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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Jacob Volkmann wasn't the only fighter released from the UFC this week, as the organization cut 15 other fighters on Tuesday as well.
According to a report from MMAFighting.com, who confirmed the releases with UFC President Dana White, the UFC has released the following fighters from their roster: Jon Fitch, Wagner Prado, Mike Russow, Jacob Volkmann, Vladimir Matyushenko, Che Mills, Jay Hieron, Terry Etim, Paul Sass, Jorge Santiago, Mike Stumpf, Simeon Thoresen, C.J. Keith, Motonobu Tezuka, Josh Grispi, and Ulysses Gomez.
The most shocking name amongst those cut is Fitch, who had perhaps his best career performance last October in a win over Erick Silva, but dropped a decision to Demian Maia at UFC 156 earlier this month. The rest of the fighters cut had all lost at least one fight in a row.
Penick's Analysis: Cutting Jon Fitch makes zero sense. He's still a top ten fighter, and though he's won just one of his last four fights, it's not like his losses were against bad competition. Demian Maia is a very good fighter, and a loss to him should not lead to a release. Unfortunately, it seems the UFC is trimming a lot of fighters regardless of their accomplishments, so fighters on the roster right now better be prepared for the worst if they don't win their fights.
[Jon Fitch art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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