At UFC Fight Night 68, Dan Henderson will look to get back on track against Tim Boetsch.
Henderson has not won since a March 2014 bout with Mauricio Rua, who nearly had that bout finished multiple times. In his past six appearances, Henderson has also been defeated five times.
Despite being 44 years old, Henderson still has the ability to beat contenders. That said, he’ll need to turn things around quickly to keep his UFC career going.
In addition to Henderson, several fighters are in high-pressure situations heading into the weekend. Here are the UFC Fight Night 68 competitors who are sitting on the hot seat.
Dan Henderson
With back-to-back stoppage losses, Henderson’s retirement seems like it should be imminent.
However, the former Pride FC champion hasn’t really even acknowledged the possibility. He could be the kind of fighter who wouldn’t mind competing in a smaller show like Bellator MMA for the sole reason that he could continue competing.
Once recognized for having one of the best chins in MMA, though, Henderson’s health is becoming a concern. He’s suffered two knockout losses in his past four fights and looked to be out cold for a split second in his eventual UFC Fight Night 38 win over Shogun.
If Henderson loses violently to Boetsch, who does have some serious punching power, there’s a good chance UFC might not want to be involved in the end of Henderson’s MMA career.
Joe Soto and Anthony Birchak
Originally, Joe Soto and Anthony Birchak were supposed to make their UFC debuts against one another at UFC 177. Instead, a Renan Barao injury allowed Soto to challenge bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw on extremely short notice at that same event.
As expected, Soto came up short against Dillashaw. Birchak, meanwhile, made his debut months later and suffered a submission loss against Ian Entwistle at UFC on Fox 13.
Given that his first loss came against Dillashaw, Soto probably will get more slack than Birchak. However, with most 0-2 UFC fighters being released, Soto and Birchak should both enter this matchup thinking they are in a must-win situation.
Francisco Rivera and Alex Caceres
With some tough matchups recently, highly regarded bantamweights Francisco Rivera and Alex Caceres have both lost two in a row.
Urijah Faber was responsible for a loss on both Rivera’s and Caceres’ records, so it’s hard to fault the UFC Fight Night 68 competitors for their slumps. That said, three straight losses frequently leaves fighters with pink slips.
In this situation, that won’t be a given. However, the UFC brass will definitely be doing a cost analysis when deciding whether to keep the loser of this contest around or not.
Justin Edwards
Following a big submission win over Josh Neer, Justin Edwards has disappointed.
Edwards has since lost two in a row. A bout with Brandon Thatch was a rough draw, but Edwards’ loss to Ramsey Nijem showed he might not be able to hold on to a UFC roster spot very long after all.
If Edwards loses to Joe Proctor Saturday and ends up with three in a row, it seems likely he would be released by the world’s top MMA promotion.
Jake Collier
In December, Jake Collier was knocked out in his UFC debut against Vitor Miranda.
At 26 years old, Collier’s best years could still be ahead. However, he may need a win at UFC Fight Night 68 in order to be able to spend those years inside the Octagon.
That said, Collier is stepping up on short notice to take on an opponent coming off of a win, Ricardo Abreu. So Collier may be able to get away with a 0-2 start unless he misses weight or gives the UFC a bigger reason to cut him.
Jose Quinonez and Leonardo Morales
While they reached the finals on The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America, Jose Quinonez and Leonardo Morales both came up short of winning the competition.
Following his loss to Yair Rodriguez, Morales has decided to move down to 135 pounds for his second UFC showing. Meanwhile, Quinonez will stay put in the bantamweight division despite his loss to Alejandro Perez.
Because they reached the finals, Quinonez and Morales were both given another shot. However, there’s a good chance their UFC careers are on the line in this matchup between TUF runner-ups.
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