By Bryan Levick 
I started this column so that we could take a look at which UFC fighters were in jeopardy of being unemployed if they were to lose their respective bouts.
Never in a million years would I have guessed that six fighters out of 22 who participated on the UFC 109 card, would lose their jobs in the week that followed.
UFC 110 presents some very interesting scenarios, so let’s begin to break them down and decide who may or may not still have a job after Saturday night.
Wanderlei Silva hasn’t won too many fights recently, but it’s pretty safe to assume that he will still be around even if he should lose to Michael Bisping, so I won’t even go over his case.
Keith Jardine:
The “Dean of Mean” is just 2-4 in his last six bouts, with three of those losses coming by brutal knockout. He has always been able to right the ship after a loss, but he is now riding his first two fight losing streak of his career.
Losses to Quinton Jackson and Thiago Silva are nothing to be ashmaed of, but when you compete in the ultra competitive UFC light heavyweight division, your job is never safe.
Going up against Ryan Bader will show whether or not Jardine has what it takes to hang with the younger, stronger fighters who are beginning to make a splash. Jardine has accumulated a lot of goodwill throughout his UFC career by defeating former champions, Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin.
Losing three in a row will not only take away his gatekeeper status, but it very well may take away his job.
Mirko “Cro-Cop” Filipovic:
Cro-Cop has to win here, there is no other alternative. If he is to lose to Ben Rothwell, he will find himself fighting in Japan, or you never know, Strikeforce could take a flier on him.
He has looked lost, slow and old in his UFC bouts. Even in his two wins, there weren’t any signs of the old head-hunting Cro-Cop.
Will new training partners help him recapture some of his old glory and electrify the fans at least one more time? It’s more than apparent that another loss will signal the end of one of the most disappointing UFC careers ever.
Ben Rothwell:
After being battered, and bruised by Cain Velasquez in his debut at UFC 104, Rothwell is basically put in a no win situation.
If he defeats Cro-Cop and sends the legend packing, he will keep his job, but many fans will hate the fact that he sent Cro-Cop packing.
Another loss for Rothwell could send him elsewhere, starting your UFC career off with two straight losses is never a good sign.
If he loses in an exciting bout, then I could see him getting another shot, but if he puts on a dreadful performance, then he may be unemployed this time next week.
Stephan Bonnar:
My friend Spencer Kyte wrote a great piece about Bonnar and his ability to avoid the chopping block.
Bonnar’s loss to Coleman was amplified a 1000x after Randy Couture showed the world just how old Coleman really is.
We all know about Bonnar’s participation in the fight that has helped launch the UFC into the stratosphere, but just how much goodwill can one man be afforded?
Jon Jones threw Bonnar around like a rag doll at UFC 94. A loss here to Soszynski would be his third in a row and we all know that would mean for anyone else.
I see nothing wrong with giving Bonnar a job once he is done fighting, but how much longer are we going to be subjected to his sub-par performances.
Maybe he will win and quiet the naysayers for the time being, but if he loses, the uproar will be incredible should he get another fight.
Krzysztof Soszynski:
I normally wouldn’t put him on here as he is a good fighter and is 3-1 inside the octagon. A loss here would be his second in a row, which isn’t crazy, but losing to Stephan Bonnar, who is coming off a loss to Coleman, is never a good thing.
More than likely he will still be around, but there is always the off chance he could be cut, just because of the sheer depth of the light heavyweight division.
Chris Lytle:
If he continues on his recent pace, he is due for a loss here, which would make him 4-4 in his past eight bouts. He hasn’t strung two victories together since August of 2007.
What Lytle brings to the table is what will more than likely keep him employed. That is a go for broke attitude, coupled with an ability to put on exciting fights.
That is evidenced by his four Fight of the Night awards, one Submission of the Night, and one Knockout of the Night bonus.
So even though a loss here will continue to add to his mediocrity, he shouldn’t be too concerned about his status in the UFC.
C.B. Dollaway:
Not a whole lot of people really like this guy!! Not sure what it is about him, but fans love to see him lose.
Dollaway was last seen in September at UFC Fight Night 19 where he defeated former UFC middleweight Jay Silva in a lackluster decision.
At this point his UFC record is 3-2, not sure what happens with another loss, but it could go either way. If he had the fans behind him, their support would go along way in keeping him on the roster, but that isn’t the case here.
He’s going up a good prospect in Goran Reljic, who happens to be undefeated, but hasn’t fought since May of 2008. Should be interesting to see what the UFC does if “The Doberman” should lose to a guy who hasn’t fought in 21 months.
Igor Pokrajac:
Pokrajac made his UFC debut at UFC 103 where he suffered a loss to Vladimir Matyushenko.
Starting your UFC career at 0-2, and being a light heavyweight, will not allow one to stay under contract too much longer. My guess is Pokrajac is cut if he is unsuccesful against James Te-Huna on Saturday night.
That wraps it up for this card. I went a little off what I did last time and included some fighters who aren’t on the hot seat per say, but after last weeks firing of six fighters, one should never feel too comfortable.
I didn’t go over the fighters who are on the card because the UFC wanted to add a little local flavor. Guys like Elvis Sinosic and Chris Haseman will not be back regardless of the outcome of their match.
Te-Huna is from New Zealand and is probably in the same boat as Sinosic and Haseman. There is no real future for him in the UFC.
