Travis Lutter Cut From The UFC
Travis Lutter, who received a second chance at competing in the UFC after winning The Ultimate Fighter 4: The Comeback, has reportedly been released by the organization due to his back-to-back octagon losses. Lutter made the announcement yesterday via his myspace page:
“Friday afternnon I was told by my manager that UFC matchmaker Joe Silza had left my him a message on his phone that I had been released from my UFC contract because of my 2 losses in a row.â€
Spelling errors aside, I think we all get the idea.
Travis Lutter (9-5 MMA, 2-4 UFC), a Brazilian jiujitsu specialist trained by Carlos Machado, fought in a variety of promotions (including the UFC) before entering and winning the 4th season of The Ultimate Fighter, where he submitted Patrick Cote in the finale. Lutter received a six fight contract for his troubles, but has now been cut off only two fights into that contract. Lutter also makes history as the first TUF winner to be released by the UFC.
Travis Lutter also made some news of his own earlier in the week when he responded to fans that had been sending him hate mail, something which obviously did not sit well with the former UFC middleweight:
“Some of them I wrote back, “What have you done? What have you accomplished with your pathetic life?†It’s not a nice thing to say but it just sucks having these guys write to you and say the things that they say. It’s crazy. It really is….People suck. I think it’s amazing. I definitely don’t fight for those people. I fight for me. Use that in your article or not, whatever. But, fans suck.
I think most of them are dumb-ass kids. I’m not saying MMA fans. I’m saying the people that are writing me this shit. I think the average MMA fan rules. They’re following my sport. I like them a lot.
Maybe I shouldn’t even touch on this subject…Whoever is getting hate mail. Kalib Starnes – he got fired from the UFC for his performance. And that was a bad performance. He didn’t fight. Me, I went in there, I tried to kill the guy and I ended up getting beat and I’m getting an amazing amount of hate mail. I don’t understand it from a fighter’s perspective.â€
Did Lutter’s comments contribute to his being cut by the UFC? Perhaps. It’s difficult to say since the UFC has made it known that they will be trimming their contract roster down by about fifty fighters, so it’s possible that they just don’t think they have room on their plate for someone like Travis Lutter any more.
While the sudden release surely stings Lutter considering it comes only about a week after his UFC 83 loss, I imagine the guy will still be able find work in one of the many other MMA promotions out there, assuming he wishes to continue fighting professionally of course.
This kinda sucks. Lutter is a halfway decent fighter.
Well that’s the fight game you don’t perform you get the boot.That’s to bad I kinda liked his fighting spirit besides having bad stamina the man had alot of heart.But you can’t win fights with just heart.I think he should’nt walk away from the sport try the other organizations. Who know’s he might be better off.Good luck with what ever you choose to do in life.
I understand the UFC’s situation but they gotta be careful about the image they portray to the public.
The UFC holds on to Couture just because they can and then cut a guy like Lutter who isn’t even halfway done his new contract ????????
I think Lutter is a good guy after reading his last interview before his fight with Franklin. He seems like he has a great personality but let’s not forget he failed to make weight against Silva which took away the “title fight” of that PPV and ruined it. Aside from losing that match he just lost to Franklin. Lutter has no where to go in the middleweight division and I think he should have fought at LHW. No worries, Elite XC will have him signed by the end of the month. Still, Lutter doesn’t have a place in the UFC right now. Especially since the UFC is cutting people to have the big crop of prime talent in the world.
this might be the kick in the arse that he needed for neglecting his conditioning.if he gets a real team behind him i’m sure he’ll be back better than before.
Well… Its bad he got cut.. But hell the UFC im sure had to pay him for the 4 fights he wont have to. T.L. take a vacation.. find your focus… and im sure we will all see him in sum other fight shows…
If Lutter had the conditioning to fight every round like the first round, then he would be world class. Just needs to work on stamina.
Good riddance. The UFC gave Lutter a second chance and he should have be honored to have a title shot. What does he do? He comes into the fight overweight and did not qualify as a title fight. Give me a break. The chance of a lifetime and come out of shape. As if he didn’t learn, he came into the Franklin fight out of shape and got winded into the first fight. Who wants to watch 1 round fighter with no heart?
Will D : Spoken like a true keyboard warrior.
i like the guy, although he is the complete opposite of Rudy. all talent and no desire to win, hahah. but still, i wish the guy the best and i agree, he should fight at 205 cuz it seems like making weight is his biggest enemy. and for the love of god man, discover a treadmill so you can last more than 2 minutes. you got the skill, just need the endurance. and if you do stay at 185, make it back to the ufc and **** slap bisping for me please.
Lutter sucks balls!
Lutter is a hard fighter to figure out. I saw a person train hard and give an honest effort in a reality show, but once he left he doesn’t know how to train or build cardio. He fought Anderson Silva over the weight limit and gassed completely against Rich Franklin. Maybe he needs to change gyms and trainers. The guy was able to bang with Anderson Silva, but how can the guy not build off that fight. I have to question the guys heart and if he really wants it or does he just want to call himself a fighter and not pay the dues? Maybe he should just be a trainer and forget the fighting part.
Lutter lost to Anderson Silva and Rich Franklin and he gets cut??? Ridiculous! Why did he have to fight the top 2 guys in that weight division in a row anyway? The UFC needs to remember that it exists, not in spite of the fans, but because of the fans. Cutting a guy like Lutter after he fought the top 2 guys is a stupid move and if they continue down this road, the UFC could be wondering what hit them.
“those who cant do….teach!” he has the potential to be a good fighter but i think he doesnt take it as serious as he should. if he worked his diet a little better and worked his cardio more he would do better but until then time to beat it!!! go work on a game plan and then give it a run.
I can understand cutting him, i personally found the fight to b closer then i had imagined, but many guys around me were disappointed by his performance, i mean the same exact scenario happened to joe Lauzon, did good the first round but gassed and took a beating the next, and nobody hates on him, and they shouldn’t, its bad enough for these athletes to b losing fights for something this basic in the 1st place, but stamina is soo hard to work, and its understandable to c that in training when one has soo much pressure on them, that the 1st corner there gonna cut is stamina, never the less Lutter is an unappealing name to the public, and will b seeing as taking up a good spot on a ppv show, if your cutting fighters then this was a good decision for the company, not only that but he’s is a known name regardless, and will give other promotions publicity, and will help the sport of mma grow,
lutter was a good fighter at 185 and to cut him after losing to silva and franklin is a little harsh its not like he did what starnes did i think lutter should stay as a tester of all 185 up and comers