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UFC fighters cut within last three months

According to a Yahoo! Sports report, the UFC's lightweight division is rich with options following Benson Henderson's victory over Frankie Edgar at UFC 144.


UFC President Dana White
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For Henderson and dozens of other MMA fighters, 2012 has been filled with the fame and fortune that comes along with thrilling victories in front of a worldwide audience.

But the new year has not been as kind to others, as several well-known fighters have already been cut from the UFC roster in 2012.

Here's a look at the top five most notable fighters cut from the UFC this year:

Joey Beltran

"The Mexicutioner" showed plenty of promise in the UFC's heavyweight division with a gorgeous TKO victory over Rolles Gracie Jr. in early 2010, but he couldn't be saved from the chopping block after suffering back-to-back losses to Stipe Miocic and Lavar Johnson. Overall, Beltran tallied just a 3-4 record in the UFC and he struggled against some of the top-level opponents in the heavyweight division.


Miguel Torres

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Just before the calendar turned to January, Torres was cut from the UFC for tweeting a joke about rape vans. Torres apparently tweeted "If a rape van was called a surprise van more people wouldn't mind going for rides in them. Everyone likes surprises."

UFC President Dana White responded "Now there's no explanation for that. There's absolutely nothing I could say to make any sense of that. And the fact that he even thinks that's funny or that's a joke, it disturbs me. It bothers me. Again, you're dealing with a guy that's a smart guy, that owns his own business, that's been one of the top fighters in the world forever. And I cut him today. He's no longer with the UFC."

Torres was a former WEC champ and world-class fighter, but his ill-advised tweet cost him dearly.

Eric Schafer

Schafer was a part of the UFC for the better part of six years before finally being released in January of 2012.

He was basically a gatekeeper in the light heavyweight division, earning victories over Houston Alexander and Antonio Mendes, but losing against some of the tougher competitors in the division like Michael Bisping and Stephan Bonnar.

Schafer fell short in four of his last five bouts, including losses to Ryan Bader, Jorge Rivera and Jason Brilz. Schafer tallied a 3-6 record in nine UFC appearances. "I'll just get back into the gym and see what the future holds," Schafer said in a a post on The Underground. "Despite losing the last 2 decisions, I felt I learned a lot, but the UFC is not a easy place to be working on my game. Oh well, I had some good battles and always went out looking to finish. Was an amazing experience."

Daniel Roberts

31-year-old welterweight Daniel Roberts started off his UFC career with three wins in his first four appearances, but losing three straight unanimous decisions put him on the chopping block.

His latest loss was to Charlie Brenneman at the UFC on FX: Guillard vs Miller event on Jan. 20. "I was thinking I'd do really well because I was so upset, but it just didn't work out that way," he said following the fight. "I wasn't focused, really, because I was worrying about other things. I made some bad decisions, and they really cost me." Roberts notched a 3-4 UFC record.

Chris Cope

Cope showed promise as an MMA fighter with a superb effort Ron Keslar in a 2010 Strikeforce event, and he kept up the pace with a brilliant victory over Chuck O'Neil in the Ultimate Fighter 13 finale.

But falling short against UFC newcomer Che Mills, and getting knocked out by Matt Brown at UFC 143, spelled the end for Cope. If he wants to make his way back into the league, he'll have to win a few fights at the regional level.