Apparently the UFC has seen enough of Travis Lutter. Pramit Mohapatra of FightTicker.com has confirmed with "The Serial Killer" that he's been released from his UFC contract effective immediately.
Lutter (9-5) seemed on the verge of a career resurgence after a successful stint on The Ultimate Fighter 4 where he defeated Patrick Cote to earn a title shot against middleweight deity Anderson Silva.
Lutter however squandered the opportunity (despite a good showing against Silva) by failing to make weight for the biggest fight of his career. That particular shortcoming cost him the respect of many fans and even UFC President Dana White.
Still, Lutter was able to continue fighting but had to pull out of his UFC 74 fight with Ryan Jensen after re-aggravating an old neck injury. During his hiatus former middleweight champion Rich Franklin was victorious over Jason MacDonald and Yushin Okami before being dismantled by Anderson Silva for a second time.
That left "Ace" with little options in his weight class - and a perfect opportunity for Travis Lutter to erase some bad memories. Once again Lutter held a dominant position in the first round, but his lack of conditioning left him a sitting duck for the calculated assault of Franklin in round two.
Two opportunities against two of the UFC's top middleweights. Two opportunities squandered from what seemingly could have been prevented by Lutter himself.
It's no secret that the UFC has been increasingly frugal with the employee payroll, but one has to wonder how much Lutter contributed to his own demise.
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