Dana White, UFCWe reported that the UFC released top 10 ranked welterweight Jon Fitch and a slew of other fighters earlier in the week.

UFC President Dana White has basically indicated that was only the beginning, citing that the UFC roster has over 100 fighters too many at the present moment.

“There’s 100 more guys that are gonna go. It’s not over,” White said following the UFC 157 press conference. “We have 475 guys under contract. We have over 100 guys too many. We have over 100 guys too many on the roster right now. What’s going to happen is, if you lose, the blood has not all been spilled yet. There’s more coming.”

The UFC roster has swelled over the past few years due to a variety of factors like more events per year and new weight classes. White indicated fighters need to go out there and put it on the line, referring to fighters like Dan Hardy and Leonard Garcia who were retained on the roster after losing four consecutive fights at one point.

It should be noted Dan Hardy can carry a card in the UK with his star power there and Leonard Garcia doesn’t make anywhere near what Jon Fitch was making from his UFC contract.

White then specifically mentioned Strikeforce import Bobby Green who won his UFC debut in spectacular fashion after enduring a tough first round against Jacob Volkmann and a very questionable standup by referee Kim Winslow.

“I go back to Bobby Green,” White said. “Bobby Green fought [Jacob] Volkmann. Bobby Green did not f— quit in the fight. Referee screwed him big-time, right when he gets that top position, and he’s doing damage, she stands him up. The kid stays in there, he fought until the end and he fought until he won. If you want to stay in this f— company, that’s how you better fight. That’s what you better do. Be Bobby Green. Those kids that came in that night from Strikeforce were so hungry. They were hungry, man. That’s what I want, I want guys who are hungry.”

White indicated fighters such as perennial top-10 ranked Urijah Faber could be fighting for a roster spot at UFC 157 on Saturday night. Faber will take on MMA veteran Ivan Menjivar in a rematch from a 2006 bout that ended with a disqualification win for Faber due to an illegal kick to a downed opponent from Menjivar.

Faber is 2-2 in his last four fights dating back to 2011. Both losses came in title fights in which Faber lost fairly convincingly. It’ll be interesting to see what happens going forward, but do not be surprised to see more fighters cut after the UFC 157 event on Saturday night.

Stay tuned to ProMMAnow.com for UFC news and coverage.

One thought on “Dana White on UFC roster cuts: ‘The blood has not all been spilled yet’”
  1. One thing White reiterated a few times in the scrum is how much Fitch cost. He gets paid a lot of money and I don’t feel like they thought they were getting enough of a return on their investment. Here’s the thing too, they could pull an Eddie Alvarez, by letting Fitch go out their and “see what the market dictates”– see what Fitch is worth by getting an offer from Bellator — in fact, Dana mentioned that Fitch should sign with Bellator — he also said that Fitch would dominate there and no one would beat him. But, what if they pull an Eddie Alvarez, where Fitch gets an offer from Bellator and then they use their matching privilege to get his contract down to what they feel is an acceptable number. I think this is very smart move by UFC actually.

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