Coleman, Nover, Trigg, and Hague released from UFC

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Following disappointing losses at UFC 109, the organization has let go Mark Coleman, Phillipe Nover, Frank Trigg, and Tim Hague.

Coleman, who was the UFC's first heavyweight champion and hailed as the "Godfather of Ground-and-Pound" for his contributions to the sport, lost to fellow Hall-of-Famer Randy Couture in a lop-sided main event which saw him choked out in the second round. Although Couture continued his tradition of seeming to defy age in his dominant performance, the 46-year-old Coleman looked tired and uncertain from the start, and was never able to put any pressure on his opponent.

Coleman made his return to the UFC after a ten-year absence in 2009 with a loss to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 93 before bouncing back with a win over Stephan Bonnar at UFC 100 in fight prior to UFC 109.

Nover was a contestant on the "Ultimate Fighter" season 8, where Dana White famously made what, in retrospect, may have been a slight exaggeration by comparing Nover to a young Georges St. Pierre. Despite a fainting spell in the opening episode of the show, Nover made it all the way to the finals, where Efrain Escudero was able to repeatedly take him down and smother him for three rounds to win a decision and the season.

Nover's fortunes didn't improve from there, as he suffered a TKO loss against Kyle Bradley at UFC 98 before dropping a decision to Rob Emerson at UFC 109.

Trigg fought twice for the welterweight belt in his first tenure with the UFC, coming up short to Matt Hughes on both occasions. After leaving the organization in 2005, Trigg fought with a number of other MMA promotions including Pride and Strikeforce, and was riding a four-fight win streak when he returned to the UFC to face Josh Koscheck at UFC 103, where he suffered a TKO loss. At UFC 109 Trigg faced former welterweight champion Matt Serra, and found himself on the receiving end of the "Knockout of the Night" two minutes into the first round.

Hague was successful in his UFC debut when he scored an impressive submission by guillotine choke over Pat Barry in the first round at UFC 98. However, in Hague's next outing he had the misfortune of gaining fame by suffering the fastest knockout in UFC history - at the hands of highly touted heavyweight prospect Todd Duffee, who dropped him with a single punch seven seconds into the fight. Hague was looking to bounce back against Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 109, and fought a grueling three round contest, only to suffer a questionable majority decision loss.