TUF Season 8 finalist Phillipe Nover has also been dropped following his unanimous decision loss to Rob Emerson last Saturday.  It was the third defeat in a row for the man Dana White had once described as having the potential to be, “the next Anderson Silva.”

On his own blog the 26 year old had the following to say about his fight with Emerson before news of his release from the UFC broke:

“Its time now to review my mistakes and continue training. I don’t know what my future holds but I know whatever happens after today I will be happy and make the best of it!

After hearing the news of his release he also posted on his twitter account with the following message:

“The plan: Eat up,heal up,rest up,make some changes,train,& then fight. I’ll be fighting soon! I’ll keep every1 posted on what show & the date!”

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Another fighter who finds himself out of the UFC is the 37 year old veteran Frank Trigg after his first round KO loss to Matt Serra.  The news was not unexpected though as it had been widely reported that he needed a win to remain in the promotion after previously having lost to Josh Koscheck.

It’s unclear whether Trigg will now retire or not.  After his fight at UFC 109 he admitted that he would speak to his family first and hear what they had to say before making a decision.

It appears that neither has made up their minds to do so just yet though.  Here’s what they had to say after their fight’s on Saturday night.

“I’m not ending on this note.  I’m gonna train harder, smarter, better, longer – the whole shebang.  I’ll be back.” – Mark Coleman

“I’ve gotta go back and talk to the wife, talk to the kids and kind of see how things go.  The problem is that even though the athlete may still want to compete, the family tends to have a better idea of what you should be doing, so I’ll talk to them and figure it out, that’s just how it goes.” – Frank Trigg

If the two fighters do decide to continue to compete then it seems likely they will have to do so somewhere other than the UFC as Dana White appeared to believe that they have made their final visits to the octagon.

“Time is a bitch man, it takes it’s toll on all of us.,” he told Ariel Helwani. “I think we probably might have seen the last time that Mark Coleman fights.”

When asked by Mike Straka whether Frank Trigg was in any danger (of being cut) after his second loss in a row White simply said, “Probably…yeah, I would say so.”

Will both fighters retire if they are indeed released from their contracts?

Trigg has previously stated that he has no interest in fighting anywhere other than the UFC any more, and would retire rather than go back to the smaller promotions.  It remains to be seen whether he goes through with it now that this potential situation has become a reality.

It’s unclear how Coleman would react to being cut from the roster, but it would not be a surprise to see him go back to fighting in Japan where he spent much of his career rather than hang up his gloves.

Watch the post-fight interviews with the two fighters below.

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Mark Coleman:

Frank Trigg:

The major announcement was that former UFC and PRIDE star Dan Henderson will feature in the game. Henderson of course recently signed with Strikeforce and is expected to face Jake Shields for the middleweight title on CBS in April.

The news does leave some doubt as to whether Henderson will still appear in THQ’s UFC Undisputed 2010 title. Hendo was a playable character in the 2009 edition which has sold 3.5 million copies to date.

Another UFC fighter announced for EASports game is Frank Trigg. While this may seem controversial given the recent war of words between EA and UFC president Dana White, it’s worth bearing in mind that Trigg likely signed on to appear in the game before he was invited back into the UFC.

As with Henderson, it’s unclear if Trigg’s inclusion in EA MMA excludes him from appearing in UFC Undisputed 2010 as well.

The final fighter announced for the game this week was Tyron Woodley, the promising welterweight contender who has been featured in the Strikeforce Challengers series and is currently 5-0 in mixed martial arts competition.

EASports MMA is expected to be released later in the year on XBOX 360 and Playstation 3. Visit mma.easports.com for more information.

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As it stands this generally revolves around Trigg making fun of his opponent’s height, “he’s just an angry foot stomping midget,” while Serra returns fire by mocking Trigg’s appearance, “you got the nail polish AND the tramp stamp…that’s getting a little weird.”

If you look beyond that though then this is a serious fight for both fighters.  Serra, now 35, is two fights without a win in the octagon since his shock win over GSP in 2007, while Trigg was soundly beaten in his return to the UFC in September at the age of 37.

The fact that they both already have their retirments plans mapped out (Serra plans to coach at his successful Jiu Jitsu schools while Trigg is eyeing further media work after previously commentating for PRIDE) only emphasizes the fact that one more defeat could potentially spell the end for their career.

For Serra it’s possibility, but for Trigg it’s a certainty having already been informed by UFC bosses that a loss would see the end to his second spell in the promotion.

With that in mind we can rest assured that despite the trash-talking, both these fighters will have their minds firmly focused on the task in hand come February 6th.

In the mean time, check out the latest interviews with both fighters ahead of the fight.

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Matt Serra UFC Video Blog Day 1:

Matt Serra Interview With Ariel Helwani

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Frank Trigg Interview With Steve Cofield:

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Frank Trigg Interview With MMAPrime:

In the 20 minute interview no stone is left unturned as he holds court on pretty much any subject you can think of, making plenty of wisecracks at Strata and his trainer Ray Longo’s expense along the way.

It’s entertaining stuff and you can check it out in full for yourself below…

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Part 1:

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Part 2:

Meanwhile a fight between Nate Marquardt (29-8-2) and Chael Sonnen (24-10-1) which was originally predicted to be on the UFC 110 card has apparently been switched to UFC 109 according to mmajunkie.

The card is beginning to take shape after it was announced earlier this week that Randy Couture (17-10) would square off against Mark Coleman (16-9).

In the interview the 35 year old Serra admits that he remains unhappy with the decision in his last fight and is looking for a rematch with former champion Hughes.

“There’s no way you are going to tell me I lost that last fight. I don’t care. I mean, whatever, I don’t care what the judges say. There was one guy trying to end that and there was one guy trying to squeak out a victory, you know? And that’s pretty much my take on it.” He goes on to say, “I haven’t mentioned anything about the guy publicly. I know he wants to move on. I would love a rematch because I don’t think it’s really settled.”

As for what the future holds for Serra in the octagon he simply states that, “I just want fights that will be fun for me and fun for everybody involved, especially the fans.”

This seems like a sensible decision, though Trigg may not a title contender at this stage a loss against Josh Koscheck is certainly no disgrace and there are still interesting fights that can be made with the 37 year old in the welterweight division.  Another loss would however likely see not just the end of the fighters run in the UFC, but also his professional career as he confesses that they thought of fighting in the smaller shows again no longer and option he would care to pursue.