UFC Thread

[Hammy]

It’s win or go home lately inside the Octagon … literally.

The UFC — in a move to trim its roster and offer the better fighters more opportunities to compete — has once again released several fighters from their contracts including one half of the Montreal Snoozejob, Thales Leites, according to MMA Fanhouse.

The Brazilian joins George Roop, Dan Cramer and Tamdan McCrory on the growing list of recent Zuffa contract casualties.

Leites was heading into UFC 101 on August 8 in a must-win situation after his lackluster performance against middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 97: “Redemption” last April.

The Nova Uniao product was able to do what no man has done up until this point — survive five rounds with “The Spider.” But “survive” was all he seemed willing to do — there was very little offense for 25 minutes. In fact, he basically played keep-away once he realized that he would be unable to implement his slick jiu-jitsu skills.


The performance did not go over well with the public at large, as well as UFC executives, including company president Dana White, who admitted at the post-fight press conference that he was “embarrassed.” Leites had five wins in six attempts prior to the loss, three of which came via submissions.

His chance to turn things around and perhaps dazzle fans with an electrifying finish was stifled by hard-hitting Alessio Sakara in Philadelphia. “Legionarious” forced him to the judges scorecards and walked out of “The Keystone State” with a split decision victory.

The only positive to being released is that opportunities to fight still exist outside of Zuffa. Don’t be surprised to see any one of these talents reappear in competing promotions sooner rather than later.

If nothing else this latest news puts more pressure on fighters to not only win, but perform well if given the chance to fight for the UFC. It also ensures that, hopefully, we see more of the top fighters competing against better competition more often.

Shame to see McCrory go, he is a good fighter, I'm sure he'll be back though.

[Rankin]

Dana has said Leites & McCrory are still with UFC.

[Hammy]

Dana has said Leites & McCrory are still with UFC.

Dana saves the day for those guys.

So who actually does the cutting then?

I read Dana reversed the decision once he heard, I always assumed he cut them, will it be Joe Silva, being match maker and all?

[Rankin]

I'd imagine it would be Joe Silva who refers the cuts then Dana makes the final decision.

[Hammy]

I'd imagine it would be Joe Silva who refers the cuts then Dana makes the final decision.

So its Joe who doesn't like them.

Leites being fed to Wanderlai anyone? 

[Rankin]

Either that or feed him to Bisping at UFC 105 to get Bisping's star slightly back up.

[Hammy]

Either that or feed him to Bisping at UFC 105 to get Bisping's star slightly back up.

I thought about that then thought he might give him problems  Leites is no slouch not by any means.

[Rankin]

Either that or feed him to Bisping at UFC 105 to get Bisping's star slightly back up.

I thought about that then thought he might give him problems  Leites is no slouch not by any means.

Well theres always the newly re-signed Phil Baroni, believe it or not! Baroni is pretty popular here and entertaining....just not the best of fighters.

[Hammy]

Either that or feed him to Bisping at UFC 105 to get Bisping's star slightly back up.

I thought about that then thought he might give him problems  Leites is no slouch not by any means.

Well theres always the newly re-signed Phil Baroni, believe it or not! Baroni is pretty popular here and entertaining....just not the best of fighters.

I heard a rumour he was coming back, he has great charisma and can sell a fight and I've wanted him to do well for ages, but he always tanks, he isn't UFC caliber, he has struggled against nearly every decent guy he has faced since he left the promotion, last chance he had to get back in, Dana said he'd let him back if he beat Frank Shamrock and he messed that up as well unfortunately.

[Rankin]

Either that or feed him to Bisping at UFC 105 to get Bisping's star slightly back up.

I thought about that then thought he might give him problems  Leites is no slouch not by any means.

Well theres always the newly re-signed Phil Baroni, believe it or not! Baroni is pretty popular here and entertaining....just not the best of fighters.

I heard a rumour he was coming back, he has great charisma and can sell a fight and I've wanted him to do well for ages, but he always tanks, he isn't UFC caliber, he has struggled against nearly every decent guy he has faced since he left the promotion, last chance he had to get back in, Dana said he'd let him back if he beat Frank Shamrock and he messed that up as well unfortunately.

Yeah, he announced the signing today.

[D]

Leites got cut after all

the thing with the UFC right now is, they are sort of one foot in real sport and one foot in Sports Entertainment.


If u lose but are exciting u keep your job but if u win but are boring and lose they cut u.

Leites just fought for a title and now he is cut? how the hell does that work?

He got cut due to his boring nature.

in the NBA, the San Antonio Spurs are a ratings disaster when they make the NBA Finals but its true competition so they play for the title.

if this were the UFC, they would be cut cause they don't draw and arent very entertaining.

[Hammy]

After appearing as though the "Barncat" used his one of his nine lives and dodged potential walking papers from the UFC, Tamdan McCrory has, in fact, been released by the organization.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) passed along the news on Thursday that McCrory had been cut. But in a Yahoo! Sports story that was syndicated here on MMAjunkie.com earlier today, Kevin Iole cited UFC president Dana White as saying McCrory (and Thales Leites) would remain with the organization.

However, according to mixedmartialarts.com, which is co-owned by McCrory's manager, the fighter has has, in fact, been released from the UFC's roster. MMAjunkie.com has since confirmed Leites, too, remains released from the organization.

