UFC 144: Who Is Fighting for Their Job?

This Saturday, UFC 144 goes down from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

This is one of the most stacked cards in recent memory, and perhaps one of the best cards ever put on in UFC history.

While it features an insane number of top-tier fighters and title contenders, it also features men who could be fighting with their jobs on the line.

With that in mind, let's take a look at fighters who may have to fight for their UFC livelihoods.

Steve Cantwell

Everybody knows about the fact that Dan Hardy has lost four fights in a row, but Steve Cantwell losing four in a row has gone under the radar.

Cantwell has dropped four straight unanimous decisions to Luiz Cane, Brian Stann, Cyrille Diabate and most recently—after dropping to middleweight—Mike Massenzio.

Four in a row means Cantwell clearly needs a win to keep his job.

Kid Yamamoto

When Kid Yamamoto was signed to the UFC, many thought he would be a title challenger in no time at all.

Oh how we were wrong.

Yamamoto has gone 0-2 so far in the UFC, losing decisions to Demetrious Johnson and Darren Uyenoyama. In his last five, he is 1-4.

Yamamoto needs to pull out a win to make sure his job is safe.

Takanori Gomi

Takanori Gomi has fallen on hard times, and the UFC has not been kind to him.

Inside the Octagon, Gomi is just 1-3, and has lost his last two fights in a row. In his last eight fights, Gomi is just 3-5.

His last two fights have been submission losses to Nate Diaz and Clay Guida. In fact, four of his last five losses have been by submission.

Unfortunately for Gomi, his opponent has 11 of 18 wins by submission, and Gomi could be in trouble.

Mark Hunt

Mark Hunt's future in the Octagon is more up-in-the-air than anyone else on this list.

In his MMA career, Hunt is 7-7, and a record like that is rarely seen in the Octagon these days. However, in his last three fights—all in the UFC—Hunt is 2-1, and has a knockout win and a unanimous decision win.

If Hunt goes out and puts on a great fight, then he will likely get to keep his job—win or lose.

If Hunt goes out and puts on an awful fight, where he gasses out and just has an awful performance—and loses—he will likely be cut.

Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow me on twitter @TimMcTiernan.