After a long hiatus, UFC fans ease into one of the busiest stretches in promotional history on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 77 going down from the Brazilian metropolis of Sao Paulo.
In the main event, you’ve got two of the UFC’s oldest heads in 38-year-old Vitor Belfort and 45-year-old Dan Henderson. Though controversy and retirement talk will probably continue to follow Belfort and Hendo, respectively, regardless of what happens in this fight, their jobs are not threatened—at least not in any official sort of capacity.
But there are a few fighters who are on the proverbial hot seat this Saturday. With talk of a major roster purge (via MMANytt.se, h/t Bloody Elbow) gaining volume, it might be a particularly dicey time to exist on the borderline.
Here are some fighters who may be walking a thin line this weekend.
Piotr Hallmann
The Polish lightweight has lost two straight fights, putting him on the dreaded precipice of a three-fight losing streak—the point at which the UFC often (though not always) cuts ties with its contractors.
Hallmann is an underdog in his fight against hometown slugger Alex Oliveira, who has made a solid impression in the UFC recently with a two-fight win streak.
If Hallmann can’t pull off the upset on the road this Saturday, his UFC ouster may be an open-and-shut case.
Fabio Maldonado
Maldonado is the ultimate piece of cannon fodder. The hard-charging, reckless light heavyweight seems to have long ago contracted a case of the screw-its when it comes to his own intracranial well-being.
It’s not surprising, then, that fight fans in and out of the UFC front office love him.
That plus the fact that he squeezed in a win around two losses in his last three bouts probably makes his seat more lukewarm than anything else.
Then again, if the aforementioned roster trimming is indeed afoot and Maldonado comes up short against a late fill-in in Corey Anderson, the brass may determine that the 35-year-old journeyman isn’t worth a spot—even if he is exciting and happens to compete in a division that’s thinner than, you know, something really thin.
Gasan Umalatov
Time to ratchet back up the heat that resides below the seat. Umalatov has dropped three of his last five, including a 1-2 run inside the Octagon. His only win came over Paulo Thiago, who is no longer in the UFC.
Even worse, the welterweight’s last fight was a split-decision loss to one Cathal Pendred. He lost because he was—barely but ultimately—the less active of the two.
When you’re ceding activity points to Pendred, that’s not a good sign for you. Right now, Odds Shark indicates that Umalatov is the very slightest of underdogs against Viscardi Andrade on the main event of the Fight Pass undercard.
I’m guessing if Andrade‘s hand is raised, the UFC will soon be down a Russian.
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