Frank Mir has been on the UFC roster since November 2011. Though, his time with the promotion could soon be coming to an end.
At UFC Fight Night 61, Mir will attempt to avoid extending his losing streak to five straight bouts. Despite his recent struggles, Mir does find himself in Saturday’s main event opposite Antonio Silva.
While not slumping as bad as Mir, Silva has also been on a troubling skid. The Brazilian has not had his hand raised in his past three outings and failed a drug test following his UFC Fight Night 33 draw with Mark Hunt.
As UFC Fight Night 61 approaches, here are the competitors who are sitting on the hot seat, and there will be no shortage of them on this card.
Antonio Silva and Frank Mir
In December 2011, Mir scored a submission win over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira that would ultimately put him in position to challenge Junior dos Santos for the heavyweight championship.
Mir has not won since that come-from-behind victory over Nogueira. He wound up losing to dos Santos in a lopsided bout and has lost three more times since coming up short in his chance to reclaim UFC gold.
Should Mir lose to Silva, he’d definitely be at the lowest point in his MMA career. The UFC has kept fighters around after five straight losses. Yet, being 35 years old and with a lot of mileage on him, it could be time for Mir to consider calling it quits.
Like Mir, Silva may also need a win this weekend. Bigfoot has not won in over two years, and his failed drug test can’t help his job security with the world’s top MMA organization.
A loss to Mir wouldn’t guarantee Silva gets released, but there would definitely be a possibility. Getting caught with elevated testosterone again would turn that maybe into a probably in a hurry.
Matt Dwyer
In October, Matt Dwyer made his UFC debut opposite Albert Tumenov.
Unfortunately, Dwyer did not have much time to get comfortable inside the Octagon. He was instead stopped with strikes in less than 63 seconds.
At 25 years old, Dwyer has the potential to have a long UFC career. To do so, he will need to get back into the win column on Saturday.
Falling to 0-2 inside the Octagon almost always results in a fighter being released by the UFC brass, and it likely will again should Dwyer lose to William Macario at UFC Fight Night 61.
Mike De La Torre
Following a respectable showing in a loss to Mark Bocek, Mike De La Torre was submitted by Brian Ortega in July. However, that loss was overturned when it was discovered that Ortega tested positive for steroids.
It’s possible De La Torre would have been cut had that loss stood. Instead, he’ll meet Tiago Trator on Saturday in a bout that could determine his future in MMA.
While it is odd that De La Torre would be matched up with a fighter coming off a win, he’s still in a situation where he likely has to get his hand raised this weekend. Falling to 0-2 with a third loss being overturned would almost certainly result in De La Torre being sent back to smaller shows.
Wendell Oliveira and T.J. Waldburger
With four UFC wins, including three submissions, T.J. Waldburger once looked to be one of the more promising up-and-comers in the welterweight division. Waldburger is still only 26 years old, but he’s now gone more than two years without a win and has lost all his momentum.
Having been knocked out in his past two outings, Waldburger is suddenly in danger of losing his spot on the UFC roster altogether. Facing an opponent without a UFC win, Waldburger is being given every opportunity to get back on track this weekend.
Wendell Oliveira made his UFC debut in September, when he was stopped by Santiago Ponzinibbio in the opening round. Being 31 years old, Oliveira isn’t a typical prospect. It’s now or never for the Brazilian.
It’s rough that Oliveira is in a loser-leaves-town situation against a proven UFC veteran, but it’s not like his debut matchup was unreasonable also. Oliveira put himself in this situation by losing to Ponzinibbio and he’ll have to pull out an upset to get out of it.
Douglas Silva de Andrade
Making his UFC debut over one year ago, Douglas Silva de Andrade is still looking for his first UFC win.
The Brazilian hasn’t competed since his decision loss to Zubaira Tukhugov in his initial trip to the Octagon, so ring rust could be a factor on top of the pressure he’s facing to get into the win column. At 29 years old, De Andrade should be in his athletic prime, so he may never be UFC material if he fails this weekend.
A loss to Cody Gibson would leave De Andrade with an 0-2 UFC record. Seeing as both losses would have come against low-ranked opponents, it wouldn’t be surprising in the least to see De Andrade receive his walking papers in that situation.
Josh Shockley
With a loss to Jason Saggo in June, Josh Shockley is another 0-1 UFC fighter competing on this weekend’s fight card.
At 25 years old, Shockley is still growing as a fighter. However, he’ll need to show improvement in a hurry to keep his spot on the UFC roster.
Losing to Ivan Jorge at UFC Fight Night 61 would leave Shockley with an 0-2 record inside the Octagon, which could punch his ticket back to regional competition.
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