Tag: UFC firings

And Now He’s Fired: Carlos Eduardo Rocha Released Following “Bullshit” Loss to Mike Pierce at UFC on FX 3


(Gentlemen, no need to show me the door, because THERE IT IS RIGHT THERE!) 

There aren’t many fighters in the UFC who have had longer layoffs in between fights than Carlos Eduardo Rocha. Well, maybe before this summer began, that is. Fighting just three times between November of 2010 and June of 2012, Rocha’s 1-2 UFC record included a submission via kneebar win over Kris McCray and a pair of close decision losses to Jake Ellenberger at UFC 126 and most recently, Mike Pierce at UFC on FX 3. The latter fight, which you may recall was originally scored a split decision victory for Pierce rather than a UD thanks to the general incompetency of Floridians, was a relatively lackluster affair that was dominated by Pierce’s clinch and wrestling game ala Couture vs. Vera.

It might surprise you to learn that Rocha, an incredibly decorated BJJ practitioner whose only trips to the scorecards have come in the UFC, was let go following the loss. As one might understand, Rocha was none too happy to learn of this news, and quickly vented his frustrations (mainly, those relating to Pierce’s performance) when interviewed by Tatame:

I went there to fight MMA and he wants to win by points. There were 15 minutes of pure stalling This is bullshit. And UFC fires me after a fight where the guy just stood there stalling. I had good performances and even so I was cut off. I didn’t expect this.

Ah, the Nick Diaz defense. Classy move, Mr. Rocha.

More from this interview after the jump. 


(Gentlemen, no need to show me the door, because THERE IT IS RIGHT THERE!) 

There aren’t many fighters in the UFC who have had longer layoffs in between fights than Carlos Eduardo Rocha. Well, maybe before this summer began, that is. Fighting just three times between November of 2010 and June of 2012, Rocha’s 1-2 UFC record included a submission via kneebar win over Kris McCray and a pair of close decision losses to Jake Ellenberger at UFC 126 and most recently, Mike Pierce at UFC on FX 3. The latter fight, which you may recall was originally scored a split decision victory for Pierce rather than a UD thanks to the general incompetency of Floridians, was a relatively lackluster affair that was dominated by Pierce’s clinch and wrestling game ala Couture vs. Vera.

It might surprise you to learn that Rocha, an incredibly decorated BJJ practitioner whose only trips to the scorecards have come in the UFC, was let go following the loss. As one might understand, Rocha was none too happy to learn of this news, and quickly vented his frustrations (mainly, those relating to Pierce’s performance) when interviewed by Tatame:

I went there to fight MMA and he wants to win by points. There were 15 minutes of pure stalling This is bullshit. And UFC fires me after a fight where the guy just stood there stalling. I had good performances and even so I was cut off. I didn’t expect this.

Ah, the Nick Diaz defense. Classy move, Mr. Rocha.

Rocha stated that his main frustration with Pierce’s gameplan was a result of the ridiculous amount of Sonnen-esque shit-talking Pierce was dropping on the nation of Brazil beforehand.

Wasn’t he the one who said he’d fight any Brazilian because it’s an easy fight? I thought he could come for me but he didn’t. He didn’t attack me on the clinch, he didn’t hit me nor let me hit him. That’s not MMA.
There was one promotion (that made him an offer), but the guy didn’t wanna fight me. Now let’s move on, keep my head up. I never give up. I know I’ll get better next time so I can have another chance in the UFC.

As much as we tend to crucify (or at least condescend) fighters who bitch about their opponent’s gameplan in hindsight, Rocha kind of has a point here. Aside from the aforementioned trash talk Pierce was spouting leading up to the fight, his past two losses have come as the result of close split decisions. One could even argue that he deserved the nod in his loss to Josh Koscheck at UFC 143, so the fact that Pierce seemed all too content to ride out another decision against a relatively low-level guy like Rocha seems like kind of a weak move on his part. Plus, when the BJJ guy is complaining about not being hit enough, you know the fight must have sucked.

Then again, it takes two to tango, so if Rocha really wanted to do something to negate Pierce’s wall-n-stall tactics, perhaps he should have trained takedown defense and clinch work just a bit more in the months before the fight. In either case, at least he’s looking to the future and not dwelling on this loss for too long.

