Efrain Escudero signs with Shine Fights
Season 8 champion, lightweight: Escudero decisioned Brooklyn's Phillipe Nover on Dec. 13, 2008 to win the contract. Less than two years later, he was cut from the UFC after failing to make weight at Fight Night and going 2-2 since winning the title. Credit: Spike
Efrain Escudero, a former winner of "The Ultimate Fighter," signed with Shine Fights after being cut from the UFC roster after his last fight in September.
Escudero, a talented lightweight, lost at UFC Fight Night 22 to Charles Oliveira, dropping his UFC record to 3-2. Not exactly the stuff that gets you dropped from MMA's biggest promotion.
Why Escudero was cut so quickly from the UFC after never losing back-to-back fights may have something to do with proving a point after he missed weight for the Oliveira fight. Escudero weighed in at 159 pounds, well above the 156-pound limit for lightweight's 155-pound division.
Shine doesn't exactly have the best track record with promoting fights, so why Escudero chose this organization over Strikeforce is curious. Perhaps Strikeforce wasn't interested. If so, also a curious situation. If not, oh the curiousity abounds.
The only other "TUF" winner to be dropped by the UFC is Travis Lutter, a Season 4 winner.
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