After losing three of his last four fights in the UFC, the organization officially cut its ties with the former 'Ultimate Fighter' standout. A quarterfinalist on the sixth season of TUF, Saunders parlayed an undefeated career into a pretty solid start with the promotion. After going 2-0 against Ryan Thomas and Brandon Wolff, Saunders suffered his first loss to Mike Swick at UFC 99. Aside from a spectacular knockout win over Marcus Davis at UFC 106, Saunders fell to 0-2 in his fights with Jon Fitch and Dennis Hallman. Saunders informed his fans via Twitter of his release.
↵↵↵↵"The UFC has officially cut me," he wrote. "The good news is they told me to work on my wrestling and ground game and then come back. So that is all I am going to be doing: improving dramatically and [showing] them I belong."
↵"To all my fans, I thank you all and [promise] no matter where I go or who I fight, I will be making the biggest and loudest noise I can letting it be known I am still here working harder than ever and will never give up," Saunders wrote. "I will prove my worth and make my return to the UFC."
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I think Saunders should be able to rebound from this setback without too much commotion. He has options, and with other organizations like Strikeforce and Bellator always looking for marque additions, he should have no problem finding work. Bellator would be a great spot for him land. With a welterweight division full of rising stars like Ben Askren and Dan Hornbuckle, I think it would be a great place for his to develop his ground game.
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