Rich Clementi

("No Love" has "No Job." Photo courtesy of UFC.com.)

Now that the country is losing jobs at a rate of almost 20,000/day, it was only a matter of time before the UFC's contracted fighters began to feel the crunch. FiveOuncesofPain reports that the following fighters have been released from their contracts — and will now enter the worst job market since World War II:

— Rich Clementi was dropped shortly after tapping to a guillotine choke in the first round of his match with Gleison Tibau at Saturday's UFC Fight Night 17. It was his second-consecutive loss in the Octagon, following a previous decision loss to Gray Maynard at UFC 90. This is actually the third time that the UFC has given Clementi his walking papers; he was also dropped after losing his first UFC fight to Yves Edwards in 2003, and again after going 1-2 following his stint on TUF 4 in 2006-7.

— Luigi Fioravanti was also cut after UFC Fight Night 17. Though he was able to score a decision win over Brodie Farber at "Fight for the Troops" in December, his first-round TKO loss to Anthony Johnson on Saturday was his fourth loss in his last six UFC appearances.

(Why have I never heard about this magazine before? It's like it was made just for me!)

Diego Sanchez, who recently announced his intention to drop to lightweight, will reportedly take on Joe Stevenson in his first 155-pound match, according to Sherdog. Sanchez has verbally agreed to the fight, which would take place at UFC 95 (February 21st, London), though bout agreements have yet to be signed.

It's somewhat strange that the TUF 1 middleweight winner is dropping in weight after two impressive victories (over David Bielkheden and Luigi Fioravanti), and somewhat unfortunate that Stevenson may be heading for his third loss in four fights. "Daddy" could probably use a tune-up match after being choked out by Kenny Florian last month. But with BJ Penn chasing a welterweight belt, now might be the best time for Sanchez to get all up in the lightweight mix. For the record, Florian would welcome a rematch with Sanchez, who beat him at the TUF 1 finale. In other UFC news...

Reminder: Bounce to Spike TV directly after WEC 37 tonight for the final two episodes of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir, which will feature all four of the season's semi-final matchups. They will be:

Efrain Escudero vs. Junie Browning (LW)
Phillipe Nover vs. George Roop (LW)
Ryan Bader vs. Eliot Marshall (LHW)
K-Sos vs. Vinny Magalhaes (LHW)

Some TUF fans claim to have already seen a promo on Spike that inadvertently spoiled the results. (Only click this link if you dig potential spoilers.) In other UFC news...

— MMA Mania reports that a lightweight bout between Kurt Pellegrino and Rob Emerson is in the works for Ultimate Fight Night 17 (February 7th, Las Vegas). Both men are coming off wins, with Pellegrino most recently defeating Thiago Tavares by decision at UFC 88, and Emerson scoring a 12-second knockout of Manny Gamburyan at UFC 87. Emerson has gone 6-0 with one no-contest in his last seven fights — not bad for a guy who started his MMA career with a 2-6 record.

(Props: MMA Fanhouse)

In this UFC 90 hype video Rich "No Love" Clementi claims that he was the only lightweight willing to step up and fight Gray Maynard, and he did so because he's the type who "looks for challenges and adversity." No disrespect to Maynard here, but since when did he become the guy who makes all other UFC lightweights run and hide? What, he holds Frankie Edgar down for three rounds and now we're supposed to believe that the UFC has trouble finding an opponent for him?

This is the kind of thing that makes you wonder if matchmaker Joe Silva isn't feeding all the fighters the same lines, like an unimaginative pick-up artist. Either he tells you that they're offering you this fight because you're the only one with the balls to take it, or else he says the winner gets a title shot. What's weird is that those are the same pick-up lines I use. The results so far have been...mixed.

Check out the heavily edited and still kind of lame highlight clips of both Clementi and Maynard during this video. Notice how they include Maynard's submission-inducing slam of Rob Emerson, but cut it before you have a chance to realize that he knocked himself out in the process. Clever. Also, is it just me, or are most of Clementi's highlights not really so highlight-y?

According to the Pioneer Press:

Former Gophers wrestler Brock Lesnar, who is 2-1 as a mixed martial arts fighter, found out this week that Ultimate Fighting Championship would like him to compete next on a November card, but his opponent and site remain undetermined.

That November card (also known as UFC 91) will reportedly go down on 11/15 in Portland, Oregon, with a bout between Kenny Florian and Joe Stevenson likely to be on the lineup. The most prevalent rumor regarding Lesnar's opponent is that he'll be facing Cheick Kongo. In other UFC news...

— Anheuser-Busch has tapped Chuck Liddell and Anderson Silva as spokesmen for Bud Light. Which is kind of strange considering both of them are nearly unintelligible without a translator.

— A lightweight bout between Rich Clementi and Gray Maynard is slated for UFC 90 (October 25th, Chicago). Clementi has won his last six fights, including a submission of Anthony Johnson at UFC 76 and a decision win over Terry Etim at UFC 84. Xtreme Couture's Gray Maynard increased his record to a perfect 5-0 with his unanimous decision over Frankie Edgar at UFC Fight Night 13 in April.

— Dana White will be appearing on A&E's Mindfreak next Wednesday at 10 p.m. According to UFC.com: "With the use of a blindfold, a knife and a deck of cards, Criss attempts to teach UFC® President Dana White first-hand how to do a prediction of his own. Can Dana pull off a little magic with the help of the Mindfreak?"