UFC 129 Fight Card: Five Fighters in Danger of Being Released

As the UFC continues to add talent and mixed martial arts continues to grow in popularity, more talented fighters are going to be released from the organization.

It is an unfortunate reality for these fighters who depend on the UFC to make a living, but that is the way it is likely to stay for the foreseeable future.

No different than any other UFC event, several fighters could be battling for their place in the organization at UFC 129. Here are the five fighters who are in the most danger of being released from the UFC.

Jason MacDonald

After winning three straight fights outside of the UFC, Jason MacDonald earned another chance with the organization at UFC 113 in his home country of Canada. Unfortunately, MacDonald suffered a leg injury that forced an end to that fight.

In his first fight in nearly one year, MacDonald will now meet Ryan Jensen in another fight in front of his fellow Canadians. This time, however, MacDonald might have a lot more riding on the outcome of his fight.

It might seem harsh, but the UFC might have a hard time keeping around a fighter who is nearly 36 years old, on a two-fight losing streak and coming off a serious injury.

Ryan Jensen

Jason MacDonald's opponent, Ryan Jensen, is not free from worry heading into UFC 129, either.

Jensen has alternated wins and losses since being re-invited to the UFC in September 2008. In his last fight, Jensen was submitted by Court McGee in the third round of their UFC 121 bout.

At 33 years old, Jensen has already reached his full potential. With a loss to MacDonald, the UFC would likely consider Jensen nothing more than depth in a middleweight division that it has bolstered with high-profile signings such as Jorge Santiago and Jason Miller.

Ivan Menjivar

Prior to joining the UFC through the WEC merger, Ivan Menjivar has lost three of his last four fights.

Despite a currently shallow bantamweight division, it would be hard to imagine the UFC retaining Menjivar if he loses for a fourth time in five fights against Charlie Valencia at UFC 129.

Although the UFC is short on 135-pound talent at the moment, the organization is planning a bantamweight tournament on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter.

If all goes as planned, the bantamweight tournament should increase the depth in the division and allow the UFC to trim the fat from its current roster.

Charlie Valencia

Because he was on a three-fight winning streak prior to his loss against Miguel Torres in his last fight, Charlie Valencia probably has a better chance of sticking around than Ivan Menjivar in the case of a loss.

Valencia posted a respectable 5-4 record with the WEC and has earned a more solid fan base than Menjivar at this point in his career.

Still, a second straight loss and a bad showing will always put a fighter in danger of being cut nowadays. For that reason, expect Valencia to try to use his wrestling and grind out a safe decision victory against Menjivar.

Lyoto Machida

It's hard to see the UFC cutting a former champion so soon after losing the belt, but the possibility does exist if Lyoto Machida loses to Randy Couture at UFC 129. In a recent question-and-answer session, Dana White said that Machida was in a "must-win" situation.

Despite Machida's controversial loss to Quinton Jackson in his last fight and regardless of his next opponents' career accomplishments, a loss to the nearly 48-year-old Couture would undoubtedly be a devastating one for his career.

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Sean Smith is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. For the latest insight and updates on everything MMA, you can follow Sean on Twitter @BR_Sean_Smith.