(Pictured: The man Maiquel Falcao should have never done f*cked with.)
Here’s some unsurprising news: Due to their ongoing personal/legal troubles, Paul Daley and Maiquel Falcao were officially released from their Bellator contracts yesterday. While there are many things to take away from this decision, we think the most important one is that someone finally figured out how to break a Bellator contract without being sued. QUICK, EDDIE, TAKE TO THE STREETS!
You might recall that we slightly jumped the gun on Daley’s release after it had been reported that he was involved in a bar brawl (or “pub pugilistic” as they are known in London), the legal repercussions of which prevented him from entering the U.S. and competing under the Bellator banner. But in hindsight, we’ll just chalk up that previous article to our keen sense of premonition, pat ourselves on the back and order another Glen Garioch neat.
Falcao, on the other hand, found his legal trouble in the form of a wild gas station brawl (or “Thursday” as they are known in Brazil) that left his friend and fellow MMA fighter Kaue Mena hospitalized to this day. Seriously, join us after the jump to hear the “good news” on how Mena’s recovery has been going.
(Pictured: The man Maiquel Falcao should have never done f*cked with.)
Here’s some unsurprising news: Due to their ongoing personal/legal troubles, Paul Daley and Maiquel Falcao were officially released from their Bellator contracts yesterday. While there are many things to take away from this decision, we think the most important one is that someone finally figured out how to break a Bellator contract without being sued. QUICK, EDDIE, TAKE TO THE STREETS!
You might recall that we slightly jumped the gun on Daley’s release after it had been reported that he was involved in a bar brawl (or “pub pugilistic” as they are known in London), the legal repercussions of which prevented him from entering the U.S. and competing under the Bellator banner. But in hindsight, we’ll just chalk up that previous article to our keen sense of premonition, pat ourselves on the back and order another Glen Garioch neat.
Falcao, on the other hand, found his legal trouble in the form of a wild gas station brawl (or “Thursday” as they are known in Brazil) that left his friend and fellow MMA fighter Kaue Mena hospitalized to this day. Seriously, join us after the jump to hear the “good news” on how Mena’s recovery has been going.
The doctor of Balneário Camboriú, Hugo Sérgio Pretto did some exams on the MMA fighter Kauê Mena that remains hospitalized since the street fight in a gas station. Stimulated, the fighter responded by squeezing the doctors hand and moving his eyes. … Despite the responses, the situation of Kauê remains critical. According to Pretto’s research, the fighter have internal bleeding and lost a lot of brain mass. It was needed to remove the top of his head through surgery, due to his brain’s swelling.
And all this because Mena chose to be friends with a piece of human trash like Falcao. Truly a sad day for the mediator friend, indeed.
Whether or not the mystery men involved in the brawl have been apprehended/charged yet remains to be seen — the same goes for Falcao. We will continue to update you on the situation as information is made available.
(Hollett’s spinning elbow may have been way off the mark that night, but his impression of a James Toney side check kick was SPOT ON.)
Another Monday morning means another batch of UFC firings, Nation. Thankfully, none of the names on today’s list should really come as all that big a surprise, so let’s quit beating around the bush and get right to this thing…
Roger “The Hulk” Hollett: This one-time Bellator veteran was originally brought over to face Matt Hamill in his un-retirement fight at UFC 152, was then forced out of the fight do to a contract dispute with his former promotion (Author’s note: My shocked face. Let me show you it.) and replaced by Vladimir Matyushenko, and was then brought back in against Hamill when Vladdy went down with an injury. Unfortunately, the story ends with Hollett getting his ass handed to him in a snoozer at UFC 152, then getting similarly outgunned by Fabio Maldonado at UFC on FX 8 last month. Sad story, bro. This one’s on us.
(Hollett’s spinning elbow may have been way off the mark that night, but his impression of a James Toney side check kick was SPOT ON.)
Another Monday morning means another batch of UFC firings, Nation. Thankfully, none of the names on today’s list should really come as all that big a surprise, so let’s quit beating around the bush and get right to this thing…
Roger “The Hulk” Hollett: This one-time Bellator veteran was originally brought over to face Matt Hamill in his un-retirement fight at UFC 152, was then forced out of the fight do to a contract dispute with his former promotion (Author’s note: My shocked face. Let me show you it.) and replaced by Vladimir Matyushenko, and was then brought back in against Hamill when Vladdy went down with an injury. Unfortunately, the story ends with Hollett getting his ass handed to him in a snoozer at UFC 152, then getting similarly outgunned by Fabio Maldonado at UFC on FX 8 last month. Sad story, bro. This one’s on us.
