Danny Castillo, Mike Pierce Among 11 Fighters Released by the UFC

Danny Castillo and Mike Pierce are the most notable names on a lengthy list of fighters who recently received pink slips from the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Additionally, Marcio Alexandre Jr., Steve Montgomery, Konstantin Erokhin, Valmir Lazaro, Akbarh Arreola, Marcin Wrzosek, Hayder Hassan, Steven Kennedy and Leo Kuntz were also released by the Las Vegas-based promotion. The Twitter account UFCFIGHTERSiNFO first brought word of the cuts, which were subsequently confirmed by MMAFighting.com.

A Team Alpha Male staple, Castillo exits the UFC on the heels of a four-fight losing streak. However, three of those four defeats came via split decision against Tony Ferguson, Jim Miller and Nik Lentz. “Last Call” went 7-7 in the Octagon with notable triumphs against Tim Means and Joe Stevenson.

Pierce returned to the Octagon for the first time in two years at “The Ultimate Fighter 22” finale, where he dropped a unanimous decision against Ryan LaFlare. Pierce had been sidelined due to Rousimar Palhares cranking a heel hook after the Oregon native tapped in their bout at UFC Fight Night “Maia vs. Shields” in October 2013. Pierce went 9-5 in the promotion overall.