UFC Releases Middleweight Maiquel Falcao Due to Prior Arrest

Ultimate Fighting Championship officials have cut ties with promising Brazilian middleweight Maiquel Falcao due to an arrest in 2002, according to a report by mmajunkie.com.

Falcao, who was slated to fight Tom Lawlor at UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami, was given his release after fans and media contacted the UFC and demanded his removal from the summer card in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

"In 2002, I was at a club with a couple of friends, and one of them had an argument with another group of guys," Falcao told mmajunkie.com in December. "They started fighting, and soon it became a fight between two groups. One girl got injured in the lips during this mess and took me and my friends to court.

"I was considered guilty of aggression."

Falcao's management companies, Prime Fighters Management and DCA, feel the matter will be resolved in September when the charges are dropped.

"The (natural) response was that of shock, but after talking with the UFC earlier...this afternoon, it became a lot clearer to us as to why they had made the decision," a representative stated in an email to mmajunkie.com.

"Maiquel Falcao will continue to fight on, and we believe that this is only a temporary departure and Maiquel will once again be back inside the octagon. We would like to thank the UFC for their support when Maiquel was arrested back in December 2010 and when he was out injured."

Falcao (26-3-1) won his previous fight in the UFC, taking a decision victory over Gerald Harris last November. He has won eight straight bouts.