Karlos “The Terminator” Vemola: Not since Kenny Florian have we seen a fighter change weight classes so many times over the course of a UFC career. After entering the promotion as a heavyweight in 2010 and suffering a UD loss to Jon Madsen, Vemola immediately dropped down to 205, where he scored a KOTN-earning win over the now-retired Seth Petruzelli at UFC 122. A decision loss to Ronny Markes in his next contest would sending him down to the middleweight division, where he would submit Mike Massenzio with a rear-naked choke at UFC on FOX 3 before getting rear-naked choked by Francis Carmont and Caio Magalhaes in back-to-back fights.
Nah-Shon Burrell: This is the one guy on the list that everyone appears to be making a big stink over, although the evidence against him seems pretty compelling. For starters, Burrell couldn’t make weight in both his Strikeforce and UFC debuts (the latter of which he missed by a metric fuckton, scientifically speaking). Secondly, he needed two attempts to make weight for his eventual decision loss to Stephen Thompson at UFC 160. Although his UFC record currently stands at an even 1-1, Anthony Johnson will tell you that being a fatty boom-boom in the UFC is a surefire way to get the boot, regardless of your merit as a fighter.
Eddie Mendez: 0-1 in the UFC, was quickly submitted by TUF Brazil finalist Daniel Sarafian in the opening bout of UFC on FUEL 10 earlier in the month. Moving on…
Anthony “Lionheart” Smith: After getting submitted by Roger Gracie at the final Strikeforce event, Smith was also submitted at UFC on FUEL 10 via a kneebar at the hands of Antonio Braga Neto in just under two minutes. Man, it looks like submission defense is just under shit-talking skills on the checklist of reasons to keep a fighter in the UFC these days.
Leandro Silva: *Also* 0-1 in the UFC, Silva was outworked by Ildemar Alcantara en route to a UD loss at, you guessed it, UFC on FUEL 10. Hey, at least he always has professional soccer to fall back on.
(1-0 over constrictive tanktops, 0-1 over actual competition. You will be missed, Gilbert. Photo courtesy of UFC.com)
The UFC continues to steamroll ahead with its massive roster cuts, Potato Nation. And while we are never one to praise the departure of a Zuffa employee (unless it’s Paul Daley, of course), we should at least be able to take comfort in the fact that there are no Jon Fitch level mind-bogglers for us to mourn this time around. However, the UFC’s most recent list of firings does feature — somewhat unsurprisingly — every TUF 17 alum who came up short in the season’s finale earlier this month, as well as a couple other guys who have had less than successful UFC runs as of late.
Taking out the trash is never fun, so let’s just get this thing over with…
(1-0 over constrictive tanktops, 0-1 over actual competition. You will be missed, Gilbert. Photo courtesy of UFC.com)
The UFC continues to steamroll ahead with its massive roster cuts, Potato Nation. And while we are never one to praise the departure of a Zuffa employee (unless it’s Paul Daley, of course), we should at least be able to take comfort in the fact that there are no Jon Fitch level mind-bogglers for us to mourn this time around. However, the UFC’s most recent list of firings does feature — somewhat unsurprisingly — every TUF 17 alum who came up short in the season’s finale earlier this month, as well as a couple other guys who have had less than successful UFC runs as of late.
Taking out the trash is never fun, so let’s just get this thing over with…
Philip De Fries: Otherwise known as the poor man’s Christian Morecraft, the submission specialist has seen his lights turned out in 3 of his past 4 fights — to Stipe Miocic, Todd Duffee, and most recently, Matt Mitrione. All three of those losses came in under 3 minutes. Despite his trio of vicious beatdowns, De Fries was able to score a pair of victories over Rob Broughton and Oli Thompson at UFC 138 and UFC on FOX 4, respectively.
Chris Spang: The Strikeforce veteran was only given one chance in the UFC and suffered a unanimous decision loss to fellow Strikeforce vet Adlan Amagov in a snoozer at UFC on FUEL 9 earlier in the month. Insert Leonard Garcia joke here.
Jimmy Quinlan, Gilbert Smith, Kevin Casey, Collin Hart, & Adam Cella: These TUF 17 alums suffered losses at the season finale to fellow castmates Dylan Andrews, Bubba McDaniel, Josh Samman, and Luke Barnatt, respectively. Cella, on the other hand, was choked out by Tor Troeng in the first round of their fight at UFC on FUEL 9.
