One thing that makes MMA different from most other sports, is that an athlete is constantly fighting to keep his job – both in the literal and proverbial sense. Most fighters are signed to short 3-fight contracts, and if they don’t impress the UFC brass in their match-ups they find themselves on the chopping block. This doesn’t always happen with low level fighters you’ve never heard of, sometimes it’s big name fighters who get cut – sometimes people are left scratching their heads wondering, “why?”
While there is an unspoken rule that a fighter is usually looking at his walking papers after 3 straight losses (ergo the the three fight contracts), exceptions do exist. If a fighter loses, but does so with his heart and soul on the line, the UFC will often keep them around. And then there are conundrums like Okami, who had won 3 of his last four (only recently losing to Jacare Souze), who was top ranked. Dana White had his reasons for cutting Okami:
“Our roster is packed…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.”
White and company will always have some oddball reason for releasing a fighter that doesn’t always seem to make sense, and I thought it would be fun to focus on some of those stranger/higher-profile releases from the promotion:
Yushin Okami: Let’s start with the most current one. Okami’s release was a strange, especially for the reasons mentioned above (3-1 in his last 4). However, and this is just supposing, I think Okami’s release had more to do with his style than his record. White wants fighters who go out to finish fights, a criticism of Okami over the years was that he was a “lay and pray” type of fighter rarely going for the finish. My gut tells me the release was more to light a fire under Okami and act as a bit of a wake-up call; I have no doubt you’ll see him back in the promotion soon.
Jon Fitch: This was probably one of the newsworthy cuts from the UFC roster, as at the time Fitch was considered one of the top welterweights in the UFC and had only recently just lost a single match to Damien Maia before his last win (nullifying the ‘rule of 3’) . However, there were a number of factors that led to Fitch’s release – the most prominent being outside the cage. There was some controversy around the 2007 likeness rights dispute with Fitch and his management company. White claimed that Fitch was on the downturn in his career, and they needed to make room for more fighters on the roster. Either way, it may be awhile before we see Fitch back, given his first fight outside of the UFC at the World Series of Fighting came as a loss to Josh Burkman.
Nate Marquardt: Nate always seemed just a step away from being ready for a re-match with (at the time) long-time middleweight champion Anderson Silva – but, could just never pull the trigger on the fight needed to get him there. Having cut his losses at a middleweight title shot, Marquardt moved down to welterweight. Just before his first match Marquardt tested positive for PEDs and was immediately cut from the UFC. After a brief stint in Strikeforce (headlining the promotions last event), Nate would land back in the UFC losing his return match-up to Jake Ellenberger. He’s still with the promotion and set to face Hector Lombard next – both fighters probably feeling that their jobs may be on the line.
Karo Parisyan: The Armenian judo prodigy was onced considered a likely titleholder at 170lbs. Unfortunately, Parisyan had a propensity for being at the losing end of exciting fights often and proved to be not much more than a high-level gate-keeper. What actually got him booted from the UFC was that he was found to have an addiction to pain-killers; Dana White claimed before Karo’s scheduled match at UFC 106: “(Parisyan) will not be fighting Saturday or ever again in the UFC!!” True to his style, White would give Parisyan another chance against Dennis Hallman at UFC 123 – but, Karo lost the match and was cut again. Karo has been bouncing around other MMA promotions since, but having racked up a 3-7 record in his last 10 fights, I wouldn’t expect to see him near the UFC anytime soon.
Renato “Babalu” Sobral: Babalu, as he has always been best known, was a perennial contender and exciting fighter. However, Sobral found himself in some hot water after UFC 74 after he wouldn’t release opponent David Heath from an anaconda choke after Heath had tapped and the ref tried to pull him off. Sobral would say post-fight that he “knew that Heath was out…” and “had to teach him some respect”. White subsequently released Sobral from the UFC, and while he had some success in Strikeforce (as LHW champion for a short while), he’s been floating around a few other promotions since.
Fabricio Werdum: Werdum was one of the big up-and-coming names in the UFC back in 2010. He was pretty much set for a title match with a win over a little known fighter named (at the time), Junior Dos Santos. Werdum was knocked out by Dos Santos in highlight reel fashion, and unceremoniously released from the UFC. No real reason was given for the cut from the roster and it came as a shock to Werdum and fans alike. Werdum would go on to find success outside the UFC in Strikeforce, reaching a peak when he became the first man to tap out Fedor Emelianenko. Werdum would come back to the UFC and remains there today, going 3-0 in his last 3 fights.
Paul Daley: “Semtex” was seen as one of the up-and-coming names in the UFC, and thought to be a title challenger. A fight with Josh Koscheck at UFC 113 with his hand raised at the end seemed to promise a shot at champion Georges St. Pierre. However, the fight would not go his way and highlighted Daley’s weakness on the ground. After the end of the 3rd round, once the fight had been called, Daley walked over to Koscheck and suckered punched him. Daley was released almost immediately after the event. As quoted by White: “He’ll never come back, I don’t care if he’s the best 170-pounder in the world. He’s never coming back here. There’s no excuse for that. You never hit a guy like that after the bell.” Daley still fights today, and has seen everywhere from BAMMA to Strikeforce to Bellator, but I still don’t see him coming back to the UFC anytime soon.
While the UFC, and more specifically Dana White, doesn’t always have the most legitimate reasons for cutting its fighters, at the end of the day they sign the paychques! If you want a job you need to live up to their expectations – win/lose put on an exciting fight and do so without the assistance of PEDs. Dana White’s words are rarely written in stone, and he has welcomed former fighters back many times over.
Photo Credit: Niptotan via Photopin
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