Frank Lester, Mike Ciesnolevicz, Tim Boetsch Released From the UFC

(War Machine, Unidentified Mayhem Monkey, and Frank Lester: Worst game of FMK ever.)

It seems that an insane amount of heart doesn't necessarily guarantee job security if you can't win fights. After being choked out by Nick Osipczak at the Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale — which followed a TUF 9 run where he beat Kiel Reid and Dave Faulkner and lost twice to James Wilks — Frank Lester has been cut by the UFC. The Team Quest fighter's pro record dropped to 3-3 after his most recent loss. Godspeed, young shadow-boxer.

Following Lester out of the Octagon are two more fighters known for stepping up but falling short: Mike Ciesnolevicz and Tim Boetsch. According to MMA Weekly, Ciesnolevicz was released from his contract after losing to Tomasz Drwal via first-round TKO at the TUF 9 Finale; the light-heavyweight made his Octagon debut at UFC 95, coming in to replace the injured Justin McCully in a heavyweight match against Neil Grove, and defeated the much larger South African fighter by heel-hook. Unfortunately, he was bounced after just one loss at his natural weight class.

Boetsch also arrived in the UFC as a late replacement, filling in for Tomasz Drwal at UFC 81 on ten days' notice and wrecking David Heath. But the UFC lost interest after the Barbarian went 1-2 in subsequent matches, and pink-slipped him after his most recent decision loss to Jason Brilz at UFC 96. As with Ciesnolevicz, the UFC didn't wait until Boetsch had lost two in a row to drop him. Harsh.