5 Most controversial firings in UFC history

#5 Mass Firings: Chuck Liddell, Matt Hughes, Mike Goldberg and more

From risking lives inside the barbarous cage to sitting in a cushy office with nothing but orders to give out; UFC Hall of Famers Chuck Liddell and Matt Huges couldn't have asked for a better retirement plan.

It was all going according to plan until WME-IMG bought UFC for a whopping $4.2 Billion and the first agenda after the massive takeover was the dreaded cost cutting.

Liddell and Hughes, who had both held executive designations for many years where told to step down from their respective positions by the new owners and Dana White, despite promising the legends lifetime jobs, had no power whatsoever.

Here are quotes from White himself courtesy of BloodyElbow:

“The Chuck Liddell, Matt Hughes thing, during the ZUFFA era, those were my guys. I wanted them to retire, I respected these guys. They helped build this company when I was growing it and I told them both, I said, ‘Unless I drop dead or it comes to a position sometime where I’m not controlling how much money is being spent and all that stuff, you guys will get a paycheck until that day.’ And that day came. The thing with Matt and Chuck, it was a loyalty thing for me. It was my gift to them or being the guys that they were when me, Frank and Lorenzo, when it was our money."

While the departures of Hughes and the Iceman were understandable, the unforeseen firing of long-time play-by-play commentator Mike Goldberg came as a shock to everyone, Goldberg included. Joe Rogan's better half has since mentioned his disappointment on the circumstances that led to his firing and the lack of affirmation from the UFC's side.