Ultimate Fighting Championship officials have released "The Ultimate Fighter 8" winner Efrain Escudero following a third-round submission loss to Charles Oliveira.
The Tempe, Ariz.-based lightweight announced the bad news Monday afternoon via his Twitter account and subsequently confirmed it to MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com).
Escudero (13-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) said the split was amicable, and he has already begun dialogue with other prominent MMA promotions.
"I'm going to take a week off, so I'm not rushing into anything," he said. "Then, after that, I'm going to decide where I'm going to go."
The fighter named Strikeforce and Bellator Fighting Championships among those who are interested in his services.
Escudero met Oliviera (14-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) this past week at UFC Fight Night 22 and held his own for much of the fight until the energetic up-and-comer hopped on his back and secured a rear-naked choke. It was his second loss inside the octagon.
Oliviera, meanwhile, won "Submission of the Night" honors.
The fight did not come without complications. Escudero came in at 159 pounds for the bout and was fined 20 percent of his "show" purse by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which oversaw the event at Austin, Texas' Frank Erwin Center.
Oliveira was the third proposed opponent for Escudero, who was originally slated to meet John Gunderson on the Sept. 15 event's preliminary card. He then was rebooked to meet Matt Wiman before injuries to Wiman and Mac Danzig shuffled the lineup.
Escudero earned his "TUF 8" crown with a win over Phillipe Nover and appeared to be well on his way up the ladder with a subsequent knockout win over Cole Miller. But fellow up-and-comer Evan Dunham stopped his rise with a submission victory at UFC Fight Night 20, and he started from square one with a decision victory over Dan Lauzon at UFC 114.
When asked if the UFC expressed interest in having him back after he picked up wins in other promotions, Escudero responded, "kind of like that."