And hey, there’s always Strikeforce. They still have a welterweight division, right?

–J. Jones

Firing Roundup: Steve Cantwell Mercifully Released After Five Straight Losses


(We’ll give “The Robot” this, he never left a *victory* in the hands of the judges.) 

Of all the fighters to be kept around by the UFC for longer than they should have, the story of Steve Cantwell‘s inexplicably long run with the promotion is perhaps the most confounding. That is not a knock on Mr. Cantwell, but more of a general observation. After defeating Brian Stann at WEC 35 to win the WEC’s last Light Heavyweight championship (not to mention a bit of redemption), Cantwell kicked off his UFC career in memorable fashion, snapping Razak Al-Hassan’s arm and then gloating over it like a serial killer at UFC: Fight for the Troops back in December of 2008. Unfortunately for “The Robot,” the win would be both his first and last while under the UFC banner.

Cantwell’s next fight would be an entertaining three round kickboxing match with Luiz Cane, a fellow light heavyweight prospect who has fallen on hard times as of late, at UFC 97. It was shortly thereafter where those following Cantwell (including Joe Rogan) began to notice a change in Cantwell’s character, at least when he stepped into the ring. His next four losses, which came to Brian Stann, Cyrille Diabate, Mike Massenzio, and Riki Fukuda, respectively, were marked by an all but total lack of striking defense on Cantwell’s part, who seemed as if he was literally trying to absorb as much damage as possible en route to defeat. All four of those losses came by way of unanimous decision, and all four would see Cantwell fail to engage with any sense of urgency on the feet while having his face put through a meat grinder in the process. None of his fights were incredibly memorable, and most of them took place on the undercard, yet Cantwell stuck around for as long as he possibly could.

Like we said, we’re not here to kick a man while he’s down, but rather to wish him the best at wherever he may land in the future. We just wish we could have seen a little more of that sociopathic fire in his eyes over the last couple years.

News of Cantwell’s release comes amidst a plethora of UFC firings, the complete list of which awaits you after the jump.


(We’ll give “The Robot” this, he never left a *victory* in the hands of the judges.) 

Of all the fighters to be kept around by the UFC for longer than they should have, the story of Steve Cantwell‘s inexplicably long run with the promotion is perhaps the most confounding. That is not a knock on Mr. Cantwell, but more of a general observation. After defeating Brian Stann at WEC 35 to win the WEC’s last Light Heavyweight championship (not to mention a bit of redemption), Cantwell kicked off his UFC career in memorable fashion, snapping Razak Al-Hassan‘s arm and then gloating over it like a serial killer at UFC: Fight for the Troops back in December of 2008. Unfortunately for “The Robot,” the win would be both his first and last while under the UFC banner.

Cantwell’s next fight would be an entertaining three round kickboxing match with Luiz Cane, a fellow light heavyweight prospect who has fallen on hard times as of late, at UFC 97. It was shortly thereafter where those following Cantwell (including Joe Rogan) began to notice a change in Cantwell’s character, at least when he stepped into the ring. His next four losses, which came to Brian Stann, Cyrille Diabate, Mike Massenzio, and Riki Fukuda, respectively, were marked by an all but total lack of striking defense on Cantwell’s part, who seemed as if he was literally trying to absorb as much damage as possible en route to defeat. All four of those losses came by way of unanimous decision, and all four would see Cantwell fail to engage with any sense of urgency on the feet while having his face put through a meat grinder in the process. None of his fights were incredibly memorable, and most of them took place on the undercard, yet Cantwell stuck around for as long as he possibly could.

Like we said, we’re not here to kick a man while he’s down, but rather to wish him the best at wherever he may land in the future. We just wish we could have seen a little more of that sociopathic fire in his eyes over the last couple years.

News of Cantwell’s release comes amidst a plethora of UFC firings, the complete list of which is below.

Dongi Yang: 1-3 in his UFC career, “The Ox” is on the heels a unanimous decision loss to Brad Tavares at UFC on FUEL: Zombie vs. Poirier, his second straight UD loss in a row. Following his octagon debut (a split decision loss to Chris Camozzi), Yang picked up his lone win in the octagon by way of third round TKO over fellow UFC washout Rob Kimmons. Prior to his fight with Tavares, Yang was bested by TUF 11 winner Court McGee at UFN 25. 

