Ex-Title Challengers Eric Prindle, Anthony Leone, Among 19 Fighters Released by Bellator

Bellator Season 5 tournament winner Eric Prindle was among 19 fighters released by the promotion. | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Sherdog.com confirmed the cuts with a Bellator official following a report from MMAFighting.com. A list of 22 fighters released from the organization was originally posted on the Sherdog.com forum. However, three of the names listed -– David Gomez, Adam Parkes and Isaac DeJesus –- remain under Bellator contract.

All 19 fighters were released prior to Scott Coker replacing Bjorn Rebney as Bellator president, according to a promotion official.

Former heavyweight title challenger Eric Prindle was among the notable names let go by the promotion. The Season 5 tournament winner last competed at Bellator 121, where he suffered his fifth loss in six outings via first-round TKO against James Thompson.

Also receiving his walking papers was Anthony Leone, who was submitted by Eduardo Dantas in a 135-pound title tilt at Bellator 111 this past March. The former WEC and Strikeforce competitor compiled a 3-4 mark overall with the promotion.

The complete list of fighters released is as follows:

Frank Baca
Nick Kirk
Travis Marx
Anthony Leone
Hiroshi Nakamura
Rodrigo Lima
Sergej Grecicho
Jared Downing
Jason Fischer
Tim Welch
Nathan Coy
Anthony Lemon
Trey Houston
Vaughn Anderson
Keith Berry
Jeremy Kimball
Carlos Eduardo
Eric Prindle
Eric Smith