Desperation to Stay Employed by the UFC
With the larger roster in the UFC due to a WEC weight class and organization merger, every single fight matters and it seems like you can no longer play it safe in a fight. It doesn’t matter if you’re on a big win streak or are on many highlight reels, you put on one bad performance and lose; your fighting career in the UFC could be over.
Both UFC 122 & UFC 123 were a brisk reminder to all fighters in the organization the importance of every fight, and 4 fighters were given the boot following their losses some more surprising than others.
Gerald Harris (17-3 MMA) was on one hell of a winning streak with 3 finishes in his first three UFC fights and a great prospect for the sport. He met a UFC newcomer and relative unknown to Americans in Maiquel Jose Falcao, who was a dangerous striker and well-rounded fighter. Harris was dominated for two rounds and in the third Falcao played it safe, while Harris tried to last to the end. The crowd cried foul and Dana White’s blood began to boil. He wants exciting fights and he sent his message to the fighters by cutting a very good fighter in Harris.
Goran Reljic (8-3 MMA) put on a great fight and many fans believe he was shorted on some scorecards yet defiantly had a lack luster final round. Krzysztof Soszynski, the more popular fighter used his jab well and seemed to win rounds with submission attempts which don’t happen much inside the UFC. This fight was Reljic’s third decision loss in the UFC after going 8-0 in MMA.
Seth Petruzelli (12-6 MMA) and Nick Osipczak (5-3 MMA) both were exciting fighters that were stars on separate seasons of The Ultimate Fighter. Petruzelli suffered a very tough loss at UFC 116 in one of the most exciting battles ever to be shown on spikes prelim broadcast and was caught with a nice punch at UFC 122. Osipczak has some great wins under his belt and was a nice UK draw but seemed severely injured near the end of the second round against Duane Ludwig.
This shows that no matter how exciting you have been in the past, you need to win to stay alive in the UFC or put on a good enough show to keep the man happy. Even though it seems rough, this may actually be better for the sport and excitement levels of the fights.
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About the Author (Author Profile)
A college student residing in Arizona, coming off of active duty and continuing to work for the government. I hold a black belt in Hapkido, and have high school wrestling experience paired with multiple grappling tournaments. I spent six months training Authentic Muay Thai and now I am currently enrolling in Gracie B.J.J/MMA this week. I plan on starting my amateur fighting Career sometime late this year to early next year and also plan on entering B.J.J. tournaments through the year.Subscribe
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