Following a strange and incredibly tentative performance against former street brawler Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson at the TUF 10 Finale, one-time light heavyweight contender Houston “The Assassin” Alexander has officially been cut from the UFC’s roster.
Exploding onto the scene with shocking knockout wins over Keith Jardine and Alessio Sakara, Alexander has now lost four of his last five fights. He spent much of the bout with Slice circling around the cage and appeared to be completely unwilling to engage.
Alexander (9-5-0, 1 NC) became an overnight sensation with his incredible 48-second upset win over Jardine at UFC 71 in May of 2007. He established that it was not a fluke when he followed up with a one-minute dismantling of boxing standout Sakara in their UFC 75 meeting.
However, the success was short-lived and Alexander dropped three consecutive bouts to Thiago Silva, James “The Sandman” Irvin and Eric “Red” Schafer. The bout with Irvin lasted just eight seconds and Alexander fell victim to a picture-perfect Superman Punch that effectively ended his quest towards title contention.
After a quick victory over the vastly overmatched Sherman “The Tank” Pendergarst at Adrenaline MMA 4, Alexander was given one more chance in the UFC and was brought in to face Slice. The fight was widely expected to be an all-out brawl and no one expected it to make it out of the first round.
Instead, rounds one and three featured extremely little action, as Alexander circled around the cage continuously and refused to engage in any exchanges. He threw a handful of leg kicks from a distance and stayed out of Slice’s range. Alexander was completely dominated in the second round, which many scored as a 10-8 in favour of Slice.
Following the bizarre and uninspired performance, UFC President Dana White was not impressed with Alexander and his dismissal from the promotion comes as little surprise. It is possible that Alexander could return to the UFC at a later date, but his performance at the TUF 10 Finale suggests that it is unlikely.