Eric Spicely was told he'd been cut before UFC Fight Night 95 upset of Thiago 'Marreta' Santos

The sale of the UFC to WME-IMG turned out to be a blessing for Eric Spicely. The middleweight said he was informed he had been cut at the same time as being offered a fight with Thiago “Marreta” Santos at UFC Fight Night 95.

Despite Santos (13-5 MMA, 5-4 UFC) entering the fight as an 8-1 favorite, Spicely (9-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) mixed striking and grappling to keep the Brazilain on the defensive from the opening bell. At the 2:58 mark of Round 1, Santos was tapping to a rear-naked choke and Spicely had pulled off the shocking upset.

The middleweight bout was part of the main card of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 95 event at Nilson Nelson Gymnasium in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia. It aired on FS1 following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Speaking with media after his upset victory, Spicely said the only reason he was given the opportunity to pick up the victory was the UFC’s failure to process his release paperwork in the wake of the promotion’s sale.

“I got a call and they said ‘We’ve got good news and bad news,'” Spicely said. “‘The bad news is, we’re going to cut you and let you go. You lost your first fight and we usually cut those guys after ‘The Ultimate Fighter.’ But we have this opportunity with the sale and everything we didn’t process your paperwork so you’re still on the roster. We have this fight in six weeks if you want to take it in Brazil.’

“I just said 100 percent. I didn’t have any clue who it was. I just took it and they said it was Thiago Santos in Brazil.”

Spicely competed at light heavyweight on “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 23. He made his official octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 91 in July, dropping back to middleweight to take on UFC veteran Sam Alvey.

The fight went poorly for Spicely. He was caught in a guillotine choke after being stung repeatedly with punches. He was forced to tap out at the 2:43 mark of Round 1 of what apparently was to be his only UFC bout.

Instead of his release, Spicely was given something many considered to be crueler, a bout in Brazil with the dangerous Santos, who entered the fight with the No. 15 spot in the official UFC rankings. He said this felt unfair at first, but realized the opportunity he had in front of him.

“It was tough and I was bummed out at first,” Spicely said. “I felt like they weren’t really trying to do me any favors. Then I got my head on straight and realized they were doing me a huge favor. I realized if I beat him, it propels me into the upper echelon and raises my stock.

“I want to fight the best guys in the world and that’s why I’m here. Everyone is like, ‘Oh, what’d you do to piss off Joe Silva? What’d you do to piss off the UFC?’ Because Sam Alvey is ranked 25 and I lost to him and now I’m fighting the number 15 guy. It doesn’t make sense, but this is fighting and I want to fight the best guys.”

Check out the video above for more of Spicely’s thoughts on his performance.

And for complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 91, check out the UFC Events section of the site.