Efrain Escudero: This makes for the TUF 8 winner’s second failed run inside the octagon. Escudero was first released after showing up four pounds heavy for his UFN 22 bout with Charles Oliveira, a match he would subsequently lose by third round submission (rear-naked choke). After going 5-1 in various promotions, including a quick submission (guillotine) over Cesar Avila at Bellator 55, Escudero was called back to the UFC as a late injury replacement for T.J. Grant against Jacob Volkmann at UFC 141. He would be thoroughly outgrappled by Volkmann en route to a tedious UD, and would drop a follow up contest to TUF 6 winner Mac Danzig at UFC 145 last April.

Aaron Rosa – Compiling a 1-2 record in his UFC career, Rosa sandwiched a plodding majority win over Matt Lucas at the inaugural UFC on FOX event between a third round TKO loss in an entertaining slugfest with Joey Beltran at UFC 131 and a devastating first round TKO at the hands of James Te Huna in March.

Also rumored, but not yet confirmed to have been released are:

-Alex Soto (0-2, with losses to Michael McDonald and Francisco Rivera)

-Eric Wisely (0-2, with losses to Charles Oliveira and Jason Young)

–Mike Massenzio (3-5, with last two losses coming to Rousimar Palhares ((via death)) and Karlos Vemola ((via McDonalds black-belt))

–J. Jones

And Now He’s Fired: Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller Released over “Crazy Sh*t Backstage”


Mayhem Miller and the UFC? I never want to see those two again. Props: MMAFighting.com

While it remains to be seen whether Jason “Mayhem” Miller will actually retire after his loss to C.B. Dollaway during last night’s UFC 146, he certainly won’t be having another fight in the UFC any time soon.

During last night’s post-event press conference, Dana White announced that the UFC has parted ways with Mayhem. While the news isn’t exactly surprising in any way, it’s interesting that Dana White cites “some crazy shit” that took place backstage as the reason for Miller’s release. Before you begin to speculate, the incident was not a fight. As of right now, there are no other details on the incident.

I was about to write that Jason Miller’s UFC run has been forgettable, but honestly, it was much worse than that: His career in the UFC has been memorable for entirely the wrong reasons. He’s been little more than a class clown, insulting opponents during interviews and wearing ridiculous outfits only to get thoroughly dismantled in each of his appearances. He’s looked so bad throughout his UFC career that Dana White is on record claiming that he’s seen women in Tae Bo classes with better striking.


Mayhem Miller and the UFC? I never want to see those two again. Props: MMAFighting.com

While it remains to be seen whether Jason “Mayhem” Miller will actually retire after his loss to C.B. Dollaway during last night’s UFC 146, he certainly won’t be having another fight in the UFC any time soon.

During last night’s post-event press conference, Dana White announced that the UFC has parted ways with Mayhem. While the news isn’t exactly surprising in any way, it’s interesting that Dana White cites “some crazy shit” that took place backstage as the reason for Miller’s release. Before you begin to speculate, the incident was not a fight. As of right now, there are no other details on the incident.

I was about to write that Jason Miller‘s UFC run has been forgettable, but honestly, it was much worse than that: His career in the UFC has been memorable for entirely the wrong reasons. He’s been little more than a class clown, insulting opponents during interviews and wearing ridiculous outfits only to get thoroughly dismantled in each of his appearances. He’s looked so bad throughout his UFC career that Dana White is on record claiming that he’s seen women in Tae Bo classes with better striking.

As for his final performance in the octagon against middleweight gatekeeper C.B. Dollaway, the less we say the better. It’s one thing when a smartass hack journalist jokes about changing the channel to a basketball game during your “fight”. It’s a whole different story when your boss tweets that your fight “SUCKED!!!!” before the crowd is even done booing. Injured knee or not, if Mayhem was looking to go out on a high note, he failed miserably.

Rarely one to shy away from expressing his thoughts, Dana White commented further on Mayhem’s final performance for the UFC during the press conference. “The thing is with Mayhem Miller, his last fight was embarrassing that he had with Michael Bisping after his season of The Ultimate Fighter,” said White. “Then he still comes out with pink shit on at the weigh-ins or whatever the hell he was wearing. The guy doesn’t take it serious and he looked it tonight.” Ouch.

