The UFC continues to cut fighters from its roster, as two more fighters were released today. The first fighter released is featherweight Antonio Carvalho, who was most recently seen being TKOed by Darren Elkins at UFC 154. The news was reported by Canadian journalist Showdown Joe of Sportsnet.ca. Carvalho went 2-2 overall in the UFC with a decision win over Rodrigo Damm and a KO win over Daniel Pineda as well as the TKO loss to Elkins and a decision loss to Felipe Arantes. It seems like a harsh cut because Carvalho is a very talented fighter and most believed that referee Yves Lavinge stopped his fight against Elkins too soon, but the UFC is in cut mode lately and no one is to be spared. The second fighter released today is Pablo Garza, the tallest featherweight in the UFC. Garza, who was most recently seen being submitted by Diego Brandao at UFC on FUEL TV 9, went 3-3 overall in the UFC but lost three of his last four fights and was deemed expendable by the organization, even though he has a win over Mark Hominick as well as a “Submission of the Night” award and a “Knockout of the Night” award to his credit. Garza himself confirmed his release on Facebook today, writing the following message to the fans:
“First off I would like to say thank you to Dana White, Joe Silva and the entire UFC for the entirety of my UFC career…” the fighter continued, “In life’s journey we can walk many paths and while some may close there are others that will open. I am sad to say, that I have been released from the UFC roster. But I will take this time to focus on another passion of mine; competing in Jiu Jitsu and coaching. And who knows, I might be back in the Octagon again one day… Once again thank you all!”
I’m not sure what to say about these releases. It sucks, but it’s an unfortunate part of the sport. The only thing that I disagree with is that guys like Carvalho and Garza — who both have potential — were cut yet a guy like Leonard Garcia is still on the active roster. To me, that makes no sense, but the UFC has been very random with their cuts as of late (Jon Fitch, Cheick Kongo, etc.) so I’m not surprised at all. Bellator Fight Master Cast Revealed Bellator MMA and Spike TV today released the 32-man cast for the upcoming Fight Master reality TV. The 32 fighters will compete in an elimination-type tournament a la “The Ultimate Fighter” and the coaches for the show will be Greg Jackson, Frank Shamrock, Joe Warren, and Randy Couture. Here is the entire 32-man cast of welterweight fighters, which features a mix of UFC and Bellator vets as well as unknown prospects:
- Marcus Aurelio
- Nick Barnes
- Eric Bradley
- Mike Bronzoulis
- Frank Carrillo
- Darryl Cobb
- Christopher Curtis
- Evan Cutts
- Mike Dubois
- Tom Gallicchio
- Ismael Gonzalez
- Gareth Joseph
- Chris Lozano
- AJ Matthews
- Rob Mills
- Steve Montgomery
- Chip Moraza-Pollard
- Brett Nakamura
- Jason Norwood
- Dom O’Grady
- Jacob Ortiz
- Josh Quayhagen
- Joe Riggs
- Eric Scallan
- Cristiano Souza
- Brendan Tierney
- Bryan Travers
- Andy Uhrich
- Tim Welch
- Cole Williams
- Joe Williams
- Artenas Young
The most notable name is of course UFC veteran Joe “Diesel” Riggs, who has won five-straight fights on the regional circuit including a TKO victory over Shannon “The Cannon” Ritch. Fans on Twitter today smirked at the sight of Riggs on the list, but at only 30 years of age and considering all of his experience, he has a legit shot of winning this tournament. The winner of the Fight Master show is expected to get a slot in an upcoming Bellator welterweight tournament. The current Bellator world welterweight champion is Ben Askren.