Lightweight MMA fighter Josh “The Dentist” Neer (25-9-1) has been released from his UFC contract following a unanimous decision loss to Gleison Tibau (20-6) at UFC 104 on Oct. 24. Neer has lost his last three out of four fights, for a total of six out of ten times inside the Octagon.
Neer’s first UFC appearance was against Drew Fickett (36-13) at the very first Ultimate Fight Night back in August 2005. Fickett submitted Neer in the first round via rear-naked choke. However, Neer bounced back with wins over Melvin Guillard and Joe Stevenson in his next two UFC bouts.
The case to keep Neer in the UFC could not have been helped much by his UFC 104 performance against Tibau. To start with, Neer missed weight (so did Tibau but at least he won the fight). Then he got put on his back more than a Hollywood hooker as Tibau slammed him all over the place, taking him down four times in the first round alone.
Neer is approaching his seventh year as a professional fighter. This is not the first time he has been released from the UFC. The truth is he is a well-rounded fighter with heavy hands. He actually has more submission wins than (T)KO’s; he just needs some work on wrestling and take-down defense. At only 26-years-of-age we will more than likely see him back in the UFC one day.