Not exactly surprising news coming out today but the UFC has finally axed veteran fighters Marcus Davis and Brandon Vera following losses at last weekend's UFC 125.
Davis is one of those fighters fans always want to see. He brought it every time he stepped in the cage and won 'fight of the night' honors on three separate occasions during his time in the UFC. Unfortunately, he dropped four of his last five fights; being stopped (spectacularly) three of the four times. His move down to the lightweight division was a last ditch effort to get his career back on track, but nothing gets any easier fighting at 155. He claims he wants to return to fighting, so I'm hoping he can pick up a few wins in smaller promotions and perhaps fill in as an injury replacement for Joe Silva.
Brandon Vera's spiraling career has been tough for me to watch, personally. I actually used to train with Vera's Team Lloyd Irvin, so he was a bit of a hero in our gym. His strange and confusing downhill run in the UFC has been tough on Vera, but I actually feel more for his unwavering crew of training partners who never stopped believing in him. Vera's last performance against Thiago Silva was an embarrassment. If a sports psychologist isn't the answer, maybe he needs to look at different camps. Hopefully this is the kick in the butt Vera needs.