So what do you think happens now for Jason Miller? Does he actually retire from MMA? Does he stick to crushing cans at local shows? Do you think Bellator takes a chance on him? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

And Now He’s Fired: Joey Beltran


(Is that Brazilian Walnut I am standing on? Classy.) 

Called it.

As told to FightersOnly magazine by none other than Joey Beltran himself, it appears that the UFC has released “The Mexicutioner” following his first round “kickstand KO” (Props to Stak40 for coining the term) loss to Lavar Johnson at UFC on Fox 2. The loss was Beltran’s fourth in his last five outings but his first ever to come via form of (T)KO. In regards to his release, Beltran stated the following:

I am truly grateful for all the opportunities that I have received from the UFC/Zuffa. I am not sad or hurt by their decision as I know that winning is the name of the game. Posting  a 1-4 record my last 5 fights is unacceptable regardless of how entertaining the fights were. So this is the next chapter of my career, and one that I am excited for. You will definitely see my ugly face again so fans don’t worry and haters keep on hating. 

We know the Internet is a cold, harsh place, but what person claiming to be a fan of MMA would hate Joey Beltran?


(Is that Brazilian Walnut I am standing on? Classy.) 

Called it.

As told to FightersOnly magazine by none other than Joey Beltran himself, it appears that the UFC has released “The Mexicutioner” following his first round “kickstand KO” (Props to Stak40 for coining the term) loss to Lavar Johnson at UFC on Fox 2. The loss was Beltran’s fourth in his last five outings but his first ever to come via form of (T)KO. In regards to his release, Beltran stated the following:

I am truly grateful for all the opportunities that I have received from the UFC/Zuffa. I am not sad or hurt by their decision as I know that winning is the name of the game. Posting  a 1-4 record my last 5 fights is unacceptable regardless of how entertaining the fights were. So this is the next chapter of my career, and one that I am excited for. You will definitely see my ugly face again so fans don’t worry and haters keep on hating. 

We know the Internet is a cold, harsh place, but what person claiming to be a fan of MMA would hate Joey Beltran? The man is not only responsible for doling out a just beating to Rolles Gracie in his octagon debut back at UFC 109, but has played a part in some classic wars with the likes of Matt Mitrione, Pat Barry, and Aaron Rosa to boot. Although he’s struggled as of late, there’s no denying that Beltran always brought it come fight night, and was a hell of an entertaining guy to watch as a result. Best of luck to him on his future endeavors, and here’s hoping we’ll see him back in the UFC sometime soon.

Just for shits and giggles, I’ve added a gif of his UFC 131 TKO win over Aaron Rosa below. Enjoy.

-J. Jones

And Now He’s Fired: Miguel Torres Cut by UFC After One Rape Joke Too Many


(Torres following his unanimous decision loss to social media. / Photo via ESPN)

Miguel Torres — former undisputed WEC bantamweight champion and die-hard fan of rape jokes — has been released by the UFC. Dana White confirmed the firing yesterday evening, telling SI.com, “his career with us now is over.”

The reason for Torres’s release was a tweet that reportedly read, “If a rape van was called a surprise van, more women wouldn’t mind going for rides in them. Everyone likes surprises.” Torres later removed the tweet and replaced it with an edited version. White was informed of the tweet second-hand by Michael Landsberg and made the decision to fire Torres shortly after.

So why is Torres being made an example of, when Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans made similar off-color statements recently? Basically, it’s because he didn’t have a good enough explanation.


(Torres following his unanimous decision loss to social media. / Photo via ESPN)

Miguel Torres — former undisputed WEC bantamweight champion and die-hard fan of rape jokes — has been released by the UFC. Dana White confirmed the firing yesterday evening, telling SI.com, “his career with us now is over.”

The reason for Torres’s release was a tweet that reportedly read, “If a rape van was called a surprise van, more women wouldn’t mind going for rides in them. Everyone likes surprises.” Torres later removed the tweet and replaced it with an edited version. White was informed of the tweet second-hand by Michael Landsberg and made the decision to fire Torres shortly after.

So why is Torres being made an example of, when Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans made similar off-color statements recently? Basically, it’s because he didn’t have a good enough explanation.

