In the UFC, Threat of Being Cut Weighs Heavily on Fighters' Minds

Filed under: UFC

Todd Duffee heard the rumors about a week before he heard the official word. There was chatter around the gym that he might be cut from the UFC. Fighters he knew who were under contract to other organizations started reaching out to him on behalf of their employers.

"I guess they had heard I'd already been cut," Duffee said. "That was the first I'd heard of it."

At first, he thought it was a joke. He'd suffered the first loss of his career at UFC 114 in May. Now it was early September. He felt sure these were just rumors, idle locker room gossip. Then he heard from his manager that the rumors were true, and that the UFC was releasing him from his contract.

"I thought it was a joke at first," he said. "I mean, they're not cutting me off one loss. They don't do that. It didn't make sense to me."

Kim Kardashian Kim Smith Kim Yoon jin Kirsten Dunst Krista Allen