well thomas is a good fighter, not sure why they let him go. Speer needs some seasoning.. I wonder if letting go could bite them in the ass? Hironaka meh, lost some tough fights. I HOPE this means they're going to sign some top notch fighters after dumping a lot of mediocre to bad fighters.. say after Dream dies due to a lack of a TV contract in Japan?? Stop being so damn cheap Dana and sign the best fighters! <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Report: UFC cuts Thomas, Speer and Hironaka by MMAjunkie.com Staff on May 05, 2008 at 4:55 pm ET The UFC has cut former UFC lightweight contender Din Thomas (22-8 MMA, 5-4 UFC), "The Ultimate Fighter 6" runner-up Tommy Speer (9-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) and Shooto veteran Kuniyoshi Hironaka (11-5 MMA, 1-3 UFC) from its roster of fighters. The news was reported in this week's print edition of the Wrestling Observer. The three fighters are the latest casualties as the UFC continues to cut its roster by a reported 25 percent. Thomas, 31, made his octagon debut in 2001 as a highly touted prospect with a 10-1 record. Victories over UFC champ Jens Pulver and veteran Japanese fighter Dokonjonosuke Mishima earned him a UFC contract, but he eventually left the organization in early 2003. He'd return, via a "comeback" fourth season of "The Ultimate Fighter," and re-emerged as a contender after consecutive victories over Rich Clementi, Clay Guida and Jeremy Stephens. However, Thomas suffered a significant knee injury in a main event loss to Kenny Florian, and he then dropped a unanimous decision to Josh Neer earlier this month. According to the report, he is considering whether to retire or continue fighting outside the organization. Despite rumors he has not been assigned to the WEC, the UFC's sister organization, but he does plan to move to 145 pounds. Speer, 23, excelled on the sixth season of "The Ultimate Fighter" but suffered a first-round submission to Mac Danzig at the show's live finale. He subsequently suffered a devestating 51-second knockout to Anthony Johnson last month at UFC Fight Night 13. Hironaka, 31, made his octagon debut at UFC 64 and took top welterweight contender Jon Fitch to a decision in a loss. He bounced back for a decision victory over Forrest Petz but has since suffered second-round TKOs to Thiago Alves and Jonathan Goulet. Other fighters dropped from their UFC contracts over the past month include Joe Doerksen, Travis Lutter, Charles McCarthy, Jake O'Brien and Kalib Starnes. Additionally, numerous cast members from "The Ultimate Fighter 6" were cut earlier this year, and the majority of cast members from the current season of "TUF" will be released from the organization next month. UFC officials have recently stated that they want to trim the roster to assure fighters can be scheduled more frequently and to avoid long layoffs between fights</div>
Shocked that Tommy speer didn't get sent to the WEC. I love that they are doing this. I think this will make for MUCH stronger cards in the long run. I think the UFC has heard the fans complaints about weak cards and long fighter layoffs. They are stacked with fighters and aren't maximizing their resources.
for the most part though, the cards have been great this year IMO. I'd like to see more fights shown on the PPV's. Giving up too early on some of these guys may bite them in the ass if someone else scoops them up and they excel. I'm going to assume that Dana is thinking Elite XC and the IFL will fold within the next year or two as will DREAM if they can't get back on live TV.
Hopefully trimming the roster will mean that these guys they keep are continuously training. I'm unhappy with how many last-minute subs the UFC does with guys that have no UFC experience--most of the time it is like leading lambs to the slaughter.