Being a “contributor” for CagePotato.com is kind of like being a barback at a seedy nightclub in Tijuana. We stock the bar with booze, ice, and clean glassware while staying in the shadows hoping to God that we don’t get yelled at. We try to help out wherever we can so the star bartenders (Ben Goldstein, Jared Jones, Elias Cepeda and Seth Falvo) can toss bottles of shitty Tequila like juggling pins while they pour fruit-flavored cocktails to semi hot chicks that they will inevitably hump later on. A contributor cleans up puke, empties ashtrays and eats shit from all the “made men” (both writers and tenured comment section dick-heads) here at CagePotato but it really is a great gig. Can you imagine the sloppy seconds that Danga sends our way?
Needless to say, most of the day-to-day MMA related news topics are taken care of by the staff writers and that leaves aspiring dipshits like me and Hutchinson to try and come up with a fresh or entertaining story idea on our own. Well, this idea is not fresh but it could be entertaining (at least my portions will be, but I have hope for Hutch since he is the guy who brought the word “dicknailed” to the CP). When Jon Fitch was released from his UFC contract last week, I wanted to write a piece on which higher profile fighters I would cut next if I were part of the UFC brass. Because opinions are like buttholes, Hutch had a thought to debate several of the choices in a YAY or NAY style. Before anyone starts hollering about Clay Guida, Jake Shields or the entire cast from the first season of The Ultimate Fighter (that means you Koscheck) take note that we agreed on more than we disagreed and in the spirit of pointless arguments opted to leave the most obvious offenders out. Let’s get started.
Being a “contributor” for CagePotato.com is kind of like being a barback at a seedy nightclub in Tijuana. We stock the bar with booze, ice, and clean glassware while staying in the shadows hoping to God that we don’t get yelled at. We try to help out wherever we can so the star bartenders (Ben Goldstein, Jared Jones, Elias Cepeda and Seth Falvo) can toss bottles of shitty Tequila like juggling pins while they pour fruit-flavored cocktails to semi hot chicks that they will inevitably hump later on. A contributor cleans up puke, empties ashtrays and eats shit from all the “made men” (both writers and tenured comment section dick-heads) here at CagePotato but it really is a great gig. Can you imagine the sloppy seconds that Danga sends our way?
Needless to say, most of the day-to-day MMA related news topics are taken care of by the staff writers and that leaves aspiring dipshits like me and Hutchinson to try and come up with a fresh or entertaining story idea on our own. Well, this idea is not fresh but it could be entertaining (at least my portions will be, but I have hope for Hutch since he is the guy who brought the word “dicknailed” to the CP). When Jon Fitch was released from his UFC contract last week, I wanted to write a piece on which higher profile fighters I would cut next if I were part of the UFC brass. Because opinions are like buttholes, Hutch had a thought to debate several of the choices in a YAY or NAY style. Before anyone starts hollering about Clay Guida, Jake Shields or the entire cast from the first season of The Ultimate Fighter (that means you Koscheck) take note that we agreed on more than we disagreed and in the spirit of pointless arguments opted to leave the most obvious offenders out. Let’s get started.
SMITH: CUT ‘EM
I was indifferent at first when it came to Frank Mir, but thanks to him beating the shit out of that weirdo Wes Sims in their rematch and then welcoming the former/current sports entertainer, Brock Lesnar, to the world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu back at UFC 81, I took a liking to Mr. Mir. Sadly, those warm and fuzzy feelings have dissipated since he magically bulked up (really really really really fast by the way – just sayin’) and decided to conjure his inner Magnus Ver Magnusson while he dedicated himself to strength training with former World’s Strongest Man competitor Mark Philippi. For the record, the Fingal Fingers kick serious ass but I digress.
Mir has always shown that he does not mix the concrete milkshakes into his diet because all of his losses have come via KO or TKO and most of them have been pretty brutal. Then again, getting punched in the face by 250+ pound dudes is not exactly like getting beaten with a pillow. If Daniel Cormier is able to manhandle him, Mir’s walking papers get stamped and FREAKSHOW fights against a guy named Warpath await.
