Roger Huerta is the latest UFC fighter to be shunned

Making sure that everyone realizes that he holds all the cards...all the time, Dana White is orchestrating his patented "Freeze Out" on one time LW contender Roger Huerta.

As reported by MMAJUNKIE.COM (Excerpts)


Popular UFC lightweight Roger Huerta (20-2-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) - the first mixed martial artist to ever grace the cover of Sports Illustrated - hasn't been mentioned much in recent months.


After declining to renew his contract with the UFC in January, Huerta said in the most recent episode of HDNet's "Inside MMA" that he's been stuck waiting by the phone.


"To be honest I'm just waiting for that phone call," Huerta said.


As Huerta told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) in January, after "El Matador" turned down a fight with Joe Stevenson at UFC 95 in February due to "personal issues with family and stuff," the UFC extended his contract by six months.


Added to a contract extension issued after his request for the time off that eventually led to his role in the upcoming film "Tekken," Huerta's fight contract now runs through December - though there is just one bout remaining on the agreement.


The UFC has been accused of "freezing out" fighters such as Andrei Arlovski and Brandon Vera in recent years. Each fighter found themselves in a similar position to Huerta - holding one remaining fight and an extended period of time on their UFC contract.


Huerta last saw action in an August 2008 unanimous-decision loss to current No. 1 contender Kenny Florian. That defeat snapped a 16-fight win-streak for the popular fighter, but with fight bookings already being rumored for UFC 101 and 102 in August, Huerta's name hasn't been mentioned at all.


"(I'm waiting) for the UFC to give me a phone call and I'm able to fight my last fight," Huerta said. "I'm just kind of waiting on that."


"I was always really - my focus was mainly on fighting and doing a lot of PR for the UFC. They were like my No. 1 priority at that time. It really didn't hit me until after the (Clay) Guida fight. After that, everything kind of sunk in and I really started taking it in, like, 'Wow. It really was a big deal.'"


And he may never get to feel it again.

On one hand I really can't blame him if Hollywood is calling. I mean, if you can make more money without getting your face bashed in...who wouldn't take that? On the other hand, Hollywood can be very fickle and if his star does not rise...he could be looking down Eric Roberts street very quickly. Plus, he would have NO CHANCE of getting back in the good graces of Dana White...the man can hold a grudge with the best of them.

He was a rising star with unlimited potential as a fighter...he had a good personality...he had the look of a superstar AND...at one point...he had the respect of the most important man in MMA. Right now he is on the outside looking in and keeping his fingers crossed that his movie based on a Video Game does not fail.

Maybe he should have stuck with fighting.