Pink Slip Saturdays is a new addition to MMARatings.net,
where Adam will write about five fighters on each card who could literally be
fighting for their job, given UFC president Dana White’s recent comments about cutting
100 fighters from the roster.
Opponent at the TUF 17 Finale: Gilbert Smith
MMA Record: 20-6 (0-0 UFC)
Why he could be cut: First off, I have no idea why Bubba McDaniel is opening up the main card of the TUF 17 Finale after his embarrassing performance on the show. Although he was hyped up as Jon Jones’ training partner and lauded for his BJJ skills, McDaniel was submitted by Kelvin Gastelum and then, when he got a second chance in the tourney due to the wild card, he was knocked out by Uriah Hall in only nine seconds.
McDaniel is a character, has a cool name, and seems like a decent fellow, but he didn’t live up to his potential on the show and he’ll need to beat Gilbert Smith on Saturday to keep his job in the UFC.
Opponent at the TUF 17 Finale: Josh Samman
MMA Record: 5-2 (0-0 UFC)
Why he could be cut: Kevin Casey was once considered a prospect in Strikeforce, and the promotion booked him to fight Matt Lindland in a fight that was supposed to push him over the top. However, he was knocked out by Lindland, and then took some time off to get himself back on track.
On TUF, Casey was certainly one of the favorites to win the tournament, but he fought Collin Hart and Bubba McDaniel on the show and lost both fights. Especially embarrassing was the defeat to McDaniel, as Casey literally quit on the stool. You just can’t do that in the UFC, so Casey is definitely in a must-win situation when he takes on Josh Samman – one of the top fighters on the show — this weekend.
Opponent at the TUF 17 Finale: Maximo Blanco
MMA Record: 11-2 (1-1 UFC)
Why he could be cut: Although Sam Sicilia had a great showing on TUF season 15, he hasn’t looked that great in the UFC. Sure, he knocked out Cristiano Marcello, but it’s not really that impressive of a win when you think about it, and then when he stepped up in competition and fought Rony “Jason” at UFC 153 he was knocked out himself.
Sicilia has great power in his hands and is an exciting fighter, but you need to win consistently in the UFC ,and Sicilia is definitely in a do-or-die situation when he takes on Maximo Blanco this weekend. As a matter of fact, Blanco’s in a similar spot since he’s lost two straight himself, so it’s not surprising at all that this fight is on Facebook.
Opponent at the TUF 17 Finale: Bart Palaszewski
MMA Record: 18-7 (7-5 UFC)
Why he could be cut: Cole Miller was once such a promising prospect, having appeared on season five of TUF and then winning five post-fight awards in his first eight UFC bouts. However, he hit a wall after that, and has lost three of his last four bouts, including both of his fights at featherweight.
I don’t know why Miller dropped to 145 but it was a mistake, as he’s looked horrible in his fights against Nam Phan and Steven Siler. He’s in desperate need of a win this weekend, and he’ll need to take out a tough guy in Bart Palaszewski to save his job, which is most definitely on the line.
Opponent at the TUF 17 Finale: Justin Lawrence
MMA Record: 17-9 (2-2 UFC)
Why he could be cut: Daniel Pineda is definitely a talented fighter, and he opened up his UFC career with back-to-back submission wins over Pat Schilling and Mackens Semerzier. However, he was pushed up the ladder too quickly and lost to Mike Brown at UFC 146 and then to Antonio Carvalho at UFC 149, and he hasn’t fought since.
Now that he’s taken some time off to work on the holes in his game, expect Pineda to look a lot better against Justin Lawrence this Saturday, because he knows his back is against the wall, as one more loss would give him three straight Ls, and that’s an automatic cut unless your name is Dan Hardy.
The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale is due to take place on April 13, 2013 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Click the stars to rate how good you think the TUF 17 Finale will be.