HUTCHINSON: KEEP ‘EM Frank may be a little bit of a douche and is most certainly an asshole but there is no denying the man’s talents. For starters, Mir holds the record for most fights in the UFC heavyweight division AND most submissions in the heavyweight division AND most finishes in the heavyweight division AND he’s fought 5 different UFC champions AND beat four of them AND really I could go on and on like this but that would be a run-on sentence AND on CagePotato we like to keep it grammatically correct. Take into account the two-year layoff from the sport of MMA after a devastating motorcycle accident — all the while he was in his prime mind you — and that makes his later accomplishments all the more impressive.
Argue price all you want but as a former champion, interim champion and being the only one to ever submit (as well as one of two to KO) Big Nog, I say he’s underpaid. Ok, maybe not underpaid but I’d say he’s earned it. In 22 fights he’s only been to a decision 3 times and all 6 of his losses have come by way of KO. So when Mir steps in the ring you can bet one of two things will happen: We’ll see some slick jiu-jitsu or Mir gets that smug smirk knocked off his face. Either way, the fans win. Think of the fans, Nathan!
HUTCHINSON: CUT ‘EM Real talk, guys. If Bisping wasn’t British would he be anything more than an average mid-level fighter? Allow me to spell it out here. Another former Ultimate Fighter winner who got there by beating the likes of Kristian Rothaermel, Ross Pointon, and finally Josh Haynes, one of whom you might actually know. He was then gifted fights against journeymen like Eric Schafer and Elvis Sinosic, both of whom are no longer Zuffa employees. A bullshit win over Matt Hamill and a loss to Rashad Evans forced the Brit down to middleweight where, not long after, Chris Leben introduced “The Count” to his inevitable moniker of “pillow fists,” and went so far as to encourage Bisping to take advantage of some free unanswered shots to his face.
At this point in his career, the UFC decided he would make a perfect coach for his own season of The Ultimate Fighter. Why you ask? Because “FUCK YOU” that’s why. The season set up a fight against Dan Henderson which also marked his first real test against an established top tier fighter, and I’m going to stop the walk down memory lane right there. His career since has followed the exact same path to the same outcome. He gets matched up with a couple of low- to mid-level fighter – WINS – and then gets destroyed by anyone close to the top ten.
This would all be well and good if we didn’t have to listen to the guy talk about being a top fighter who deserves a title shot every time someone sticks a microphone in his face. In fact, I doubt the microphone even matters. Can you imagine what it would be like getting a pint at the pub with this guy? One minute you’re sipping a beer and maybe playing darts and the next you’ve got Bisping standing on the pool table screaming that he will kill the next wanker that mentions Anderson Silva because “I’m one of the best middleweights in the world. Dana said so…Dana said” . . . . . then he collapses into a tear soaked pile on the floor.
This is a guy who:
A. If not for his country of origin, would never have had his name anywhere near talks of a title shot.
B. Based off his performances against top guys is way fucking overpaid at $275,000. That kind of cash could get us almost three Robbie Lawlers and that in my opinion is a far stronger investment all around.
SMITH: KEEP ‘EM
I know. I know. More often than not, The Count acts a lot more like The Count because of his “I could not give less of a shit” attitude during interviews, blog posts or press conferences but the fact remains — he is always in shape for a fight. Granted, the Wolf’s Lair is probably not the best gym he could be at, and a move to a more technical training facility in the US or Canada would probably benefit his career, but he is always game for a scrap. Was he spoon-fed outclassed opponents in order to pad his record early in his UFC career? Maybe. Probably. OK, YES! But he beat all of those opponents and if you doubt it just ask Matt Hamill who I assume is a top-selling telemarketer since his retirement. I am going to hell for that one.
Has Bisping lost to every big name fighter he has faced? Yes, but he is still a big draw in Europe. All the UFC has to do is have Bisping headline or co-main the FX or FUEL cards twice a year in the UK [Ed. note:You mean “UFC on FS1 UK” cards] and that will justify his paltry salary from the gate money alone. Besides, the UFC doesn’t have very many heels, and since Josh Koscheck is probably going to be on a lot of fishing trip vacations at with his BFF Jon Fitch in the near future, I say keep The Count around for shits and giggles even though he is heading into the twilight of his career at the ripe age of 34. God dammit that makes me feel really old. Thank goodness there is not an age bias for being a porno cameraman or I might find myself in the unemployment line really soon as well.
