Joe Ferraro

Showdown Joe gives a behind the scenes look at the surprising release of Todd Duffee from the UFC.

Widely regarded as one of the best prospects in mixed martial arts today, Heavyweight Todd Duffee has been released by the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The news comes as a shock to many, but apparently, the writing was on the wall for quite some time.

Leading up to his last bout with the organization, Duffee took aim at the MMA media and the UFC stating he was "over hyped", and when it came to the fans perspective of him (and other MMA fighters), he told Pro MMA Radio "...in the fight game, there's just a different dynamic between the fighters and the fans. It's a real love- hate relationship. You either saved America, or you're the scum of the world."

It got worse from there, as just days before his UFC 114 bout vs. Mike Russow, Duffee took another public shot at his employer.

When the UFC tweeted "Dunno which is more awesome - @todd--duffee's former title or his job at Dairy Queen", the youngster took exception, and promptly responded with "@ufc yo find a new way to promote me i don't find my misfortunes as funny as you might. your sense of humor sucks." After the Twitter incident, the countdown to Duffee's demise officially began.

Coming into the fight, Duffee was a heavy favourite and many expected it to be another showcase of his knockout power. But someone forgot to tell Russow, as the veteran pulled off an incredible come from behind victory. After being dominated from the opening bell, even suffering a broken arm, Russow knocked out Duffee in the third round, which sent the MMA world into a tail spin. The loss for Duffee may have been but another bullet point for the UFC to use to release the Las Vegas native.

But they continued to move forward with him, as he was then targeted to face Jon Madsen at UFC 121 in October, but Duffee pulled out, citing a knee injury. It came as a strange coincidence as Duffee had accepted a movie role for the sequel to "Never Back Down", which filmed from September to November. Another twist to the story was when Duffee tweeted "looking for weekend job in denver tired of being completely broke ne suggestions?" There is no doubt in my mind that the UFC saw this as another slap in the face and added it as another bullet point to their case for cutting Duffee loose.

There is much more to this story that has been brewing for quite some time, and it reached a boiling point earlier this week.

With the proverbial axe coming down from the UFC, many around Duffee's camp are staying tight lipped, keeping their comments to a minimum, with Todd's Twitter account no longer active. With many others trying to piece together what the final straw was that broke the UFC's back, Alex Davis, Duffee's manager informed Sports Illustrated's Josh Gross that, "Well, I'm not sure exactly what the problem or problems were. I tried hard to avoid, but Dana wasn't listening. It unfortunate, but Todd's an asset and he will keep on fighting He is a young kid and gets lots of attention."

My own personal experiences with the 24 year old have been nothing short of stellar. He was always available for an interview and his own sense of humour always guaranteed us at Sportsnet a very good time. He even took time during the UFC 114 fight week to set up an interview, in his hotel room, to discuss his career, his bout with Russow and being the cover boy for Muscle and Fitness.

While it's sad to see Duffee released by the organization, it's tough to argue with all the writing on the wall. Todd should be fine though; he'll likely be picked up by Strikeforce soon, if not by organizations such as Bellator, Shark Fights or the MFC. Will he ever be back with the UFC? My answer is "Yes".

Misc. News and Notes

• Today marks the two-year anniversary of the sad passing of one of MMA's favourite heroes, Evan Tanner. Check out some great videos of the man, here.

• The Anderson Silva/Chael Sonnen rematch is expected to take place during UFC's January 1st show or their Super Bowl weekend event, pending "The Spider's" recovery from his rib injury.

• Expected to also compete against one another on the UFC 125 card are Brandon Vera and Thiago Silva.

• Kenny Florian has hired a wrestling coach and is expected to return to the octagon in 2011.

• Joe Lauzon is expected to face George Sotiropoulos at UFC 123 in Detroit, while J-Lau's opponent Gabe Ruedigar, is also expected to be on the card, and is rumoured to be facing off against Paul Kelly.

• Kendall "Da Spyder" Grove tweeted his next bout will be on The Ultimate Fighter Season 12 Finale, vs. Demian Maia. Canadian fans can catch the fight in HD, exclusively on Rogers Sportsnet.

• The Shine Fights event relocation has taken another twist, as the Virginia State Athletic Commission says the organization failed to meet a variety of basic requirements for promoting an MMA event within their jurisdiction.