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You wouldn't have guessed it, but video games are serious business to Zuffa and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Both Sherdog and Yahoo! Sports are reporting that the UFC has cut top welterweight fighter Jon Fitch and heavyweight Christian Wellisch over a contract dispute relating to the upcoming UFC video game developed by THQ.

More information after the jump.

Fitch revealed on Wednesday that he was let go after refusing to sign a contract that would give complete ownership to the UFC to use his likeness and name in any video game, for life. He didn't understand the purpose of a lifetime agreement, and specifically wondered why his family would not receive incentives in the event of his death.

“Working for free and selling our rights away for lifetime, that’s a little different,” said Fitch, who as of writing this, has yet to speak with UFC President Dana White. “We tried to negotiate five- or 10-year deals with them, but it wasn’t good enough. It was all or nothing. [Dana] wanted our lifetime. He wanted our souls forever.”

When questioned about Fitch's unexpected release, the ever colorful Dana White had this to say:

“We’re looking for guys who want to work with us and not against us, and frankly I’m just so [expletive] sick of this [expletive] it’s not even funny,” White said from a news conference in Honolulu on Wednesday.

White voiced his frustration about AKA's reluctance to cooperate, saying that AKA fighters don't understand the things UFC management is trying to accomplish.

“There are a lot of guys who help us and work with us and are great partners with us, and they’re the ones we’re going to remember and take care of,” White said. “Do these guys understand what is going on in this world? I’ll tell you, this economy is [expletive] up. It’s totally [expletive] up. It’s bad, real, real bad. The [television] networks are in trouble and don’t have money. The sponsors are in trouble, and they have no money. If they don’t have money, they go out of business.

Fitch, who is a member of the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) in San Jose, California, is tied with Royce Gracie for the longest winning streak in UFC history. Fitch had won eight consecutive fights inside the Octagon until suffering a unanimous decision loss to UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre in August 2008.

Fitch was scheduled to fight Akihiro Gono at UFC 94 in January and had already submitted a signed bout agreement. The UFC has since terminated said agreement.

“I had two fights left on my contract, but they always put a clause in the contract that if you lose a fight, they’re able to release you at any time after a loss,” Fitch told Sports Rage host Gabriel Morency. “That’s pretty standard with any organization, but it’s pretty incredible that they’d go to those lengths for something like this, over a video game.”

There are rumblings that Fitch may not be the only high profile AKA fighter to be shown the door. Fellow welterweight Josh Koshcheck and heavyweight prospect Cain Velasquez could be next on the chopping block over similar circumstances.

For the entire report, head on over to Kevin Iole's article on Yahoo! Sports.

I'd hate to see what would happen to these guys if they refuse to bring food to the UFC's holiday pot luck.

*UPDATE* Well that barely lasted 24 hours. Fitch and the UFC have officially worked out a deal according to Sherdog. It took a phone conversation with UFC co-owner Lorenzo Ferttita and some common sense, but Fitch agreed to sign the contract.

“We just spent an hour on the phone with Lorenzo [Fertitta],” said Bob Cook, Fitch's representative from Zinkin Entertainment. “Cooler heads have prevailed.”

Other AKA fighters including Velasquez and Koshcheck have worked out agreements to stay in the UFC as well.