If you’re anything like us you were surprised and a little saddened to hear that one of the UFC’s more entertaining and personable welterweights, Tamdan “The Barn Cat” McCrory, was John Howard at UFC 101 last weekend.  Not only did he lose a squeaker against Howard that could have easily gone the other way, but even after the defeat he was still 3-3 in the UFC.  What happened to at least waiting until a guy lost two or sometimes even three in a row before cutting him loose?

But while we may be disappointed to see “The Barn Cat” go, he’s not letting it get him down.  When we contacted him this afternoon he said he plans to take his time, improve his skills, and then move up to middleweight where he feels more comfortable.

“It kind of comes with the territory,” McCrory said of his dismissal from the UFC.  “That’s what happens.  You’re only as good as your last fight, and all that other cliché bullshit.  You know they can drop you if you lose so that’s always on your mind.”

“I’m not in a rush to get back in the UFC.  This is the time to work on my skills, put the weight back on, and make some of the adjustments that take longer than just the time between fights.”

The twenty-two year-old McCrory said the cut to welterweight has gotten increasingly more difficult as his body has grown, and for this last outing he cut down to 170 from around 205 pounds, making him think that a move up in weight was inevitable.

“I don’t feel like making my body do what it doesn’t want to do.  It was a rough cut. …I was thinking that I might take one more fight at welterweight but when [the UFC] said, ‘Take some time and get some wins,’ that kind of made my mind up for me. …It’s not totally a bad thing for me right now.”

McCrory said he’s already gotten some offers to fight overseas and in other promotions, but he’s in no hurry.  He added that his sponsors and fans seemed more upset both about the split decision going against him and the UFC’s decision to release him afterwards, but he’s not taking it too hard.

“Anything can happen in this game and I’m not going to look at it negatively because then it’s kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Nobody likes to lose, but what can you do?  They’re going to want me back.”