Luiz Cane entered UFC 153 in a must-win position. After losing three of four at light heavyweight, the Brazilian striker decided to drop to the middleweight division and was matched up with Chris Camozzi. Unfortunately for him, he dropped a unanimous decision. And according to his manager Alex Davis (via Tatame), he has been released from his UFC contract as well. Davis also said that Cane has had to undergo two knee surgeries lately and that he will be back with some wins outside the organization.

Cane (12-5, 1 NC) entered the UFC back in 2007, losing by disqualification to James Irvin after an illegal knee. A three-fight win streak after that had people thinking he was going to be a contender, but the four losses in his next five bouts sealed his fate. He got off to a slow start against Camozzi, showing little urgency and acting a bit gunshy with his striking. He had a better third round, but it was too late by then.

Nonetheless, he's a solid middleweight and I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him back. In the meantime, World Series of Fighting might be interested in his services.



