McCrory & Leites Released By The UFC

by Robert Sargent

After both suffered tough Split Decision losses at UFC 101, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has made a controversial decision to release welterweight Tamdan "The Barn Cat" McCrory and former UFC Middleweight title challenger Thales Leites.

Neither decision makes much sense, as McCrory (11-3-0) never had a boring fight and Leites (14-3-0) was 5-3 in the promotion and just challenged for a title.

While McCrory was a modest 3-3 during his UFC tenure, his fights were always among the most exciting on any card that he was a part of. Out of 14 career bouts, McCrory has only gone to a decision twice. His massive height and reach - 6'4" as a welterweight - posed problems for many opponents, but in the wake of a Split Decision loss to John "Doomsday" Howard at UFC 101, the UFC opted to release McCrory from his contract.

In the case of Leites, the decision to release him has far less to do with his Split Decision loss to Alessio "Legionarius" Sakara at UFC 101 than it does with his woefully inadequate performance against Anderson "The Spider" Silva in the UFC Middleweight Championship bout at UFC 97. Leites's inability to do anything to Silva, which resulted in a number of failed takedown attempts in the later stages of the fight, earned him many critics. Among those was UFC President Dana White.


It is likely that McCrory and Leites will both return to the UFC at some point unless they sign with a rival promotion such as Strikeforce or DREAM. McCrory has stated that it has become very difficult for him to make 170, so he may make the jump to the middleweight level. Leites has the ability to submit just about anyone, and will likely be coveted as a free agent.

The abrupt departures of both fighters reinforce the UFC's recent change in policy that has seen a number of others, including Fabricio "Vai Cavalo" Werdum, dropped from the promotion in questionable circumstances.