In a week that has seen UFC cut 15% of their workforce in various territory offices, 13 fighters including Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva now find themselves looking for employment elsewhere.
The most notable and high-profile of these names, Silva had lost six of his last seven bouts in the Heavyweight division with the most recent coming via second round knockout at the hands of his long time training partner Roy “Big Country” Nelson.
Other standout names on the list were Middleweight UFC veteran Tamdan McCrory and Kevin Casey. Although Casey has only lost two of his six fights since entering the UFC, his career has suffered from a draw and two no contests in that run.
McCrory was expected to once again climb the Middleweight rankings after returning to the UFC after a strong sting with Bellator MMA but has lost his last two fights most recently to Nate Marquardt.
The full list of those released are as follows:-
Shane Campbell (10-6) – Lightweight
Kevin Casey (9-5-1) 2NC – Middleweight
Cody East (12-3) – Heavyweight
Glaico Franca (13-5) – Lightweight
Leonardo Augusto Guimaraes (11-3) 1NC – Middleweight
Cory Hendricks (3-1) – Light-Heavyweight
Caio Magalhaes (9-3) – Middleweight
Enrique Marin (8-4) – Lightweight
Tamdan McCrory (14-5) – Middleweight
Kenny Robertson (15-5) – Welterweight
Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva (19-10) 1NC – Heavyweight
Sean Spencer (12-6) – Welterweight
Alberto Uda (10-2) – Middleweight
With new UFC owners, WME-IMG, rumoured to be reducing the number of events in 2017, this may not be the last cull of talent from the roster we see from now into the new year.