Sam Sicilia not released, still with the UFC

Often, it seems, when a fighter gets released he’s the last to know. But on rare occasions the fighter gets the last say on his contract status. At least that’s what’s happened with Sam Sicilia. Initially reported as part of the mass roster trimming on May 8th, Sicilia’s manager spoke to MMAWeekly about the news of his fighter’s release.

“He is not cut. He’s actually still on the roster,” Sicilia’s manager, Nima Safapour of Alchemist Management, told MMAWeekly.com on Thursday.

“I anticipate for him to be back in the cage probably in the fall sometime.”

While Sicilia’s profile was initially removed from the UFC website, along with the 11 other fighters reported at the time, it has since been reinserted into the featherweight lineup. Whether he and his management were able to negotiate a last minute deal, or someone at UFC.com just got a little over anxious with the delete button, who knows?

Sicilia most recently lost to Maximo Blanco at the Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale by unanimous decision. Apparently he came out of the fight with a broken hand, but is expected to make a quick turnaround nonetheless. He’s currently riding a two fight losing skid, so his next fight will probably have to be a win if he wants to make this more than a temporary stay of execution.

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Spang & De Fries removed from active roster, scythe swings on TUF 17 cast

Slowly, but surely, the UFC continues to peck away at it’s 385 man roster (I don’t know where Dana gets 470). Today that 100 fighter manifesto appears to have moved a little further along with the suspected release of an additional 7 fighters.

Today’s Cut List:

Philip De Fries
Chris Spang
Jimmy Quinlan
Collin Hart
Kevin Casey
Gilbert Smith Jr.
Adam Cella

First things first, this is entirely based upon the fighter’s removal from the active roster list at UFC.com. I have not spoken to, or heard from, these fighters in question pertaining to their release. However I’ve been following the UFC rosters for a while now. And I can speak from experience when I say that all of these fighters have almost certainly been released from their contracts.

Phil De Fries is no surprise, coming off a two fight losing streak to Todd Duffee and Matt Mitrione, both by knockout. Add to that that he has never really impressed in his UFC tenure, and it’s little surprise that his last loss brought on the pink slip.

For Chris Spang this is a little surprising. He’s young, has a recent TKO victory over Nah-Shon Burrell, and his loss to Amagov, while one sided, wasn’t particularly bad. But as Caros Fodor found out, for Strikeforce crossovers, excitement is key. Any losing effort that fails to impress will most likely result in being shown the door.

As expected the losers from the recent TUF 17 finale all appear to have been given the boot as well. The only surprises in that swath are Collin Hart, who lost a razor close decision to Luke Barnatt (a fight I felt he won) and Bristol Marunde, who appears to have avoided the cut altogether. Perhaps that’s in payment for his willingness to step up on short notice, or for his impressive impromptu dancing skills. Either way, I wouldn’t be that surprised if his name comes off the board sometime in the next month.

For a complete, up to date list, of all the recent UFC cuts and acquisitions check out my nifty list.

UPDATE: Thanks to BE reader Chromium for pointing out that Besam Yousef appears to have been released as well.