UFC 134 Fight Card: What Fighters Are on the Hot Seat?
On Saturday, August 27, the UFC makes it's long awaited return to the birthplace of MMA, Brazil!
And on that Saturday night, there will be 12 fights, all which are sure to be outstanding, and will entertain the 30-40 million people who will be watching.
The main event of the evening has UFC Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva, looking to defend his title against the last man to defeat him, Yushin Okami.
The co-main event has a light heavyweight battle between former champions Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, and Ultimate Fighter 1 winner, Forrest Griffin.
The rest of the main card has Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira facing off against Ultimate Fighter 10 runner up, Brendan "The Hybrid" Schaub. Then a lightweight battle between Ross Pearson and Edson Barboza, and a light heavyweight matchup with Luiz Cane taking on Stanislav Nedkov.
Of course there are some fighters who could potentially be fighting for a job. Read on to find out who they may be.
Yves Jabouin
1 of 7Yves Jabouin (15-7) is a bantamweight fighter who will be taking on Ian Loveland in the first fight of the night.
Jabouin has gone 1-3 in his last four fights, losing to Raphael Assuncao and Mark Hominick while in the WEC, then beating Brandon Visher (who didn't make it to the UFC), and then losing to Pablo Garza via flying triangle choke.
If he loses on Saturday, it may not be three losses in a row, but four out of five isn't much better.
Raphael Assuncao
2 of 7Raphael Assuncao (14-4) is making his bantamweight debut against UFC newcomer Johnny Eduardo.
Assuncao is in a very similar position to Jabouin, having gone 1-3 in his last four fights.
Assuncao lost to Urijah Faber and Diego Nunes, then defeated LC Davis, all while in the WEC. Then in his UFC debut he lost to Erik Koch via first round KO.
Same thing as Jabouin. It may not be three in a row, but four out of five, ain't good.
Paulo Thiago
3 of 7Paulo Thiago (13-3) is a welterweight fighter who will be taking on David Mitchell in the final fight on Facebook.
Thiago came into the UFC with title aspirations, and he looked the part after earning knockout of the night over Josh Koscheck in his debut.
Unfortunately, he then dropped a unanimous decision to Jon Fitch.
Since then he has gone 2-2 (two wins and then two losses) and could now be one loss away from being cut from the promotion.
His two most recent losses have been to Martin Kampmann and Diego Sanchez, so it's not like it's terrible competition, but Thiago should fight as if his job is on the line.
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Thiago Tavares
4 of 7Thiago Tavares (15-4-1) is a lightweight fighter who will be taking on Spencer Fisher on the Spike TV portion of the card.
Tavares has been one of the most inconsistent fighters in the UFC, only stringing together two wins in his first two fights.
Overall, his UFC record stands at 5-4-1, and in his last three he is 1-1-1.
He may not be as "at risk" as some other fighters on the list, but he needs a win to prove he belongs in the UFC.
Spencer Fisher
5 of 7Spencer Fisher (24-7) is a lightweight fighter who will be taking on Thiago Tavares on the Spike TV portion of the card.
Fisher is 1-3 in his last four fights, dropping fights to Joe Stevenson, Dennis Siver and Ross Pearson, while only defeating Curt Warburton.
Fisher is another fighter in the same position as Assuncao and Jabouin, who's running the risk of losing four out of five.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
6 of 7Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira (32-6-1 [1 NC]) is a heavyweight fighter who will be taking on Brendan Schaub in the main card.
I'll say this quite simply, Minotauro will not be on Uncle Dana's cutting board if he loses.
He is on the hot seat, because I believe he may retire with a knockout loss.
Should he lose via any type of KO, he will have lost three of his last four by knockout, showing that his iron chin is no more.
He may decide at that point that it is time for him to leave.
Or he may not, but we won't know until Saturday night.
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