At UFC 182, Jon Jones will look to take one step closer to becoming the greatest fighter in MMA history against rival Daniel Cormier.
With seven straight title defenses, Jones is entering rare territory. A victory over Cormier on Saturday would put Jones within one win of matching Georges St-Pierre’s historic welterweight title reign and within two victories of tying Anderson Silva’s UFC record.
An elite heavyweight and now elite light heavyweight, Cormier could be one of the toughest tests Jones has had inside the Octagon. The Olympic wrestler has the ability to test Jones’ grappler like nobody else has been able to.
On the other end of the spectrum, there are some UFC 182 competitors who are very far from the top. A few could even be battling to maintain their roster spots. Here are the individuals sitting on the hot seat heading into Saturday’s event in Las Vegas.
Brad Tavares
He’s heading into a big matchup with former title challenger Nate Marquardt, but Brad Tavares might not be completely safe leading into UFC 182 this weekend.
Tavares has lost two in a row. Now matched up with a 35-year-old opponent who appears to be on a downward trend, Tavares needs to rebound here in order to remain on the fringe of title contention in the middleweight division.
In this situation, losing three in a row probably wouldn’t result in Tavares being released because of the level of competition and the Hawaiian’s potential. However, Tavares will need to be sure to make weight and avoid angering the UFC brass in any way just in case he does continue his skid.
Louis Gaudinot
Having really failed to capitalize on that submission win over John Lineker in May 2012, Louis Gaudinot has wound up in a compromising position as UFC 182 approaches.
Gaudinot now owns a mediocre 1-2 UFC record. More notably than that, he failed a drug test following his most recent appearance opposite Phil Harris.
With a 3-0 UFC record, Kyoji Horiguchi will be a tough matchup for Gaudinot, so he may not be in a must-win situation. However, he’s definitely in a “must make weight and pass his drug test” situation.
Evan Dunham and Rodrigo Damm
Once on the verge of title contention with four straight wins to start his UFC career, Evan Dunham has begun to head in the wrong direction rather quickly.
Dunham has now lost three in a row and four of his past five bouts. In most cases, that would result in a fighter being cut, but Dunham has been entertaining enough to earn some extra slack.
He’s probably used up his favor with the UFC brass now, though. A fourth loss in row, opposite Rodrigo Damm on Saturday, would almost surely mean Dunham gets released.
Damm isn’t in any better position. Following losses to Rashid Magomedov and Al Iaquinta in his past two outings, the Brazilian will battle to avoid suffering a third consecutive defeat this weekend.
In a rough matchup with Dunham, Damm might be given a break in this situation. However, losing at UFC 182 would put him on very thin ice at best.
Mats Nilsson
Following a loss to Luke Barnatt in his March UFC debut, Mats Nilsson will get one more chance to prove he’s ready to compete at the highest level.
Opposite Russian Omari Akhmedov on Saturday, Nilsson will likely need to win to keep his UFC career going. Occasionally, competitors survive 0-2 starts inside the Octagon, but that would require a Fight of the Night performance, which is hard to earn when appearing on the preliminary card.
At 31 years old, Nilsson wouldn’t have a ton of time to earn his way back to the big show, so his career depends heavily on a strong showing this weekend.
Alexis Dufresne
Only 24 years old, Alexis Dufresne could have a bright future in the women’s bantamweight division, but she got out to a slow UFC start with a loss to Sarah Moras.
Females have been given a little more room for error than men, as the UFC continues to develop its women’s divisions. However, that is bound to change soon for 135-pounders, as the weight class now has some solid depth.
Should Dufresne lose to UFC newcomer Marion Reneau at UFC 182, she’d likely be given at least one more opportunity. However, she doesn’t want to risk losing only to find out that the UFC has decided to start cutting female bantamweight after 0-2 starts like they have been doing in most men’s divisions.
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