Report: 12 of the 16 contestants from The Ultimate Fighter season 16 have been released

It's not exactly a huge surprise, but Ultimate Fighting Championship wasn't exactly pleased with the contestants on this past sixteenth season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) which featured coaches Roy Nelson and Shane Carwin.

On top of putting on some of the worst fights in the reality show's lengthy history, this past season also featured multiple records for the lowest ratings in TUF history.

When you make the UFC and Fox brass so upset that the promotion does something drastic like pit Jon Jones against Chael Sonnen as well as move the night of the show to a different date, you can expect some serious consequences.

Those consequences are the release of at least three fourths of this past season's roster, according to a post on Bloody Elbow earlier today.

It's no surprise the UFC matchmakers were not pleased with the TUF 16 talent, refusing to put any of the contestants on The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale other than the final two survivors of the show. The only name officially released thus far has been Sam Alvey, who will be fighting for the MFC middleweight title against Elvis Mutapcic in early 2013.

And of course, the bout featuring the TUF finalists Colton Smith and Mike Ricci was the worst of the night.

So are you surprised by this move, Maniacs? Or did the new crop of talent from other seasons of TUF as well as the upcoming arrival of Strikeforce fighters make the TUF 16 contestants expendable?

Sound off!