Paulo Thiago Released By UFC Following Three Straight Losses

News broke this afternoon (Wed., October 22, 2014) that the UFC has released longtime welterweight contender Paulo Thiago.

Thiago stormed onto the UFC scene with an undefeated 10-0 record in 2009, shocking the world with a first round TKO of eventual title contender Josh Koscheck at UFC 95. Thiago went on to win three of his first four UFC bouts, including a “Submission of the Night” award for his technical submission of Mike Swick at UFC 109.

However, that was his last UFC finish, as Thiago promptly lost seven of his next nine bouts, including losses to top names like Diego Sanchez, Martin Kampmann, and Dong Hyun Kim. Siyar Bahadurzada also knocked him out at UFC on Fuel TV 2, and Brandon Thatch forced him to tap out to strikes at UFC Fight Night 32 last November.

With three consecutive losses in one of the most crowded divisions in MMA, there was simply no room to keep the ineffective Thiago on the roster. He has another job as a policeman in his native Brazil, so perhaps splitting the time between the two hindered his chances to fight to the fullest of his abilities.

In any case, Thiago is gone, but his thunderous debut in the UFC will forever live on in highlights reels. Ultimately it’s sad to see such a steep decline from such a promising fighter.