Former UFC heavyweight title contender Paul Buentello will look to make his long-awaited return to the Octagon following his recent release from Strikeforce, according to Sherdog.

According to the report, Buentello is currently negotiating with the UFC, and he said that the promotion would honor his Affliction contract.  His contract had one fight left on it, and he said that they are working on an extension as well.

Buentello was slated to fight Gilbert Yvel at "Afflcition: Trilogy," however, the event has since been cancelled and Afflcition folded its MMA operations.

Strikeforce President Scott Coker did not let Buentello go quietly as he took a parting shot at the fighter in a e-mail confirming Buentello's release.

"We offered Paul a six-figure contract to fight Fedor, but he turned it down," said Coker. "His decision is understandable considering Fedor's level of skill but, at the same time, Paul didn't really fit into our plans. He's been a solid journeyman fighter and we wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors."

Buentello quickly responded via email.

"I've never been one to get involved in the politics of the sport," Buentello wrote. "I have made as little as $1 to fight the UFC champion and been paid as much as six figures to fight an up-and-coming fighter. I'm not insulted at being regarded as a journeyman fighter either since I started my career as one. Training in my garage with no training partners, I started off with a handful of losses. I always wondered what I could do given the chance to train full time, and through a lot of sacrifices and sponsors that took a shot on me, I'm happy with the result. I've lost two times in six years with those loses coming to champions. Am I a gatekeeper or a journeyman? Well, if I'm a gatekeeper, any organization I compete in is going to have a thin heavyweight division. I've never claimed to be the best in the sport. But to say I turned down Fedor because of his skill level is a slap in the face."

Buentello most recently defeated Kirill Sidelnikov at "Affliction: Day of Reckoning" in Jan. and is 6-1 in his last seven bouts. His only loss during the successful stretch came against Alistair Overeem in a bout that was for the Strikeforce heavyweight title in Nov. 2007. Buentello exits Strikeforce with a 3-1 record, with wins over David "Tank" Abbott, Ruben Villareal and Carter Williams.

"The Headhunter" previously fought for the UFC from Feb. 2005 to Feb. 2006, where he went 3-1 with the promotion, with wins over the late Justin Eilers and Gilbert Aldana as well as Kevin Jordan. His lone loss with the promotion came against Andrei Arlovski in a UFC heavyweight title bout at UFC 55.

Buentello has put together a 27-10 overall MMA record in 12 years of professional competition. The King of the Cage veteran has finished 26 of his 27 wins including 17 by TKO or KO. He also holds other notable career wins over Mike Kyle, Bobby Hoffman and Gary Goodridge.