For those of you who are not familiar with my Who’s On The Hot Seat columns, I will give you a little information on how it works. I take a look at the fight card of each and every UFC event and go over those fighters who may be in jeopardy of losing their job if they happen to lose. It’s that simple.
Joe Doerksen
The only reason Doerksen is even on this card is because David Loiseau was unable to get licensed in time to replace the injured Tim Credeur. Doerksen is a veteran of 56 mixed martial arts bouts and has won 44 of them. If you happen to take a look at his UFC record you will see that he is 1-5. If he happens to win here, he’ll likely get one more fight, but a win is highly unlikely.
Marcus Davis
I hate to say this because I have always liked Davis. He’s a guy who got a late start in the sport and made a pretty good career for himself. He will be 37 years old in August and he is coming off of a knockout loss for the first time in his career. That loss was preceeded by the Dan Hardy meltdown. A third loss in a row will more than likely spell impending doom for the “Irish Hand Grenade.” That wouldn’t be so bad as he’s collected a total of four bonus checks in his 12 career UFC fights.
Jonathan Goulet
This bout will be only Goulet’s third in the past two years. The last time he fought he was knocked out by Mike Swick in 33 seconds, but that was 18 months ago. The biggest reason he is on here is because he is Canadian. Anything but a win here and he will be fired before Wednesday of next week.
Tim Hague
I actually like Hague. A buddy of mine interviewed him and reiterated a lot of what was said about him by Todd Duffee when I spoke to him following their bout. I respect that he took his last loss and didn’t complain. The judges that were watching his bout with Chris Tuchscherer must have been watching a different fight than I was because I thought Hague clearly won. It doesn’t make a difference how nice he is or whether or not fans believe he won his last bout, when it comes down to it, the UFC wants to see wins. If you can’t pile up some victories then you will not keep your spot. Must win here for Hague.
Yoshiyuki Yoshida
Yoshida is 2-2 in the UFC and both of those losses have been by brutal knockout. A second loss in a row should be Yoshida’s ticket back to Japan. He is one of those guys who can hang with the mid-tier talent but seems to get smashed when he faces a solid opponent. To me he seems a bit undersized and would fare better against the smaller Japanese welterweights.
Mike Guymon
Want to know the best way to lose your job in the UFC? Lose your first two fights in the organization. Guymon lasted a little under a round with Rory MacDonald in January at UFC Fight Night 20. An interesting fact about Guymon: he left a note for his family telling them he was going to shoot himself over an impending divorce with his wife. The cops found him and even though he tried his hardest to get them to shoot him, they finally subdued him. He has battled back and made it to the pinnacle of MMA.
Jason MacDonald
“The Athlete” is back in the UFC. MacDonald is a guy who will always put on a good performance. He took a beating from Rich Franklin and lasted a lot longer than I thought he would. He owns a respectable 5-5 record in the UFC and had a good grappling bout with Demian Maia at UFC 87 back in August of 2008. This is his last shot. If he loses here the UFC will look elsewhere when looking to fill a void on a Canadian card.
John Salter
See Mike Guymon without the suicide attempt. It’s really difficult to keep your spot in the UFC when you come out losing your first two bouts. At 25 years old and with a solid background in wrestling and grappling maybe the UFC gives him one more shot but he would have to put on one hell of a performance on Saturday night.