UFC 133 Fight Card: The 7 Fighters with the Most to Lose

Although UFC 133 does not feature a title fight, the matches are intriguing and the fight card as a whole promises to start August off with a bang.

As with any UFC event, dreams will be made or crushed and, as always, the night's fighters have much to lose with a loss.

However, there is a group of fighters that have more than just pride to lose. These men, if not victorious, may lose the most important thing a fighter has: employment.

Who are the seven fighters who are at risk for losing their job with a loss? Read and find out!

Constantinos Philippou

Constantinos Philippou, a 7-1 prospect before entering the UFC, was long touted as a great prospect at middleweight. The fact that the native of Cyprus also trained (and continues to train with) the famed Serra-Longo fight team contributed to this notion.

However, Philippou has hit a rough patch since earning his big break. He lost to Joseph Henle in The Ultimate Fighter season 11's elimination round and then lost to Nick Catone via unanimous decision at UFC 128.

Thus, it is very likely "do-or-die" for Philippou at UFC 133; a loss could send him back to Ring of Combat!

Mike Brown

Former WEC featherweight champion and current UFC featherweight Mike Brown was once on top of the world. He defeated Urijah Faber to earn the WEC featherweight championship and successfully defended the belt twice before losing it to Jose Aldo.

Since then, Brown is only 2-3 and is winless in the UFC. He will be coming off back-to-back losses when he meets Nam Phan at UFC 133. There have been few tenures in the UFC that have survived dropping three straight. Therefore, Brown's UFC career is at stake with a loss.

Jorge Rivera and Alessio Sakara

Strikers Jorge Rivera and Alessio Sakara are set to fight at UFC 133 and each man has a lot to lose.

Even though Jorge Rivera is only coming off of one loss (to Michael Bisping at UFC 127), a loss could finish his career due to his age; Rivera is 39 years old, not an ideal age for MMA—unless you are Randy Couture.

Sakara is also coming off a loss, but his fate may not be as bad as Rivera's should he drop a second fight in a row since he is 11 years the younger. Still, the UFC has been more trigger-happy lately when letting fighters go; Sakara still can't afford a loss.

Yoshihiro Akiyama

Japanese judo sensation Yoshihiro Akiyama was one of the UFC's most anticipated acquisitions when he finally signed with the UFC in 2009.

Unfortunately, he didn't live up to the hype. The man who went 12-1 (2 NC) in Asia could only go 1-2 in the UFC, and his only win was a very controversial split decision to the perennially B+ level fighter Alan Belcher.

Akiyama is on a two fight losing streak and has been given his toughest opponent to date at UFC 133: Vitor Belfort.

A loss will almost definitely signal the end of Akiyama's UFC career and perhaps even his career as a fighter; Akiyama may not have too many fights left at 35 years of age.

Antônio Rogério Nogueira and Rich Franklin

Antônio Rogério Nogueira and Rich Franklin were once considered to be two of the best fighters in the world. Franklin was formerly the UFC middleweight champion and Nogueira was one of Pride's top fighters.

Unfortunately for the two fighters, time and the next generation of MMA fighters have caught up with them.

Franklin is 36 and is 2-3 in his last five, with wins over faded legends Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva. Nogueira hasn't fared much better; he is 2-2 in the UFC (although many believe he was wrongly awarded the decision win over Jason Brilz at UFC 114) and has lost two straight. Nogueira is one year the younger of Franklin.

With a loss, either fighter's illustrious career could be over. The same cannot be said for the main event fighters at UFC 133, Rashad Evans and Phil Davis. Both Evans and Davis are young enough and well known enough to recover from a loss; their careers are not in danger like the men on this list!