As Dana White tells Ariel Helwani in a video interview released last night, Griffin explained to him that his “rape is the new missionary” tweet was intended to be a commentary on the prevalence of sex crime coverage on television, while Rashad’s Jerry Sandusky reference was an attempted dig at Phil Davis’s alma mater gone too far. (Dana claims he couldn’t hear the line during the press conference because the microphones were going in and out, though he laughed anyways.)

The problem with Torres’s “rape van” tweet was that it had no other purpose, context, or explanation, other than allegedly being a quote from either It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia or Workaholics. Said Dana: “That’s not a funny joke to me. That’s just not something you tweet. If that’s your sense of humor, keep it at home around you and your buddies and keep it to yourself. It’s not something that you put out on twitter. And there’s no explanation for it. I can’t make any sense of it. And enough is enough. When you’re getting ready to twitter, or you’re getting ready to say something, think about what you’re gonna say, think about what you’re gonna tweet, and use a little common sense…that tweet makes no sense, and the fact that you say it was a joke bothers me even more.”

White goes on to explain that this is the first thing that Miguel Torres has done to offend him — he considers Torres a good guy and a great champion otherwise — and he would have been fired even if this situation didn’t occur on the heels of the Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans controversies. (For the record, Rashad won’t receive any punishment for his own tasteless joke.)

Torres isn’t the first fighter to be fired by the UFC due to an Internet posting. I mean shit, we were just talking about War Machine. But now that every other UFC fighter is trying to be a part-time comedian in order to nab a Twitter performance bonus, a new message needed to be sent: Use your head, because the world is watching.

0-3 Fighter Who Gave His Parents Crabs Mercifully Released From the UFC


(“I’m here to pick up your daughter. Or your son. Whoever’s free.”)

After a woefully shitty performance against Edwin Figueroa at UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle, Jason Reinhardt has officially been released by the UFC. It was Reinhardt’s third loss in the Octagon — in three different weight classes. At 41, he was the oldest active fighter in the UFC.

Reinhardt began his career as a wrecking ball in midwestern regional promotions, racking up an astounding 18-0 record with all wins by stoppage. (It should be noted that only five of his opponents had winning records, and about half were making their MMA debuts.) Though Reinhardt was originally signed to fight Roger Huerta at UFC 63 in 2006, a neck injury delayed his debut until the following year, where he was quickly choked out by Joe Lauzon at UFC 78.

Reinhardt returned to the midwest to beat up a couple more nobodies in local shows, and was inactive for a couple years nursing injuries. In February 2011, the UFC had Jason back as a featherweight, throwing him against Tiequan Zhang. Reinhardt lost by submission (again), this time in just 48 seconds. The UFC gave him one more chance earlier this month, this time at bantamweight against Edwin Figueroa. Reinhardt ran around the cage until Figueroa finally caught up to him and TKO’d him in the second round.

Also, he gave his parents crabs once. For real. That charming little story is after the jump, as told by Jason himself while wearing a coon-skin cap.


(“I’m here to pick up your daughter. Or your son. Whoever’s free.”)

After a woefully shitty performance against Edwin Figueroa at UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle, Jason Reinhardt has officially been released by the UFC. It was Reinhardt’s third loss in the Octagon — in three different weight classes. At 41, he was the oldest active fighter in the UFC.

Reinhardt began his career as a wrecking ball in midwestern regional promotions, racking up an astounding 18-0 record with all wins by stoppage. (It should be noted that only five of his opponents had winning records, and about half were making their MMA debuts.) Though Reinhardt was originally signed to fight Roger Huerta at UFC 63 in 2006, a neck injury delayed his debut until the following year, where he was quickly choked out by Joe Lauzon at UFC 78.

Reinhardt returned to the midwest to beat up a couple more nobodies in local shows, and was inactive for a couple years nursing injuries. In February 2011, the UFC had Jason back as a featherweight, throwing him against Tiequan Zhang. Reinhardt lost by submission (again), this time in just 48 seconds. The UFC gave him one more chance earlier this month, this time at bantamweight against Edwin Figueroa. Reinhardt ran around the cage until Figueroa finally caught up to him and TKO’d him in the second round.

Also, he gave his parents crabs once. For real. That charming little story is after the jump, as told by Jason himself while wearing a coon-skin cap.