— AOL Funhouse reported Thursday that recent UFC Middleweight Title contender Thales Leites has been dropped from the roster.
After catching heat for his non-aggressive performance in his title shot against Anderson Silva–a fight generally viewed as one of the worst title bouts in UFC history–Leites most recently lost via split decision to Alessio Sakara at UFC 101. That fight, too, was critically panned as boring.
Nonetheless, the release is surprising because it contradicts a statement by UFC President Dana White at the event’s press conference. “He’s not in trouble. When you have a bad fight, I’ll call you on it, [but it] doesn’t mean you’re done,” said White when asked if Leites’ spot on the UFC roster was in jeopardy following the loss.
MMAJunkie reported that welterweight Tamdan McCrory has been cut following his UFC 101 loss to John Howard, while AOL added that George Roop and Dan Cramer have also been removed from the UFC roster. Sources say Danillo Villefort has also been dropped.
— According to MMA Junkie, Jon Fitch’s next opponent will likely be Ricardo Almeida, who recently confirmed his drop to welterweight.