UFC 143 Fight Card: Who Is Fighting for Their Job?

The hot seats are a little hotter in MMA, where a few minutes or even seconds—as opposed to a full season—can determine the fate of a professional athlete on the borderline of retaining that distinction.

Every UFC event seems to feature at least a couple of fighters who are fighting for the right to continue drawing a paycheck from the world's premiere MMA promotion. UFC 143 is no different, even if no one on the main card seems in imminent danger. Here are the guys on the hot seat this Saturday. 

4. Dan Stittgen

Clay Guida training partner Dan "The Anvil" Stittgen makes his UFC debut against Stephen Thompson.

At 7-1, Stittgen's good, but he's green. And he wouldn't be in the picture at all if the UFC hadn't needed yet another injury replacement. A good showing could mean a foothold; a bad showing could mean one and done.

His opponent, Thompson, is also making his UFC debut and is a relative MMA newcomer at 5-0, but his 57-0 career kickboxing record (and that's not a misprint) might give him some cushion. 

3. Max Holloway

Rising featherweight Dustin Poirier was initially slated to face Erik Koch. But Koch got injured, soo he's out and Ricardo Lamas was in. But then Lamas got injured.

Enter Max Holloway, a 4-0 20-year-old who last fought in July for something called the UIC. But he won. So that's good.

The UFC undoubtedly appreciates Holloway's willingness to step up. But if he loses to Poirier, which feels slightly more than very possible, the promotion may not have the bandwidth to keep him on, at least in the foreseeable future. 

2. Matthew Riddle

The hard-hitting fan favorite was a hard-luck loser in each of his last two fights. Nevertheless, a loss to Henry Martinez would give him the dreaded third consecutive defeat. Time for Riddle to solve himself up a W.

1. Matt Brown

There's no question about it. Matt Brown is a first-ballot Hot Seat Hall of Famer. I think he likes it. I think he sits on the hot seat when he's not even fighting.

But if Brown loses to fellow The Ultimate Fighter alum and all-around irritant Chris Cope, it will be his fifth loss in six contests. That could finally cause the axe to fall.