Daron Cruickshank has announced that he’s been released by the UFC, ending a 13 fight run in the Octagon.
The news comes after Cruickshank’s latest third round submission loss to Paul Felder at UFC Fight Night 81 in Boston back in January, his third defeat in a row.
‘The Detroit Superstar’ initially arrived in the UFC via The Ultimate Fighter 15 and quickly caught the eye with his flashy striking style that included a wide variety of kicks.
In his first couple of years in the promotion Cruickshank compiled a respectable 5-3 (+1nc) record, beating the likes of Yves Edwards, Erik Koch and Anthony Njokuani.
However, 2015 proved to be a tough year for him as fighters started to realize that the ground game, and in particular his submission defense, was a major achilles heel.
Three submission losses in a row via rear-naked choke suggests that Cruickshank has some serious work to do in the gym if he wants to compete at the highest level, and so the UFC have decided that to let him go.
An entertaining striker like Cruickshank should have no problem finding a no home for his talents, with Bellator sure to be a front-runner in the upcoming fight for the 30 year-old’s signature.
