Thales Leites and Tamdan McCrory Have in Fact Been Cut By the UFC

by Kid Nate on Aug 15, 2009 12:11 PM EDT in MMA News

Despite Dana White's stated intention to reinstate McCrory and Leites, it appears that they have indeed been cut. From Kevin Iole:

A strange week and a bad day got even worse for Thales Leites and Tamdan McCrory when each man found out he was going to be dropped from the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster after thinking he might receive a reprieve from UFC president Dana White.
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News of the move to drop the men surfaced on Thursday. But late Thursday, White told Yahoo! Sports they had been dropped but that he would "fix" it and that they would not be cut.

However, after discussing the move internally on Friday, White changed his mind and opted to let Leites and McCrory go.

HT BE reader ludakrish.

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A few offers from other organizations had already been presented to McCrory, including one from the China-based Art of War promotion, which had already lined up a date and opponent for the New York-based fighter. McCrory is considering a move to the middleweight division, and the fighter’s camp planned to contact Strikeforce, which boasts a solid 185-pound roster, about the possibility of a deal.

When one door closes, another one opens.

by MMASuPreMaCy on Aug 15, 2009 12:18 PM EDT reply actions

Link: http://mmajunkie.com/news/15849/briefly-fired-tamdan-mccrory-unaware-dana-white-has-issued-ufc-reprieve.mma

by MMASuPreMaCy on Aug 15, 2009 12:19 PM EDT up reply actions

I don't think McCrory can fit through the Strikeforce door =(

A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.

by iiowyn on Aug 15, 2009 3:16 PM EDT up reply actions

I think McCrory will be much better served bulked up to 185. It’s easy to forget that most men continue growing until they’re 21-23 years old, and it’s a good time for him to step back, build some muscle, mix up his game, and when he’s comfortable after some shows in smaller orgs, I bet he’s back in the UFC.

"I'm AJB and I endorse this nut-puncher."

by AJB on Aug 15, 2009 6:18 PM EDT up reply actions

Most likely.

A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.

by iiowyn on Aug 15, 2009 6:30 PM EDT up reply actions

sucks for tamden, hes a young kid. He still has a lot of developing to do

by peripheral scarecrow on Aug 15, 2009 1:01 PM EDT reply actions

Well I guess Lietes should have tried a lil bit harder to make his fight with Anderson Silva more exciting. Kind of sad to see him go, he was MW contender and now therey are throwing him out on the streets.

I don’t really givwe a shit about the barncat leaving.

by Bandaka on Aug 15, 2009 1:01 PM EDT reply actions

McCrory has a chance to grow and be somebody at middleweight. Him going to strikeforce would probably be the best thing for him, then get back in the UFC after he’s got enough wins at middleweight.

Thales though…honestly, he’s not an amazing fighter, and never should have been in the same ring as Silva. He, and the fans, are better off with him in another promotion. Not trying to bash Thales here, but you can flop around in a title fight like that. If you don’t bring the fight to the Champ, when you get such a gift title shot, you probably need to re-evaluate some things and get your shit straight.

"You guys are jerking eachother off with some pseudo deep bullshit." - Kid Nate

by Kaleb Kelchner on Aug 15, 2009 1:13 PM EDT reply actions

Good Call

I was a little surprised that they wasted a Silva fight on Thales myself, especially given his talk about retirement. He’ll find another place to go and fight and develop. I liked the dude, but talk about really letting your golden opportunity get flushed down the toilet. He never really had a chance to win it, but he could’ve shown that he had that certain something.

by Dooda on Aug 15, 2009 1:24 PM EDT up reply actions

The UFC wants exciting fighters. These two are not exciting fighters(at least to me, and apparently the UFC brass).

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by ronniebonnie on Aug 15, 2009 1:32 PM EDT reply actions

Really? The barn cat is a pretty exciting fighter in my book. I just think they want him to go improve his game outside the UFC because he is so young and they know he will come back if he performs well.

"Japan is half-Machida" - iiowyn

by Day Man on Aug 15, 2009 2:19 PM EDT up reply actions