The Octagon travels back to England as this busy stretch for the UFC continues. Following a very fun UFC 166 card last Saturday, it is time to see the middleweight debut of former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida as he takes on Mark Munoz. Plus, we have two explosive fights as lightweights Ross Pearson and Melvin Guillard collide, and light heavyweight sluggers Jimi Manuwa and Ryan Jimmo will do battle from the Phones4U Arena in Manchester, England. The fight card airs on FOX Sports 2.
This is your typical United Kingdom card with a lot of fighters based in England competing. While this card, outside of the top two fights, doesn’t feature much in the name of recognizable names, it does have some fighters looking to build on past successes, and some trying to avoid repeat failures as they look to remain on the UFC roster. Today we will be highlighting five fighters who find themselves going down the wrong path and need to right the ship as we bring you The Cut List for UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Munoz.
Alessio Sakara (15-10 1 NC, 6-7 1 NC UFC)
His opponent: Nicholas Musoke
How he got here: Sakara has been around the UFC for a long time having made his Octagon debut all the way back in October 2005 at UFC 53. Despite being with the promotion for seven years, he has fought just 14 times as numerous injuries have forced him to pull out of scheduled bouts. He has fought just five times since September 2008, and he comes into this bout having lost three straight fights. Normally that would get a middleweight cut from the roster, but perhaps Sakara got a pass due to the nature of his last loss. He fought Patrick Cote at UFC 154 last November and it had a controversial ending as Sakara was disqualified due to landing multiple punches to the back of the head. It was a highly-debated loss, but a loss nonetheless. His prior two losses came to Chris Weidman and Brian Stann, so he’s losing to some of the best fighters in the sport including the current champion at 185 pounds. He had won three straight prior to his current losing streak. Sakara is on his third different opponent for UFC Fight Night 30 as he was originally slated to fight Tom Watson, who was then replaced by Magnus Cedenblad, who eventually was replaced by Nicholas Musoke.
Outlook: Must-win situation. Despite all of the different opponent changes, this remains a must-win fight for Sakara as four straight losses would most likely spell the end of his UFC career. Worse off, a loss to Musoke would be a loss to a debut fighter taking the fight on short notice. Sakara has to win.
Rosi Sexton (13-3, 0-1 UFC)
Her opponent: Jessica Andrade
How she got here: Sexton will be fighting inside the Octagon for the second time as she looks to bounce back from a loss in her debut and maintain her spot on the UFC roster. Sexton started her career 13-2 and had fought some of the toughest women competition in the world prior to her UFC signing. Her only two losses had come to Gina Carano and Zoila Frausto Gurgel. She signed with the UFC in April and was set to meet Alexis Davis at UFC 161 in June. It was her first fight in over a year, and she was moving up a weight class to make her debut. It was a hard-fought battle, but Sexton came up short and dropped a unanimous decision to Davis in a main card bout. She will get another fight in her current hometown as she lives and trains in Manchester, and it will be the first women’s UFC fight to take place in Europe as she takes on Jessica Andrade, who is also coming into this fight off of a loss.
Outlook: So-so. Sexton is a fighter who could either remain on the roster or be cut if she were to lose to Andrade. She is a veteran of the sport and is a solid name to have on the roster, and is a valuable name to have as the women’s roster begins to span. With that, I see her being in a better position than Andrade, but she also could really use a win. If Sexton loses and is cut from the roster, I could see her potentially retiring from the sport. A win continues her career.
Cole Miller (19-8, 8-6 UFC)
His opponent: Andy Ogle
How he got here: Miller is another UFC veteran who will be stepping foot inside the Octagon for the 15th time on Saturday. This will also be his third fight in the last six months, so he has seen a lot of action in 2013. He is 1-1 over his two bouts so far this year. He submitted Bart Palaszewski at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale in April, a win that snapped a two-fight losing skid. Miller was looking for his first back-to-back wins since 2010 when he fought Manny Gamburyan at UFC Fight Night 26 in August. It wasn’t a succesful night for Miller, though, as he dropped a unanimous decision to Gamburyan, but that was not without some controversy. Despite that, the castmember of season five of “The Ultimate Fighter” is just 2-4 over his last six fights, and the loss to Gamburyan dropped him to 1-3 since moving down to the featherweight division. He is talented and has proven himself in the UFC, but with a possibility of losing four of five fights has gotten him back onto this list as he heads into a preliminary card bout against Andy Ogle on Saturday.
Outlook: Not good. Miller has proven himself to be a capable member of the UFC roster and is a solid name to have on any card as he usually has good fights. However, he is facing the potential of going 1-4 over a span of five fights, and with the UFC roster in need of some trimming, he could be a likely candidate to go if he loses to Ogle. He has to win the fight without any doubt.
Jimy Hettes (10-1, 2-1 UFC)
His opponent: Robert Whiteford
How he got here: Hettes was a rising prospect in the sport when he signed with the UFC after compiling an 8-0 record that featured eight submission wins. Hettes debuted at UFC Live 5 in August 2011 in a fight against Alex Caceres, and it was an impressive debut as Hettes took home another win, and another win by submission as he submitted Caceres in the second round. That led to a bout against Nam Phan at UFC 141 in December 2011 and Hettes used excellent judo skills to score a dominating win over Phan. That moved his record to a perfect 10-0 with the ten wins coming over the span of 30 months. It was then that injuries started to slow Hettes down as he was forced out of action for over nine months before taking on Marcus Brimage at UFC 152 in September 2012. That fight marked the first loss of Hettes’ career as Brimage won a unanimous decision. Hettes will be fighting for the first time since that loss as he comes back from a 13-month layoff looking to get back into the win column. He meets a fighter making his UFC debut in Robert Whiteford, who takes the fight on less the one week’s notice after Hettes’ original opponent, Mike Wilkinson, was forced out due to injury.
Outlook: Good. I doubt Hettes will get cut with a loss to Whiteford, though losing a fight to a fighter taking the fight on less than a week’s notice is not good. Hettes has a bright future and is still a solid prospect, but he has been out of action for a while and is looking to get an impressive win in his return to the Octagon. Win or lose, I expect Hettes back again, and a win puts him back on track towards moving up the featherweight ladder.
Michael Kuiper (12-2, 1-2 UFC)
His opponent: Brad Scott
How he got here: Kuiper looks to move his UFC record to .500 as he fights for the fourth time inside the Octagon when he meets Brad Scott in the opening bout of UFC Fight Night 30. Kuiper started his MMA career by winning eleven straight fights over the span of 27 months, with ten of those wins coming by knockout or submission. His win streak led him to being signed by the UFC to debut against Rafael Natal at UFC 143 in February 2012. It ended up being the first loss of Kuiper’s career as Natal defeated him by unanimous decision. Kuiper bounced back and scored a knockout win over Jared Hamman at UFC 150 in August 2012, the first win for Kuiper in the UFC. However, he suffered the first stoppage loss of his career in his most recent bout as he was submitted by Tom Lawlor at UFC On FUEL TV 9 in April. Kuiper is a highly-regarded black belt in Judo who hasn’t had the smoothest transition to the UFC, and he looks to avoid falling to 1-3 when he fights Scott.
Outlook: Needs a win. The same could be said for his opponent as Scott is looking to get back into the win column following a loss in his lone UFC fight. This is a case of a fight where the loser will likely be cut from the UFC roster, so it is a big fight for both men. Kuiper is looking to avoid falling to 1-3 which will almost assuredly spell the end of his current time on the roster. He must win to keep his spot.
