"Ultimate Fighter" season 8 winner Efrain Escudero has been released from the UFC following his September 15 loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC Fight Night in Austin, Tex.
Escudero confirmed the release with MMAWeekly.com on Monday.
Since winning the 8th season of the reality show by defeating Phillipe Nover, Escudero has gone 2-2 in the UFC. During that time the Arizona based fighter holds wins over Cole Miller and Dany Lauzon, while picking up losses against Evan Dunham and as previously mentioned Charles Oliveira.
This marks the first time the UFC has released a winner from the "Ultimate Fighter" reality show. Travis Lutter was also released from the UFC after winning on the show, but he had previously competed in the promotion, and was a part of their "comeback" 4th season.
Escudero had originally been scheduled to meet John Gunderson on the undercard of the UFC Fight Night event last week, but injuries forced changes to the show, and he ended up against Oliveira instead.
Following a tough fight, Escudero was eventually submitted by the Brazilian in the third round of their lightweight match-up.
Escudero stated when speaking to MMAWeekly that he will be taking a week off, and will make future plans after the time away.
http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=12656&zoneid=13
This surprises me. I think the cut is a bit premature. This guy has a ton of potential. Dana has really been going on a cutting spree, and some of the guys still have a future.