UFC 144: 6 Guys Fighting for Their Jobs

UFC 144 is coming up this weekend and should be very intriguing. A lightweight championship scrap headlines the event, and an abundance of Japanese fighters will look to defend their turf at the Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

But not everyone will be fighting for a title. Some will be fighting for their job with the UFC. Let's examine which fighters may be on the chopping block.

Steve Cantwell

A loser of four out of his five UFC fights, Steve Cantwell is in a do-or-die situation this weekend.

Cantwell, a former WEC Light Heavyweight champion, has dropped consecutive decisions in bouts with Luiz Cane, Brian Stann, Cyrille Diabate and Mike Massenzio. He was competitive in those fights but ultimately defeated.

Should Cantwell falter this weekend against opponent Riki Fukuda, it will most definitely be the end of his UFC tenure. It is even surprising that he is still with the organization after four consecutive losses.

Loser of Norifumi Yamamoto/Vaughan Lee

In a bantamweight card on FX, Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto squares off with Vaughan Lee in an important battle. It's important because the loser of this match will probably receive their walking papers.

Kid Yamamoto is a legendary Japanese bantamweight that rarely finds himself in a boring fight. But, since entering the Octagon last year, Yamamoto has dropped consecutive bouts to Demetrious Johnson and Darren Uyenoyama. This leaves him at 0-2 in the UFC.

Vaughan Lee finds himself in a similar position but with less drawing power and leeway than Yamamoto. Lee is 0-1 in the UFC; he dropped a split decision to Chris Cariaso at UFC 138. Should Lee lose, he could be looking for a new job.

Takanori Gomi

Legendary former PRIDE Lightweight champion Takanori Gomi has seen better days.

Since signing with the UFC, the Japanese star has faltered to a lowly 1-3 record. Despite knocking out Tyson Griffin, Gomi has been submitted three times in the Octagon to adversaries Kenny Florian, Clay Guida and Nate Diaz.

Though he has faced top-notch competition, he has not been winning, which puts him in the hot seat. Should Gomi be on the losing end of his fight with Eiji Mitsuoka, he could be released from the UFC.

Loser of Yoshihiro Akiyama/Jake Shields

Jake Shields will face off with Yoshihiro Akiyama this weekend. Unfortunately, the UFC may be losing a star fighter at the conclusion of this bout.

Both Shields and Akiyama find themselves in bad losing streaks.

Shields is on a two-fight losing streak and has been less than impressive since signing with the UFC. After winning a razor close, uninspiring decision over Martin Kampmann, Shields has lost in convincing fashion to Georges St. Pierre and Jake Ellenberger. A loss here could send him back to Strikeforce.

Akiyama, though entertaining in all of his fights, is 1-3 as a middleweight in the UFC. He is cutting to welterweight for this fight, so maybe his high marketability and exciting style will save his job regardless. Either way another loss could be the end of the road for "Sexyama."