Ultimate Fighter 21 alum Steve Montgomery was released from the UFC at the beginning of the year following his decision defeat to Dan Kelly at UFC 193 and he will return to competition on Friday night in South Florida when he faces Avery McPhatter in the co-main event of Absolute Fighting Championships 25.
Montgomery (8-4) went 0-2 in the UFC and prior to taking this fight on Friday night, he had been recovering from some injuries. During yesterday’s edition of “The MMA Report Podcast,” Montgomery was a guest on the show to promote his fight against McPhatter and also discussed how he was not surprised he was cut from the UFC after losing to Kelly in November.
“Not really. I knew if I lost that fight, I figured that I would be cut,” Montgomery said. “So when I walked out of the cage, I was planning for that. Like what I was going to do. It really did not happen that way. I would get — it’s funny because I am still in contact with people who work for the UFC. They still send me things for social media and stuff like that. I got a call at the beginning of the year saying that I would probably be cut. Don’t announce it and then it did not happen for a month. In that month’s time, they were still sending me updates. Fight Pass account stuff and all sort of other benefits. I was not complaining about that because I will take whatever I can get.”
“I don’t really look at it like being cut,” he continued. “That is a really strong word. I think it’s a loaded word. It’s more like a revolving door. They are a business and at the end of the day, you know as much as I do how over crowded there roster is. I think it’s to the point where they are like ‘hey man, you are losing right now. We are packed. Go fight a fight. Someone else is going lose and we are going to have to send them out to find a fight and you can have their spot.’ I look at it more as a revolving door and I think that is with all of the MMA promotions.”
Check out Montgomery’s complete interview from Tuesday’s episode of “The MMA Report Podcast” below and be sure to subscribe to the show on iTunes and Stitcher.