The most notable fighter to be released is Denis Kang, with his team ATT confirming that he will now have to look elsewhere for his next fight.  Kang went 1-2 during his stint in the UFC, including losing to Alan Belcher in his debut, and most recently Michael Bisping at UFC 105.

Despite a noticeable dip in form in recent times – going 4-5 in past nine fights, there will be other promotions vying for his signature.  He spent much of his career in Asia, and a return their would certainly be an option, while Strikeforce may also seem him as a useful option to fill out their middleweight division.

Two fighters from season 9 of The Ultimate Fighter are also believed to have been released from their contracts.  Roli Delgado went 1-2 in the past year, suffering a devastating knockout loss in his last fight against Andre Winner.

Meanwhile Jason Dent leaves after an even 1-1 record in the octagon. This was his second stint in the UFC, having previously went 0-2 in 2006-2007 against Gleison Tibau and Roger Huerta.

In the opening bout of the evening the UK’s Andre Winner exploded an overhand right onto Roli Delgado’s chin that instantly switched out his lights and left him slumped motionless against the cage.

Delgado had been warned earlier in the opening round when Winner landed an almost identical punch that sent him to the mat.  On that occasion he managed to recover, but he wouldn’t be so lucky the second time.

It was a perfect way for Winner to properly introduce himself in the UFC after emerging as the runner up in The Ultimate Fighter Season 11. It also seemed like he was destined for the $40,000 ‘Knockout Of The Night’ award, but Germany’s Denis Siver had other ideas.

Facing a tough, durable competitor like Paul Kelly who had only lost once (to a submission) in previous ten bouts meant that Siver would have to pull of something special to end the fight inside the distance.

In the end he did just that. After Siver had attempted a number of head kicks earlier in the fight, Kelly was ready when he appeared to be unleashing another one and instinctively raised his hands to block it. Unfortunately for him Siver had decided to change things up, and executed a perfect spinning back kick straight to his exposed abdomen, sending him reeling backwards in pain.

The blow would earn Siver the K.O Of The Night award and left Kelly with a trip to the hospital for suspected broken ribs.  Remarkably it wasn’t a genuine K.O as Kelly briefly attempted to fight on, but it was clear that he was in no state to continue and the referee called a halt to the match.

Purists would say that Winner should win the award for his clean K.O, but either was a worthy winner and will become a permanent part of each fighters highlight reel.

Click HERE for more info on how to watch the Denis Siver Vs Paul Kelly fight.

Article By RossC