(Don’t worry Gabe, the world will always need drinking instructors… / Props: gonzagabjj)
Following two consecutive losses to Junior Dos Santos and Brendan Schaub (at UFC 121), former heavyweight title contender Gabriel Gonzaga has been released …
(Don’t worry Gabe, the world will always need drinking instructors… / Props: gonzagabjj)
(Poor kid. He didn’t even get a chance to go on a three-fight losing streak. Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.com)
Following his submission loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC Fight Night 22, TUF 8 lightweight winner Efrain Escudero has been released f…
(Poor kid. He didn’t even get a chance to go on a three-fight losing streak. Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.com)
Following his submission loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC Fight Night 22, TUF 8lightweight winner Efrain Escudero has been released from his UFC contract. Escudero confirmed the news last night via Twitter, writing "I was released by the Ufc today speaking to strikeforce and bellator. Taking a week off and make my way back!!!!!"
Escudero becomes just the second Ultimate Fighter-winner to be pink-slipped in the show’s five-and-a-half-year history; TUF 4‘s Travis Lutter got canned in April 2008. TUF winners tend to get a lot of leeway in their UFC careers — check out the spotty records of guys like Mac Danzig and Kendall Grove — but missing weight and garbage-ass performances will get you on the UFC’s bad side no matter who you are. Escudero struck out big time last week when he missed weight by an unacceptable four pounds, then lost to an up-and-comer in a fight that was entertaining despite Efrain’s best efforts to stall.
We’re sure Effy will land on his feet, and may even battle his way back to the UFC one day. But between this and Todd Duffee‘s firing two weeks ago, it seems like the UFC is becoming less interested in giving second (or third) chances to fighters who aren’t performing up to expectations.
(Killa B gets worked by Dennis Hallman at UFC 117. Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.)
Following back-to-back unanimous decision losses to Dennis Hallman at UFC 117 and Jon Fitch at UFC 111, Ben Saunders (8-3-2, 4-3 UFC) has been released from his UFC co…
(Killa B gets worked by Dennis Hallman at UFC 117. Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.)
Following back-to-back unanimous decision losses to Dennis Hallman at UFC 117 and Jon Fitch at UFC 111, Ben Saunders (8-3-2, 4-3 UFC) has been released from his UFC contract. The American Top Team welterweight confirmed the news on his Twitter page, where he wrote the following: Sorry everyone I tried to fight my best these past two fights but ended up getting out worked… the UFC has officially cut me… the good news is they told me to work on my wrestling and ground game and then come back… So that is all I am going to be doing… improving dramatically and show them I belong. It was a honor to fight for the @UFC and I will make it back into the mix in due time… no one ever said my dream of getting that belt would be easy… in fact I was denied it as even a possibility and told I was crazy since I was a kid… look how far I have gone feeding off the doubters and haters… it just makes me that much more hungry… I’ll be back! There isn’t a doubt in my mind.
(Too weird to live. Too rare to die. Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.com)
We crossed our fingers and held our breath, but we were not able to stave off the inevitable. As first reported by MMAFighting, longtime UFC veteran Keith Jardine has been cut by…
(Too weird to live. Too rare to die. Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.com)
We crossed our fingers and held our breath, but we were not able to stave off the inevitable. As first reported by MMAFighting, longtime UFC veteran Keith Jardine has been cut by the UFC following his fourth consecutive loss, a majority decision against Matt Hamill at the TUF 11 Finale.
Jardine has competed exclusively for the UFC since entering the organization through The Ultimate Fighter 2 in 2005. Since his stint on the reality show, Jardine has gone 6-7 in professional competition, scoring notable victories over Forrest Griffin, Chuck Liddell, and Brandon Vera. But in recent years, the Dean of Mean repeatedly fell short against the elite of the light-heavyweight division, suffering defeats at the hands of Quinton Jackson, Wanderlei Silva, and Thiago Silva, among others. Said Dana White of Jardine’s release: "It sucks. I have nothing but respect for him and I hope to see him back soon."
