been renewed by the promotion. We know what you’re thinking, and yes, it looks like Rampage vs. Ortiz just became A TRIPLE THREAT CAGE MATCH FOR THE WHATEVERF*CKYOUWEIGHT TITLE!
(“And he couldn’t be more thrilled. Back to you in the studio, Ariel!” Photo via Getty.)
It’s safe to say that time has not been kind to the Gracie family, at least in the UFC. Hell, it’s safe to say that time has been kinder to the Sumatran Tiger than it has to the Gracies, and I see at least fourteen adds asking me to save the former from poachers every goddamn day.
It all started when Rolles Gracie shit the bed in his octagon debut at UFC 109. While you could argue that he might have been called up to the UFC a little prematurely (being that he was only 3-0 at the time), Dana & Co. showed no such consideration or hespect for the Gracie name when they gave him the boot. Next, Renzo Gracie was leg kick TKO’d by Matt Hughes at UFC 112 and that’s all we are willing to say about that. Most recently, Roger Gracie rode a two-fight win streak in Strikeforce over to the UFC, where he was upended by Tim Kennedy in an absolute snoozefest at UFC 162.
Unfortunately, it looks like the most qualified Gracie to…grace the octagon in years will suffer the same fate as the former two. Combate.com is passing along word that the Brazilian’s four fight Strikeforce contract — which transferred/expired following Roger’s uninspiring UFC 162 loss — has not been renewed by the promotion. We know what you’re thinking, and yes, it looks like Rampage vs. Ortiz just became A TRIPLE THREAT CAGE MATCH FOR THE WHATEVERF*CKYOUWEIGHT TITLE!
Despite opening most of our eyes to this great sport in 1993, this most recent setback brings the Gracie’s UFC record to 0-4-1 since, well, 1994. While success in the modern era of MMA can be defined by much, much more than UFC wins, to say that the UFC performances of the Gracies in recent years have been anything less than disheartening would be an understatement that everyone else in the room would silently resent you for making.
