At UFC on Fox 11, Fabricio Werdum and Travis Browne will meet to determine the next title challenger in the heavyweight division.
The fight card will feature numerous matchups of varying importance, though.
Former female bantamweight title challengers Miesha Tate and Liz Carmouche will meet and attempt to get back into the win column. Donald Cerrone and Edson Barboza will clash in a potential high-intensity kickboxing match. Brad Tavares and Yoel Romero will look to take another step forward in their hunt to fight for UFC gold in the middleweight division.
And that is only the main card.
In addition to all the fights with implications on title contention, some fighters could be battling for their UFC jobs on Saturday. Here are the fighters in danger of getting axed with a loss this weekend.
Miesha Tate
With the women’s bantamweight division still developing, Miesha Tate isn’t likely to be released any time soon. Even if she suffers a third straight loss on Saturday, UFC matchmakers will probably be looking to book her for another matchup.
That said, Tate has previously played around with the idea of retiring.
If she loses badly against Carmouche this weekend, Tate could lose motivation as she slips further and further away from the title held by a rival that has already beaten her on two occasions. If only to keep her confidence up, Tate needs a strong showing against Carmouche at UFC on Fox 11.
Carmouche, meanwhile, should be safe from the chopping block heading into Saturday. Girlrilla is coming off of a loss to Alexis Davis, but she picked up a knockout win over Jessica Andrade in her prior outing.
Pat Healy
He’s only lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Bobby Green, both tough opponents, since joining the UFC roster, so Pat Healy really isn’t all that far away from title contention in the lightweight division.
At the same time, he’s lost two in a row. Before those two losses, Healy failed a drug test when marijuana was found in his system.
The UFC has been understandably lenient with marijuana users when compared to performance enhancing drug users. Still, following a failed drug test with three straight losses would be devastating for Healy. And should he somehow make the mistake of failing another drug test, Healy wouldn’t be competing inside the Octagon again.
One bout removed from a three-fight winning streak, Healy‘s UFC on Fox 11 opponent, Jorge Masvidal, shouldn’t have to worry about his job security.
Estevan Payan
Strikeforce veteran Estevan Payan has lost his first two fights since merging into the UFC roster.
Payan is probably lucky to be competing inside the Octagon on Saturday, so he’ll surely need at win at UFC on Fox 11 to keep his UFC career going.
Facing UFC newcomer Alex White, Payan should have a good opportunity to pick up his first UFC win. At the same time, meeting a UFC neophyte like White further drives home the point that Payan must win this weekend.
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