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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief The UFC has released several fighters following recent losses, including three from this past Saturday's Fight Night 17 event, according to multiple reports from FiveOuncesOfPain.com. Rich Clementi, Luigi Fiorivanti, and Derek Downey were all cut following Saturday's event, and the reports state that both Christian Wellisch and Eddie Sanchez were cut at some point last month.
Clementi suffered a first round submission loss to Gleison Tibau on Saturday's event and was cut shortly thereafter. Considering the number of lightweight fighters currently under contract and the fact that it was his second straight loss, the release was not the most surprising, although he had compiled a four fight UFC win streak before his loss to Gray Maynard last October.
As for Fiorivanti, losing to Anthony Johnson on Saturday night dropped his UFC record to 4-5 including losses in two of his last three fights. Downey, however, was a one and done after his loss to Nick Catone on Saturday. Having taken the fight on short notice following a second drop out by Amir Sadollah, Downey was submitted early in the second round.
Sanchez was defeated this past December and the reports state that he was released early this year, and as for Wellisch his loss at UFC 94 to Jake O'Brien was his second straight in the Octagon. It was also his second release from the organization, as he was part of the AKA/Jon Fitch incident that resulted in a 24-hour cut from the organization.
Penick's Analysis: None of the names cut were really all that surprising, as the influx of talent from the WEC has really bloated the rosters. It's clear that you need to win more often than not and/or provide an exciting fighting style that will make people want to see you in the future. Unfortunately for all those involved here, that wasn't the case. A win or two outside of the organization could give them chances to fight their way back, as Fiorivanti and Clementi have done in the past, but the organization is in a definite shift as more young fighters make their way in, and the older fighters who are not keeping themselves in contention will find that they're replaceable by the next generation.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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