French middleweight Francis Carmont (22-10) has been released from the UFC following an unfortunate year in which the 32-year-old has been unable to find a victory.
Fighting out of the renown Tristar Gym – home of former UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Carmont enjoyed an impressive 6-fight win streak upon joining the UFC ranks, and excelled towards the top of the middleweight rankings before dropping a unanimous decision loss to Ronaldo Souza back in February, followed by another to C.B. Dollaway in May, and a second round KO loss to Thales Leites most recently at UFC Fight Night in Tulsa, Oklahoma on August 23.
During his UFC stint, Carmont had been criticized by some for taking a ‘boring’ approach to fights in order to grind out decision victories. Interestingly, Carmont embraced the issue with an insightful message while revealing the news via Facebook
“I announce that after 6 win and 3 defeat, I am no longer a UFC fighter. However it is with determination that I will continue my career in combat sports. A friend told me, after my loss against Thales, “You will come to understand it is the best thing that could’ve [happened] for your career, it’ll make you stronger.” At that moment I did not [quite] understand, and after reflecting I came to auto-criticize myself. I come to the conclusion that in sports, just like in life, there are many and different stages. By looking for perfection on my technique, I slowly estrange myself from the combat by instinct. Seeking to score points instead of finishing my opponent. My last loss pushes me to grow everyday. Life is a learning path and my career is far from finish. Thank you very much for your constant support.”