SMITH: CUT ‘EM
“If you aren’t cheating — you aren’t trying and it’s only cheating if you get caught.” I don’t know who said that but they are smarter than these chicks and once you are a cheater you are always a cheater in the eyes of the fans. Overeem went on a 1-4 losing skid back in 2006-7 which saw him lose to names like Arona, Nogueira, Rua and Kharitonov but he did pick up his only victory over a guy named Michael Knaap in a fight that took place in his native Netherlands. After that, the natural 205’er blew up like Magnus Ver Magnusson (that’s right – 2 WSM drops in 1 post – bring back the Hussafell Stone god dammit) and was straight killing fools in Japan. The dude physically looked like he was about to star in a porno where he was going to overpower and then totally plow a Predator, but we knew the dirty truth and were just hoping for the best even though it was just a matter of time before he pissed hot. Awe . . . . . . screw it . . . . . . he kicked Lesnar’s guts back into fake fighting so he isn’t all that bad. But now that his body has pulled physiology on him – he needs to get on the tread mill and hope to Christ that DW really likes him because after JDS turns his head into a speed bag and he gets his walking papers, The Demolition Man will have a tough time pan-handling because nobody is giving a 6’ 6” yoked dude that looks like a super villain any coin at a Netherland’s off ramp.
HUTCHINSON: KEEP ‘EM
No comment. (Ed. note: That is compelling stuff, Hutch.)
On the next page: two more TUF winners whose best days are in the rear-view.
(You think it would be damn near impossible to sum up an 18-fight UFC career in one image, yet here we are.)
Wow.
When we announced just hours ago that Jacob Volkmann had been cut from the UFCas part of a vast, government-led ploy to disarm the public following a 1-2 run in his last 3 fights, little did we know that his termination was just the precursor for one of the largest mass firings in UFC history. But that appears to be the case, as it was recently made public that Volkmann was but one of 16 fighters to be cut from the UFC today.
(You think it would be damn near impossible to sum up an 18-fight UFC career in one image, yet here we are.)
Wow.
When we announced just hours ago that Jacob Volkmann had been cut from the UFCas part of a vast, government-led ploy to disarm the public following a 1-2 run in his last 3 fights, little did we know that his termination was just the precursor for one of the largest mass firings in UFC history. But that appears to be the case, as it was recently made public that Volkmann was but one of 16 fighters to be cut from the UFC today.
Jon Fitch: That’s right, the man who is currently ranked at #9 on the UFC’s “official” welterweight rankings list, which were made public all of two weeks ago, has been axed for the second time in his 18-fight UFC career. While his first exit from the promotion wasn’t exactly performance-related, it’s hard to say that his second is any different. Fitch may be 1-2-1 in his past four bouts, but that lone victory came in a thrilling match over one of the division’s hottest prospects in Erick Silva. Not to mention Fitch’s thirteen other victories in the UFC. But yeah, keep trying to convince us that those rankings are anything other than a steaming pile of (adorable) dog shit.
Che Mills: 2-2 in the UFC, Mills was more than likely fired for basically giving up in the third round of his fight with Matt Riddle at UFC on FUEL 7, a move that immediately earned him the ire of The Baldfather.
Paul Sass: Talk a bout a hype-deflation. Sass came into the UFC riding a ten-fight unbeaten streak and quickly proved that he was the real deal by submitting his first three UFC opponents. However, after being dealt a taste of his own medicine compliments of Matt Wiman at UFC on FUEL 5, Sass would drop a follow-up contest to Danny Castillo, also at UFC on FUEL 7, which was apparently enough for the UFC to sever their ties with the Brit. Speaking of Brits…
Terry Etim: 6-5 UFC, on the heels of his second straight loss to Renee Forte at, you guessed it, UFC on FUEL 7 in London. Although Etim has fought just once a year since 2009 and is best known for being on the wrong end of the greatest knockout of 2012, this is still kind of a shocking entry considering the following he had gained amongst UK MMA fans. We guess shit happens when you drop a decision in your home country.
Other fighters who find themselves unemployed as of today are…
Wagner Prado: 0-2 and 1 NC, lost both fights by second round submission.
Josh Grispi: 0-4 UFC, officially became one of the biggest busts in UFC history (as we pretty much predicted) when he dropped a UD to Andy Ogle at UFC on FUEL 7.
Ulysses “Useless” Gomez: 0-2 UFC, also dropped a decision at UFC on FUEL 7. Expect several nickname-based puns to start popping up on comment boards across the MMA blogosphere any minute now.
(Griggs might not have had the best ground game in the biz, but he made up for it in pure funkatude.)
