Just three days after hearing that Travis Lutter was released from his contract, yet another UFC veteran has been cut from the middleweight division.

Winnipeg born, Joe Doerksen, confirmed in a recent Sportsnet.ca article that he has officially been cut from the UFC following his April 19 loss to Jason MacDonald at UFC 83 in Montreal.

Lutter, Doerksen and Starnes are the latest three cut-backs as the UFC reportedly attempts to whittle down their stable of 200 fighters to about 150. Kalib Starnes maintains that he asked to be released from his contract but no one really knows.

While Doerksen’s release is unfortunate for the Canadian fighter who has over 50 pro fights under his belt, it probably won’t be the last time you see him fighting under the UFC’s banner.

"(The UFC officials) made it very clear they’re very happy with the way I fight and they want me to come back," Doerksen said. "But they need me to go put a couple of wins together (first)."

This is nothing new for Joe, who is extremely accustomed to earning his way back into the middleweight ranks of the UFC. Doerksen has already done this twice in the past and will no doubt make three times a charm. It only took Joe 8 months after losing to Joe Riggs in 2004, to earn a couple of wins in outside organizations, and comeback at UFC 52 to beat Patrick Cote. To earn his most recent UFC contract, he strung together seven straight wins in outside promotions, proving once again that he belonged in the cage with MMA’s elite.

As of now, Doerksen is still healing from his TKO loss to MacDonald. He hopes to start training again within a month and will go to Salt Lake City in June to help out Jeremy Horn for his upcoming fight against "The Boogeyman" Dean Lister at "The Ultimate Fighter 7" Finale.