Hatsu Hioki and Ryan Jimmo are among 14 fighters who’ve been released from the UFC after their latest round of cuts.
Hioki joined the UFC in 2011 after having spent much of his career in Japan where he became a champion in both the Shooto! and Sengoku organizations 145lb divisions and compiled a 24-4-2 overall record.
For the most part he’s not been able to recreate that kind of form in the Octagon, however, despite being given more chances to prove himself than most. In fact he’d won just once in his last six bouts prior to being cut, with a head kick KO loss to Dan Hooker back in May being the final nail in the coffin for his 3-5 UFC career.
Jimmo’s situation is actually not too dissimilar in that he arrived in the UFC in 2012 as a champion of the MFC organization out of Canada with an impressive 17-1 record, but found the going tougher in the UFC.
Along the way he did pick up KO wins over Anthony Perosh and Sean O’Connell, but with just two wins in his last six UFC fights along with some underwhelming performances the UFC have decided to let him go.
Amongst the list of fighters others who stand out include Zhang Lipeng who won TUF: China, but then suffered two defeats in a row, Robbie Peralta who ends almost four years in the promotion with a 4-3 (+1nc) record and Justin Edwards who’s also been in the Octagon for four years, but only compiled a 2-5 record along the way.
Check out the full list of released fighters below:
Lisa Ellis, Jessica Rakoczy, Zhang Lipeng, Luiz Dutra, Josh Sampo, Justin Edwards, Hatsu Hioki, Ryan Jimmo, Robbie Peralta, Wendell Oliveira, Nolan Ticman, Dhiego Lima, Andrew Todhunter, and Bentley Syler.