It must be spring, Potato Nation, because in order to make room for their new batch of Strikeforce fighters, the UFC has been doing a little cleaning out of their roster as of late. In total, 9 fighters have been axed as of this morning, including everyone’s favorite muttonchops aficionado, Chad Griggs. MMA Opinion has the full list, so join us after the jump to find out which fighters will no longer be punctuating the undercards of FUEL and FX events.
Chad Griggs: 11-1 before entering the UFC, Griggs’ lack of a ground game was quickly exposed in his debut, where he was choked out by Travis Browne in under three minutes at UFC 145. After dropping to light heavyweight, Griggs returned at UFC 154 to face PRIDE veteran and feared striker Cyrille Diabate. Those who were expecting a slugfest left disappointed, however, as Griggs was choked out in the first round again, just 15 seconds later than his first fight.
Marcus LeVesseur: Despite being one of the more decorated wrestlers to enter the UFC in some time, “The Prospect” quickly showed that he was simply not well rounded enough to hang in the sport’s highest promotion. After dominating the beginning of his UFC debut against TUF 12 alum Cody McKenzie, LeVesseur became McKenzietine victim #11 at just over three minutes into the first round. After scoring a snoozer of split decision over Carlo Prater in his next fight, Levesseur was absolutely savaged by Abel Trujillo at UFC on FOX: Henderson vs. Diaz.
(Griggs might not have had the best ground game in the biz, but he made up for it in pure funkatude.)
It must be spring, Potato Nation, because in order to make room for their new batch of Strikeforce fighters, the UFC has been doing a little cleaning out of their roster as of late. In total, 9 fighters have been axed as of this morning, including everyone’s favorite muttonchops aficionado, Chad Griggs. MMA Opinion has the full list, so join us after the jump to find out which fighters will no longer be punctuating the undercards of FUEL and FX events.
Chad Griggs: 11-1 before entering the UFC, Griggs’ lack of a ground game was quickly exposed in his debut, where he was choked out by Travis Browne in under three minutes at UFC 145. After dropping to light heavyweight, Griggs returned at UFC 154 to face PRIDE veteran and feared striker Cyrille Diabate. Those who were expecting a slugfest left disappointed, however, as Griggs was choked out in the first round again, just fifteen seconds later than his first fight.
Marcus LeVesseur: Despite being one of the more decorated wrestlers to enter the UFC in some time, “The Prospect” quickly showed that he was simply not well rounded enough to hang in the sport’s highest promotion. After dominating the beginning of his UFC debut against TUF 12 alum Cody McKenzie, LeVesseur became McKenzietine victim #11 at just over three minutes into the first round. After scoring a snoozer of split decision over Carlo Prater in his next fight, Levesseur was absolutely savaged by Abel Trujillo at UFC on FOX: Henderson vs. Diaz.
Joey Gambino: After getting sliced, diced, and eventually submitted by Steven Siler in his promotional debut at UFC on FX 4, Gambino was outpointed by TUF 14 winner Diego Brandao at UFC 153.
Jared Papazian: 0-3 in the octagon, followed up a majority decision loss to Mike Easton at UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller with a submission loss to Dustin Pague at UFC on FX 3. He was given a final chance at the TUF 16 Finale, but was utterly dominated (30-25 x2, 30-26) by Tim Elliot in a performance that somehow netted both men a FOTN award.
Jeff Houghland: 1-2 in the promotion, with UD losses to Yves Jabouin and Takeya Mizugaki in successive contests.
Nick Penner: 0-2, with successive (T)KO losses to Anthony Perosh and Cody Donovan at UFC on FX 2 and UFC on FX 6, repectively.
John Cofer: The TUF 15 alum who was head kick KO’d by Justin Lawrence at the TUF 15 Finale last June before suffering an armbar defeat to Mike Rio at the TUF 16 Finale.
Yasuhiro Urishitani: a.k.a the highly ranked flyweight who was blistered by Joseph Benavidez in the opening round of the flyweight tournament at UFC on FX 2, then outpointed by John Lineker at UFC on FUEL 6.
Henry Martinez: 1-2 in the promotion, Martinez followed up a highly entertaining split decision loss to Matt Riddle at UFC 143 with a split decision win of his own at UFC on FX: Johnson vs. McCall. However, Martinez would find himself on the wrong end of a Daron Cruickshank highlight reel, walk-off KO at UFC on FOX: Henderson vs. Diaz. A sour note to end on, for sure.
