Two longtime members of the UFC roster were let go this week.
Danny Castillo and Mike Pierce, both solid veterans with good wins on their records, were cut by the promotion, multiple sources confirmed Friday with MMA Fighting.
Castillo (17-10), a member of Team Alpha Male, had lost four in a row, but three of those were split decisions, including his loss to Nik Lentz last month at UFC on FOX 17. Many felt Castillo should have gotten the nod from the judges in losses to Tony Ferguson and Jim Miller. Castillo, 36, got his start in WEC back in 2008. He owns victories over Dustin Poirier, Ricardo Lamas and Tim Means.
Pierce (17-7) is coming off a tough, unanimous decision loss to Ryan LaFlare last month at The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale. Before that, he was out with injuries for two years following a controversial heel hook loss to Rousimar Palhares in October 2013. Pierce, 35, won four straight before falling to Palhares and only had losses to Josh Koscheck, Johny Hendricks and Jon Fitch in the UFC prior to that bout.
Sources told MMA Fighting that the UFC has also parted ways with nine other fighters this week. Steve Montgomery, Akbarh Arreola, Steven Kennedy, Konstantin Erokhin, Marcin Wrzosek, Marcio Alexandre, Valmir Lazaro, Hayder Hassan and Leo Kuntz are no longer on the promotion's roster, sources said.