EXCLUSIVE | TUF 28 Finalist Justin Frazier cut by the UFC

Justin Frazier’s cinderella story appears to have struck midnight.

Frazier was on The Ulitmate Fighter 28 in which he was the last overall pick as a heavyweight. Despite having appeared out of shape during his entrance on the show, one thing we quickly found out was that he could indeed fight.

Frazier ended up joining Kelvin Gastelum’s team where he was whipped into shape and quickly reaped the benefits.

Frazier would end up making it all the way to the finals of his heavyweight bracket before losing to Juan Espino via submission.

However, many believed that Frazier showed enough promise on the show to stay around the UFC.

Unfortunately for ‘The Grizzly Bear’, that is not the case as Frazier has confirmed with BJPenn.com that the UFC has cut him.

“The UFC cut me, Mick [Maynard] sent me an e-mail,” Frazier said. “I don’t know what the deal was. Either way, I’m still grinding and working for another chance.”

Frazier is 10-3 as a professional and given how thin the heavyweight division is, having him around couldn’t have hurt.

The Arkansas native shared that he plans to continue to fight but would like to get back to the UFC. But he is still open to fighting for different promotions.

When speaking to BJPenn.com prior to the TUF 28 Finale, Frazier was fully embracing the underdog role, and once again he sees himself as an underdog after the UFC decided to part ways with him.

“It’s satisfying. It just shows you can’t judge a book by its cover. At some times it is good to play the underdog role,” Frazier said back in November. “If everyone expects you to win you have nothing to gain, it is just a letdown if you lose. If you lose and everyone expects you to lose you aren’t really breaking anyone’s heart. You just did what everyone expects you to do. That is why I like playing the underdog role.”

Ultimately, Frazier knows he can still fight at a high level and he plans on showing that wherever he fights next. For now, he is weighing his options and continuing to train and improve.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 2/8/2019