"It seems that the story was not an exact representation of the conversation between White and Iole, but seemingly an honest misinterpretation," the mixedmartialarts.com report read. "As it stands, McCrory will not have his next fight inside the UFC octagon but has been fielding offers from other organizations and may start to work his way up to the middleweight division."

McCrory and Leites were notified earlier this week that each had been released from the organization. According to a new report from Iole, White on Thursday planned to reinstate the two fighters, but after discussing the matter internally, today ultimately decided to let them go.

MMAjunkie.com spoke to a representative for McCrory earlier today. He was aware of the Yahoo! Sports report but cautioned that neither he nor McCrory had heard anything directly.

"We're not ready to jump for joy until the UFC calls," he said at the time.

That call, unfortunately, never came. Not until the fighter earns some victories outside the organization, anyway, and earns his way back into the UFC.

McCrory, a 22-year-old who began his pro career with a 9-0 record in just 12 months, ultimately went 3-3 in the UFC. At UFC 101, after a tough weight cut, he suffered a split-decision loss to John Howard in a featured preliminary-card bout.

The fighter will continue fielding offers from other organizations. As we stated in our report earlier today, one organization that has already contacted McCrory is the China-based Art of War promotion, which had already lined up a date and opponent for the New York-based fighter.

Additionally, McCrory is considering a move to the middleweight division, and the fighter's camp plans to contact Strikeforce, which boasts a solid 185-pound roster, about the possibility of a deal.

Leites, meanwhile, should also have plenty of offers. The Brazilian fighter fought for the UFC middleweight title just four months ago, but after a lackluster loss to champ Anderson Silva and a decision defeat to Alessio Sakara this past weekend at UFC 101, he was trimmed from the roster, as well.

Leites leaves the UFC with a 14-3 record and a 5-3 mark in the UFC.

I heard the Leites fight was awful and the fans boo'd like crazy, 2 fights like that in a row, and defeats no less, not surprised he got cut.

[Hammy]

I was watching a Cain Velasquez career pack when I thought, who can beat Brock, we have a number of upcoming Heavyweight fights which are essentially "Title" elimination fights, many of the winners could argue their way to a title shot.

Randy Couture vs. Big Nog @ UFC 102:  If Couture wins this there is a lot of money in a Brock vs. Couture II rematch, I can't see it going any differently, I think Brock would probably defeat him in the 1st round this time.  If he faced Big Nog I think he'd crush him and overwhelm him to, there is a very good chance the winner of this will get a shot, but I don't hold out much hope for either guy.

Junior Dos Santos vs. Cro Cop @ UFC 103:  Now we all know Cro Cop appears to be past his best, but an impressive win here and I could see an attempt of feeding him to Brock, the name still has some value in it and UFC is about booking the money fights.  If Dos Santos won that'd be his 3rd straight win and I think its unlikely he'd get a shot due to his inexperience and not many people knowning who he is.

Shane Carwin vs. Cain Velasquez @ UFC 104:  Now I see this as the TRUE #1 Contender fight.  Both these guys have been on a tear, I think what works against them is this fight isn't until October and there is also more "Money" in Brock vs. Cro Cop, Couture, Nog with them having more established names.  Looking to this fight its a tricky one.  Cain is one hell of a wrestler, watching his fights he doesn't have that knock out power and I think he'd struggle with Lesnar, in many respects Lesnar is just a bigger version of him.  In many respects I think Cain long term may benefits from dropping to 205, he just doesn't look that big for the weight.  Carwin is more your big brute, he has scary knockout power and from what we've seen a damn good chin.  I think Brock would look to take him down and control him on the ground, Carwin could well be the man to test Brock's chin and see if he can really take a good shot.

Other Contenders:

Frank Mir's rumoured next fight is against Cheick Kongo.  Mir via 1st minute submission I'd say.  How many wins until he gets a rematch?

Ben Rothwell.  A very good guy in the IFL, he is finally in the UFC, will he end up a contender?

TUF10 Winner:  Is the future champion on this show?

Note:  After writing this I read that it is official "supposedly" that the winner of Carwin vs. Velasquez will get the shot, I guess it depends on what shape the winner is in though.

[Hammy]

Phil Baroni has verbally agreed to a contract with the UFC, according to a source close to the fighter. The veteran welterweight’s potential signing will undoubtedly raise a few eyebrows as well as shed some light on the brewing feud between the UFC and rival promotion Strikeforce.

According to an MMAJunkie.com report, the UFC has also signed Dennis Hallman, another former Strikeforce fighter. A source close to the UFC intimated more signings might be on the horizon as fighters complete their Strikeforce contracts.

"We wish Phil the best of luck and hope he can revive his career,'' Strikeforce Founder and CEO Scott Coker said in a release Thursday. "If he can, maybe one day, he can return and fight for us."

Strikeforce consultant Bob Cook confirmed to Sherdog.com that Baroni was released from his Strikeforce contract in the past few days and would be free to sign with another promotion.

Baroni (13-11) dropped a unanimous decision to Joe Riggs in St. Louis in June. He had won three bouts in a row before the loss.

Anyone else thinking they have signed Hallman so they can have Matt Hughes vs. Dennis Hallman III? 

[Hammy]

Former light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz is set to make his return to the Octagon opposite the first-ever heavyweight champion for the promotion, Mark Coleman, at UFC 106 from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Nov. 21.

Mike Disabato, founder of MMA Authentics and long-time friend/training partner of Coleman, today “confirmed” the rumored 205-pound match up via Twitter.com.