UFC Releases Din Thomas, Tommy Speer, & Kuniyoshi Hironaka
Posted by Dustin James on 05.05.2008
I guess losing is now grounds for termination in the UFC......
The Wrestling Observer is reporting that the UFC has released Din Thomas, Tommy Speer, & Kuniyoshi Hironaka. Thomas last fought at UFC Fight Night 13 where he lost via decision to Josh Neer and he is now contemplating retirement. Speer's was the runner-up to Mac Danzig on "The Ultimate Fighter" season 6. He also fought at Fight Night 13 losing to Anthony Johnson via TKO. Hironaka last fought at UFC 83 where he lost via TKO to Jonathan Goulet.
wow - if a guy that good can get the axe, they must truly be reducing the roster size.
Posted By: Jamie (Guest) on May 05, 2008 at 10:25 PM
I had heard the Din was going to try and drop to 145 (and thus leave UFC for the WEC)
Posted By: Matt (Guest) on May 05, 2008 at 10:37 PM
not a fan personally but Din did beat Matt Serra and even though his win loss record wasn't the greatest after leaving the UFC in 03 since returing in 2006 he beat UFC next potential poster boy in Rich Clementi and had a 3 wins 3 losses since returing he also beat Clay Guida who had lost to another UFC poster boy and up and coming star in his division in Roger Huerta
i was hoping for a Din Thomas/ Roger Huerta/Kenny Florian mix up somewhere down the road
FUCK you DANA WHITE !!
Posted By: WTF (Guest) on May 06, 2008 at 01:31 AM
Glad to see my boy Dana taking out the trash (aka dead weight). It proves that Dana is a smart business man, and doesn't value fighters (***cough cough Crop Cop***) who accept the fact that they value fighters who lose fights, like other promotions (***cough cough DREAM***). Now it's time to build around the young talent like Bisping, Huerta, Ken-Flo (even though I don't like him, I gotta give him his props), Rashad, Danzig, Marcus Davis, Thiago Alves, Ben Suanders, Matt Arroyo, Anthony Johnson, etc.
Posted By: BJTheTruth (Registered) on May 06, 2008 at 02:22 AM
damn dana white is getting worse than vince mcmahon releasing people
Posted By: andy (Guest) on May 06, 2008 at 04:46 AM
Smart business folks, smart business. You don’t have to like it, but if you want your favorite fighters to make more money, the fat has to be cut from somewhere. Plus, I seriously doubt any of the aforementioned fighter would have made a huge impact in their weight classes any time soon (or at all) and I’d bet the door was left open for Speers to return after he gets some more experience.
Posted By: Kuch (Guest) on May 06, 2008 at 09:29 AM
I'm surprised they released Speer even though I think the guy was an overrated fighter anyway. Ooh he's got a heavy hand with zero defense, who cares. He fought a bunch of cans in TUF, he should've never made the final.
Posted By: Nick (Guest) on May 06, 2008 at 10:08 AM
All smart released.
Thomas, while talented, has to get refocused if he wants to make a splash at 145 in the WEC.
Hironaka, unfortunately, couldn't string together any wins and Speer is WAY too green to be fighting in the premier fighting organization.
Posted By: Sergio G. Hernandez (Registered) on May 06, 2008 at 10:24 AM
It's not good business to treat your employees like garbage. Right now the UFC is enjoying being on top of the MMA world, but that may not always be the case with other promotions and the possiblity of even bigger money men entering the sport.
Treating guys like this is good for business now, but they are developing a reputation of not treating their fighters good and underpaying them. When more money comes into the sport these tactics that the UFC has used so far may come back to bite them in the ass.
Posted By: Frank (Guest) on May 06, 2008 at 10:32 AM
Haha. That Tommy Speer guy was awful. I think they released him so that he didnt become the first casualty in UFC. Good calls.
Posted By: Champ (Guest) on May 06, 2008 at 11:14 AM
The rest i don't care about, Din should make a good splash in WEC. Assumeing thats where he goes.
Posted By: Methoes (Guest) on May 06, 2008 at 12:42 PM
I agree with what Kutch said about Speer. He's young, give him another 2-3 years in training and bring him back. He'll be a force.
Posted By: HBK (Guest) on May 06, 2008 at 03:54 PM
I doubt Din will go to WEC seeing as how Zuffa owns them too....knucklehead.
Posted By: HBK (Guest) on May 06, 2008 at 03:56 PM
Actually, tommy speer opted out of his UFC contract because him and his manager (Monte Cox)made a deal to go back to the WEC for experience for at least a year. Rather than risk the business burden that three straight losses in the UFC could do to his career.
Posted By: code blue (Guest) on May 08, 2008 at 08:08 PM
