Lets thin out the already thin HW division instead of adding to it. GREAT MOVE

SARCASM METER EXPLODES

That is humorous.

If he was asking for more money after an embarrassing loss like that what do you expect UFC to do? Wait for a nice win b4 hard-balling Mr Werdum.

Sad to see him go. He would have torn up quite a few people and I would have enjoyed watching :(

The doom and gloom attitude relating to the UFC’s Heavyweight division is misguided, I think.

Yes, it’s a shame that the UFC does not employ the greatest heavyweight fighter in the world. But aside from that, they’ve let go a few fighters who spent time in the organization, had mixed results in the cage, and by and large were not big producers at the box office. Ultimately, the latter is a huge deal when the former is true.

So, while the UFC could still employ Werdum, Arlovski, Sylvia, and Cro Cop, they’d really have just two additional title contenders at this point, those being Arlovski and Sylvia. Essentially, they’d be re-hashing contenders from 2005 years later. Not that matches against Couture, Nogueira, and Lesnar wouldn’t do business, but the business is more realistically carried by Couture and Lesnar, then Nogueira to a lesser extent, with Arlovski probably just behind him and Sylvia some distance behind.

Really, the UFC isn’t missing out on much. We, as fans, are missing out on just a handful of matches. It’s not truly a horrible situation.

Ultimately, the talent pool at Heavyweight, and I’m talking about the truly talented of the weight class, isn’t particularly deep. Sure, UFC could have made a play for the Ben Rothwells and Roy Nelsons of the world, but in light of their TKO losses for Arlovski, who the UFC already determined was an acceptable loss from the roster, I’m not sure how viable they’d be in the short term.

As for the long term, well, it’s difficult to argue that any organization has greater long term potential in their heavyweight division. Lesnar, Carwin, and Velasquez are all on their way towards the top. Guys like Kongo and O’Brien, who are not ready yet but have had impressive moments and a ton of potential could work out in the future. In the interim, young Junior Dos Santos will try to prove he is more than just a re-imaging of Houston Alexander.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to say that people should be going crazy for O’Brien v. Wellisch or Kongo v. Al-Turk. But at the same time, losing a guy like Werdum whose done no business for the company and was knocked out of title contention for the foreseeable future should in no way lead anyone to conclude that the UFC Heavyweight division is in shambles. It’s in an incubation period. The focus is on the future.

Meanwhile, we will (probably) get to see Couture and Nog fight each other. While some folks would prefer a different match up, it’s difficult to suggest a better drawing match up with a fighter outside of the UFC at this time.