Saying it has been an awful two months for Dennis Hallman would be a gross understatement.
Just weeks after being released from the UFC, the veteran fighter lost his house to a fire Thanksgiving morning. No one was injured, but Hallman lost everything, he wrote on his Facebook account Thursday.
“Sad Thanksgiving for me and my family,” he wrote. “My house burned down early this AM. Thank God no one was hurt and I have that to be thankful for. Something like this makes my recent direction change all the harder … the one person that could make me feel okay about everything is no longer here. When God wants you to have a fresh start sometimes he really wants to make his point clear.”
Hallman, 36, told MMAFighting.com that he wasn’t sure how the fire started.
“They think it was an electrical (fire),” he said. “I lost everything. Extra sad, but the good thing is nobody was hurt. I’m waiting for the insurance company to find me a house to stay in while my house gets rebuilt. Until then, I am at my parents’.”
Hallman was cut by the UFC last month a day before he was scheduled to fight Thiago Tavares in a lightweight matchup at UFC on FX 5. He didn’t make weight for the fight and told UFC president Dana White at the weigh-ins that he he was dealing with major personal problems, which could be related to his Facebook quote about “the one person that could make me feel okay about everything is no longer here.”
“I’m not fit to fight,” Hallman said in October. “I told Dana what my issues where. He understands family matters and he was cool with me not fighting.”
White did agree to pay Hallman, who has 68 career pro fights, his show and win money even though he never stepped into the Octagon. Hallman has yet to sign with a new MMA organization.
Sad story for a guy who has been around since 1996. He boasts two wins over UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes in his career. Hallman had been away from the UFC since 2001 before returning three years ago. He had a 3-2 record in his comeback with the organization and has 51 wins overall.