The UFC again goes back to Brazil for another Wednesday event on FOX Sports 1, this time headlined by a five-round welterweight battle as Demian Maia takes on former Strikeforce & EliteXC Champion Jake Shields. Erick Silva and Dong Hyun Kim will compete in the night’s co-main event, and there will be ten fights total, all of which will air on FOX Sports 1 beginning at 5 PM eastern time.
Among the twenty fighters competing on the card will be veterans Thiago Silva, Matt Hamill, Rousimar Palhares, T.J. Dillashaw, Mike Pierce and many Brazilian fighters. There are a lot of interesting match-ups on the fight card, and there are a handful of fighters competing to maintain their spots on the UFC roster. For this fight card, we will take a look at four fighters who are on the hot seat looking for a win as we bring you The Cut List for UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Shields.
Joey Beltran (14-8 1 NC, 3-5 1 NC UFC)
His opponent: Fabio Maldonado
How he got here: Beltran returns following a suspension pending from a positive drug test for nandrolone following a unanimous decision win over Igor Pokrajac at UFC On FX 6 in December. It was the first win that Beltran had recorded in the Octagon since a TKO win over Aaron Rosa at UFC 131 in June 2011. Beltran had lost three straight UFC fights prior to the overturned win against Pokrajac, and he was actually released following back-to-back losses to Stipe Miocic and Lavar Johnson. When a string of injuries saw Brandon Vera pulled from a fight against James Te Huna in July 2012, Beltran jumped at the opportunity to fill in as a replacement, and he made his UFC return as a light heavyweight. He lost a hard-fought decision to Te Huna, but a fight that took home the bonus for “Fight Of The Night”. As he returns from his suspension, he is definitely on the hot seat as he is officially winless in his last four UFC bouts, and a failed drug test already puts you in a hole despite any record.
Outlook: Must-win situation. Beltran must defeat Maldonado if he is going to remain on the UFC roster. With the kind of winless run he is on in the UFC, coupled with the recent drug suspension, it’ll be hard for Beltran to keep his roster spot with a loss. Maldonado also really needs a win to keep his spot as well. This will be a big fight for both and a must-win fight for both.
Rousimar Palhares (14-5, 7-4 UFC)
His opponent: Mike Pierce
How he got here: Much like Joey Beltran, Palhares is returning from a long layoff due to a suspension for a positive drug test, which also happened at UFC On FX 6 in December like Beltran. Palhares lost to Hector Lombard at that event when Lombard scored the knockout win in the opening round. Palhares was suspended for elevated testosterone levels found in his drug test and was out for nine months. During that time, it was announced that when Palhares returned, it would be in a new weight division as he was making the move down to the welterweight division. Palhares will be looking to end a two-fight losing skid as he suffered another knockout loss, this time to Alan Belcher in May 2012, prior to the loss to Lombard. Before the two setbacks, Palhares had put himself in title contention with a 6-1 mark over seven fights. As he moves down to the 170-pound division, he gets a tough opponent as he faces a top-ten caliber fighter in Mike Pierce.
Outlook: Not great. Palhares is a very solid talent but he hasn’t always put it together in the Octagon. He sometimes has mental lapses that cost him fights, and he can’t afford another one as a third loss in a row will put him in huge danger of being cut. He may not be cut despite the losses, but maintaining a spot on the UFC roster is harder than ever these days. He needs to win, and that is easier said than done against Pierce.
David Mitchell (12-3, 1-3 UFC)
His opponent: Yan Cabral
How he got here: Mitchell surprisingly is still on the UFC roster despite just one win in his four bouts with the promotion, which puts him in the must-win category as he fights for the fifth time inside the Octagon. Mitchell has been on the roster for over three years now, but he has accumulated just four fights in that time. He made his UFC debut with a decision loss to T.J. Waldburger in September 2010. He fought just once in 2011 due to injuries, losing a decision to Paulo Thiago at UFC 134 in August 2011. Injuries kept him away from the Octagon for almost all of 2012, but he was scheduled to fight in November 2012. However, his opponent, Hyun Gyu Lim, fell ill prior to weigh-ins and was unfit to compete, so the fight was scrapped and Mitchell didn’t get a fight in 2012. He has fought twice this year, splitting his two fights. He scored a win over Simeon Thoresen in January, but was knocked out by Mike Pierce at UFC 162 in July, his first stoppage loss. Mitchell welcomes the debuting Yan Cabral to the UFC as he travels to Brazil to fight for the second time there as a member of the UFC roster.
Outlook: Must-win situation. If Mitchell suffers another loss, it would leave him with a 1-4 record in the UFC, with two separate two-fight losing streaks, and he will be cut from the roster. He needs to win. He is the underdog to Cabral, who comes into the UFC with a perfect 10-0 record. Either Cabral’s undefeated record comes to an end, or it will be Mitchell’s time with the UFC coming to an end.
Iliarde Santos (27-8-1 1 NC, 0-2 UFC)
His opponent: Chris Cariaso
How he got here: Santos is a good Brazilian name to have on the UFC roster to fight on the fight cards in Brazil, and he is one of the most experienced Brazilian fighters they have on the roster with 37 professional fights under his belt. However, he has fought twice in the UFC, and he has lost both fights. He made his UFC debut as an injury replacement to take on Iuri Alcantara at UFC On FX 8 in May, and it was a quick loss as Alcantara scored the knockout win halfway into the opening round. Santos dropped to the flyweight division and fought Ian McCall at UFC 163 in August. McCall defeated Santos in a hard-fought battle that showed Santos could hang with the best in the UFC’s 125-pound division. Santos gets a third fight in the UFC against Chris Cariaso on this fight card as he looks to score his first triumph as a member of the UFC roster.
Outlook: Must-win situation. Like every fighter on this edition of The Cut List, Santos needs a win over Cariaso if he is going to keep his spot on the roster. An 0-3 mark will get you cut no matter what, and if Santos wants to keep his job with the UFC, he must win. There isn’t much more to say about his situation.
