Although UFC 189 lost Jose Aldo, it remains an outstanding event that is filled with big names.
Some of those noteworthy individuals will be competing for UFC gold.
With Aldo out, Conor McGregor will now battle Chad Mendes for an interim featherweight championship. Additionally, the co-main event will see Robbie Lawler attempt to defend his welterweight crown against Rory MacDonald.
However, others might be simply striving to keep their UFC jobs this weekend. Here are the competitors sitting on the hot seat heading into UFC 189, which will be held at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Jeremy Stephens
Facing a Top 10 featherweight opponent, Jeremy Stephens might get a pass no matter what happens to him this weekend.
However, Lil’ Heathen has lost two in a row. The UFC customarily cuts fighters who lose three times in a row, so there is an element of uncertainty regarding Stephens’ future should he lose to Dennis Bermudez on the UFC 189 main card.
That said, as an entertaining Top 15 fighter in the tough 145-pound division, Stephens is bound to get a little extra slack. Since he has been with the UFC for eight years now, it’d be awful rough for Stephens to get cut because he lost to three fighters all inside the Top Eight among UFC featherweights.
Brad Pickett
There was a lot of interest in Brad Pickett when he made a move to 125 pounds, seeing as he is the only person other than Dominick Cruz to record a win over flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson.
However, the Englishman didn’t fare well in his new division and is now headed back to the bantamweight class. Following a 1-2 run at 125 pounds, Pickett is now set to meet Thomas Almeida at 135 pounds.
Although Pickett left the bantamweight division previously, it isn’t like he hasn’t had success at that weight. In addition to beating Johnson, Pickett scored wins over Mike Easton, Yves Jabouin, Ivan Menjivar and others as a bantamweight.
That said, Pickett has lost two in a row and would be in a bad spot should he lose to Almeida. Seeing as he’s a fan favorite, Pickett probably won’t be cut even if he does drop three straight this weekend, but never say never.
Matt Brown
I was hesitant to even include Matt Brown in this article, considering his recent losses have come against elite welterweights Robbie Lawler and Johnny Hendricks, but The Immortal has dropped two in a row.
Assuming Brown shows up and puts on an entertaining bout like he usually does, I would be shocked to see him released even in the event that he does lose to Tim Means. However, Brown hasn’t exactly been a model citizen throughout his MMA career.
Should Brown lose and miss weight for the second time in three outings or say something ill-advised like this again, it wouldn’t be out of the question that he’d be looking for a new promotion next week.
Mike Swick
Unlike the previously mentioned fighters, Mike Swick has not lost multiple fights in a row.
However, Swick has gone without a win since August 2012. Swick did lose in his last appearance against Brown, but the main reason for his drought has been a 29-month hiatus that he used to get his gym in Thailand off the ground.
The long break in action coupled with Swick‘s age, 36, did lead some to question whether he was retiring. So, a bad loss to Alex Garcia in his return could only add fire to speculation that Swick is nearing the end of his long UFC career.
John Howard
Despite losing three in a row, John Howard has been given another chance by the UFC brass.
Initially, he had been linked to a bout with Brandon Thatch, which would have been a brutal must-win matchup. However, Thatch will now meet Gunnar Nelson at UFC 189, while Howard is set to meet Cathal Pendred.
A contest with Pendred still isn’t a gimme for Howard by any means, but it’s much more manageable than beating Thatch. With that, though, Howard isn’t likely to be given another pass with a loss to Pendred, whereas he may have been retained with four straight losses had he come up short against somebody like Thatch.
Cody Pfister
In February, Cody Pfister made his UFC debut opposite James Moontasri.
Pfister was submitted by Moontasri in the second round. Now, he is set to meet Yosdenis Cedeno in his sophomore UFC outing.
At 24 years old, Pfister may have grown from his loss to Moontasri. However, if he’s going to continue developing on the biggest stage in MMA, Pfister will need to rebound against Cedeno.
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