UFC 115: Who’s On The Hot Seat?

Mac Danzig:
The Ultimate Fighter season six winner has already been given a reprieve once in his UFC career. Danzig was able to pick up a win against Justin Buccholz at UFC 109 in February. That win put a halt to a three fight losing streak. Danzig isn’t all that exciting and is never going to compete for a title. With that being said he may find himself without a job if he loses to Matt Wiman and makes it four losses in his last five fights.

Gilbert Yvel:
After being knocked out in just over two minutes by Junior Dos Santos at UFC 108, Yvel is now set to take on the always tough Ben Rothwell. In a time when the UFC heavyweight division is full of exciting contenders, Yvel finds himself at a crossroads. He took the Dos Santos fight on short notice and said that because of the holiday season he was unable to procure any decent training partners. Now he is armed with a full camp and there is no room for excuses. The UFC brought him in despite a checkered past littered with fouls against other fighters and referees. He will not be kept on the roster if he continues to lose.

Chuck Liddell:
Typing the words Chuck Liddell took a lot longer than one would think. I am still in disbelief that this may be the last time we watch “The Iceman” grace the octagon as an active fighter. There aren’t enough words to describe all of his accomplishments and what he has meant for the sport and the UFC. A true legend and pioneer, he made knocking people out cool and at one point was the most feared man in MMA.

We are forced to face facts and after losing four of his last five fights, with three of them coming by way of knockout, how much longer does Liddell want to keep putting himself through this? By the looks of the pictures that have been making their way around the net, Liddell is in the best shape of his life. He has trained really hard for this bout and believes it’s the first fight on his road back to the UFC light heavyweight championship. I’d love to see it happen, but at 40 years-old time is not on his side.

The one thing that he has in his favor is his opponent, Rich Franklin is not known for his knockout power. He can beat Liddell by fighting a smart, safe fight, but Franklin lacks that one punch knockout that has been haunting Liddell over his last few fights. While he may not be fired if he loses by decision, I think he will realize that he has given it all he could and that it’s time to move on.