It's only been a couple of days since cut man Jacob "Stitch" Duran was let go by the UFC after 14 years with the company. Even given the nature of being let go, he said he's definitely open to coming back, and he is talking more about how lucky he's been overall than talking like he got a raw deal.



"Yeah, absolutely," Duran said when asked if he was open to returning if he was asked, after being overwhelmed with support from fans, media, fighters, managers and sponsors over the past few days. "I'm the kind of guy, I'm not going to have hard feelings. I think it was a knee jerk response. I don't think the UFC realized they picked on the wrong guy. I bring more to the table than just wrapping hands and working on cuts. The fans, the fighters, the trainers, even people within the organization, and commissioners, have called me. They should understand I bring a lot more. If they called me tomorrow, I'd be more than willing to sit down."



He noted that whatever stress Dana White may have gotten from the aftermath could be settled in a split second.



"If I was a doctor, my prescription would be two words, `I'm sorry.'"



Duran, one of the most enduring fixtures in the sport, is starting to take outside bookings, such as the Aug. 1 World Series of Fighting show in Las Vegas. He had worked one show for the promotion before, and quickly found out that UFC wasn't happy he did so.



"He (Ray Sefo) called me for the first World Series of Fighting show, " said Duran. "He asked me to help him out, me and Don House. The next thing, I get suspended for five fights from UFC for helping them out. One of their attorneys said that I gave them credibility. When Ray was one of the first guys who called me, out of respect, I told him, `I owe you this.'"



Duran said he wasn't surprised when he got called by UFC after his comments in an article on Bloody Elbow where he noted how he was losing out on all his sponsorship money with the exclusive Reebok deal, but was not cut into the Reebok deal. It was something he had been aware for a long period of time was going to happen. He said he had asked more than once over the past year if somehow it could be rectified.



"It was pretty simple, about a year ago, we were notified that we'd be losing our sponsors, me in particular, me and four of the senior cut men," said Duran. "We were the ones on the prime fights, and we'd be wearing Reebok gear. Throughout that year we tried to meet with UFC to see if there was any way we could be compensated and the answer was always `No.' I did an interview the other day, the question was asked, I answered it, and I guess the UFC didn't like it. I got a call from one of my friends, they're all friends of mine in UFC, his voice was trembling a little and he said, `They don't want you to work anymore UFC events because of the article you did on Reebok.'"



He said he wasn't surprised a call came, but was stunned he was being let go over it.



"Was I shocked? Yeah," he said. "When I got the call, I thought they might say, `You know what, we're going through this Reebok deal and maybe you should tone down your comments.' Worst case scenario, that's what I expected. But to get told you're not working anymore UFC events for that article, that blew me away."



Part of what hurt him is not hearing from White directly. White and Duran go back well before UFC, when both were in the Las Vegas boxing community struggling to make a living and find their niche in combat sports. Duran noted that he wasn't making much money at the time and then White hired him in 2001, shortly after he and the Fertittas purchased the UFC.



"That changed my life," he said. "So if there's anything that bothers me, it's that Dana didn't come forward and say, `We don't have a place for you and goodbye.' I could have respected that."



There was irony of this coming barely a week after UFC 189, a high point in company history, particularly after the Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald welterweight title fight. He noted that in that fight, had their been an inexperienced cut man in Lawler's corner, the fight probably would have ended early, and with MacDonald winning.



"Fans wouldn't have had the chance to enjoy that fight and Robbie wouldn't have had a chance to win, because I kept him in the game."



Duran noted there are many fights over the years that with his ability to close up cuts in his minute between rounds, would have ended differently. He noted you can go back to what may have been the most important fight in company history with Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar, which went the distance. He also noted the first major Pride vs. UFC fight, Griffin's win over Shogun Rua, as an example, where Griffin was bleeding badly early in the fight and came back to win.



In the past few days, he noted that one of his sponsors, Bad Boy, had contacted him while he was driving and he put the call on the speaker phone. They made an offer to market a vest like the ones he would wear in the UFC, and wanted to make a T-shirt and give him all the profits, as well as discount some of the Stitch Duran merchandise and give all the money to him.



"My wife had a tear in her eye," he said.



He also noted someone marketing a T-shirt that reads "Bring Stitch Back" and cutting him in on it. He said the overall response from the MMA community has been overwhelming.



"I need to go somewhere by myself and think about it and cry, I've been so blessed," he said.