UFC Cut Thread

[Travicity]

Credit: MMANews.com

Following his third straight stoppage defeat, jiu-jitsu specialist Dustin Hazelett (12-7) has officially been cut from the UFC.

Hazelett recently went to war with Mark Bocek at UFC 124, but within two-and-a-half minutes, Bocek beat Hazelett at his own game, submitting his lanky challenger with a tight triangle choke.

Prior to the Bocek bout, Hazelett was stopped by Rick Story (TKO) at UFC 117, and prior to that, Paul Daley turned him into a human punching bag at UFC 108 en route to a destructive first round knockout.

Where Hazelett goes from here is unknown, but Bellator Fighting Championships and Strikeforce look to be viable options.

[Swinny]

Well, that is three losses in a row, so you can't blame them. He really didn't look good in any of those fights anyway, so no big loss.

[The Mac]

not a big losss

[Smartmark]

Hmm...I kinda liked him a bit....

[JohnCenaFan28]

Pic?

[Travicity]

[The Mac]

Two-time UFC veteran Jamie Varner (16-5-2 MMA, 4-3-1 WEC) will have to wait to make his triumphant return to the octagon.

Following a recent four-fight winless streak, the former WEC champion was released by Zuffa officials.

News of the roster move was first reported by PunchDrunkGamer.com, and MMAjunkie.com subsequently confirmed Varner's release with his management.

"I am ready for 2011," Varner told PunchDrunkGamer.com. "There will be some changes in my game.

"It has been a nice ride with the WEC, but it's time for a change. Perhaps UFC will be in my future down the road. ... We shall see."

Varner made his UFC debut in August 2006. The Arizona native suffered a submission loss to Hermes Franca at UFC 62 before bouncing back with an octagon win over Jason Gilliam at UFC 68 in March 2007.

From there, Varner took his talents to the WEC, where he went on a four-fight win streak and claimed the WEC's lightweight title with a February 2008 win over "Razor" Rob McCullough.

Varner went on to successfully defend the title twice, including a controversial January 2009 victory over rival Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone. Ahead on the cards in the fifth and final round of the WEC 38, Varner was tagged with an illegal knee on the ground and was declared unfit to continue. The stoppage resulted in a technical split-decision victory for Varner, though he was widely vilified by MMA fans following the bout.

The win was Varner's final victory in the WEC cage.

Varner saw his lightweight title wrapped around Ben Henderson's waist following a third-round submission loss this past January, and he returned in June in a split draw with Kamal Shalorus. Varner was then defeated by Cerrone via unanimous decision in a September rematch before being submitted by Shane Roller at December's WEC 53, the final event in the promotion's history.

[The Mac]

Chris Horodecki (16-3 MMA, 2-2 WEC) is the latest fighter to be released from Zuffa's lightweight roster.

The 23-year-old London, Ontario, Canada, native was submitted by Donald Cerrone at WEC 53 in the promotion's final event before ceding its talent to the UFC.

"One door closes and another one opens," Horodecki today told MMAjunkie.com "I'll be back sooner than later."

The baby-faced striker went 2-2 in his stint with the WEC with wins over Danny Downes and Ed Ratcliff and losses to Cerrone and Anthony Njokuani.

The loss to Njokuani was particularly devastating. Six months after returning to the cage, Horodecki wound up on the wrong side of a highlight reel when Nojuanki knocked him out with a head kick in the first round of his promotion debut at WEC 45. Horodecki had spent a year-plus on the bench in the wake of the International Fight League's late 2008 collapse.

Fans often chided Horodecki as an undersized fighter in the 155-pound division, though he did not say whether he would continue to fight as a lightweight or drop a weight class to the 145-pound featherweight division.

Horodecki first turned heads at the tender age of 19 in the IFL. His technical striking won him his first seven outings in the team-based promotion and brought his professional record to 12-0. The streak was halted abruptly in his eighth appearance when veteran Ryan Schultz pounded him out in December 2007.

"Get back in it," an optimistic Horodecki said when asked of his next move. "We'll get a couple fights and do what we do."

[Travicity]

Does nothing for me tbh.

[Swinny]

Really? Damn. I know he's been on a bit of a losing streak, but it's been against quality opponents and it's not like he was getting destroyed. I expect to see him back in the UFC eventually, I think.