Tito Ortiz and 14 Other MMA Fighters Who Could Be Looking for Work in 2011

Add Dustin Hazelett, Joe Doerksen and Pat Audinwood to the list of recent UFC roster cuts.

Losing two or three straight fights is going to get you cut in the modern-day UFC, and a few fan favorites will lose their jobs in the next 12 months.

Here are 15 fighters from the UFC and Strikeforce who will be looking for a job by the time 2011 is over if they don’t start winning some fights.

Tito Ortiz

One of the sport's all-time greats, Tito hasn’t won a fight since 2006, and his last two victories have come against Ken Shamrock.

Needless to say, Jacob Ortiz is in dire need of a victory, and if he doesn’t show up against "Lil’ Nog" in March, the "Huntington Beach Bad Boy" could soon be looking for a job.

Joe Stevenson

“Joe Daddy” has had a rough UFC career as of late, losing to George Sotiropoulos and Mac Danzig in his last two fights and is just 5-5 in his last 10.

The former Ultimate Fighter Season 2 winner will need to rebound in his next fight, or he will likely find himself in the unemployment line.

Phil Baroni

One of the most colorful fighters in MMA, Baroni has a pedestrian 13-12 record, but due to his exciting style he is employed by the UFC.

The "New York Badass" hasn’t fought since a UFC 106 loss to Amir Sadollah, and if he doesn’t win his next fight against Brad Tavares on New Year's Day, his 2011 could end back on the regional circuit.

Jamie Varner

The former WEC champion has hit a rough patch since his title defense against Donald Cerrone in January of 2009, and after being sidelined for almost a year he went 0-3-1 in 2010, losing fights to Cerrone, Ben Henderson and Shane Roller while fighting to a draw against Kamal Shalorus.

One of the most hated fighters on the WEC roster needs to win in his UFC return to stay alive in the tough 155-lb. division.

Matt Lindland

The Team Quest legend is simply getting too old for the sport. Not everyone can age like Randy Couture, and Lindland has proved it, as he has lost three of his last four fights—two by brutal knockout.

Hopefully Strikeforce realizes that fighter safety is becoming a concern for Matt and that he needs to be released from his contract, and hopefully he retires before something bad happens.

Pat Barry

“Hype or Die” was most recently seen losing an entertaining fight to Mirko Cro Cop, and while all of his UFC fights have been entertaining, he is a mediocre 2-2 inside the Octagon.

The UFC heavyweight division is its thinnest, so a loss to Joey Beltran may not send Barry packing, but if he doesn’t get a win in 2011, he could find himself fighting in the “minor leagues” once again.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

Although "Lil' Nog" is 2-1 in the UFC, his win over Luis Cane has been his only notable performance thus far. His UFC 114 win over Jason Brilz was highly controversial, and he then delivered a less than stellar fight against Ryan Bader.

The smaller Nogueira needs to put on an impressive showing against Tito Ortiz in his next bout or he may be out of a job in early 2011.

Tyson Griffin

Tyson Griffin has had a successful UFC career with big wins over Clay Guida and a knockout of Hermes Franca on his résumé.

However, he has dropped his last three fights, and while two of his losses were to contenders Evan Dunham and Takanori Gomi, his split decision loss to Nik Lentz doesn’t look good, regardless of how you feel the fight was judged.

Brandon Vera

"The Truth" started his UFC career with four straight wins, including a first round TKO of Frank Mir, but he has since underperformed against top fighters.

With a terrible 3-5 record in his last eight fights, Vera has been nothing more than ordinary lately, and if he doesn’t put up a good fight against Thiago Silva at UFC 125, expect him to be cut in January.

Chan Sung Jung

The awesomely nicknamed “Korean Zombie” quickly became a fan favorite after his brawl with Leonard Garcia on the WEC 48 prelims that were shown live on Spike TV. The decision loss was met with a chorus of boos, as many thought Jung should have won the fight.

His next fight wasn’t controversial at all, however, as George Roop showed the world that the best way to kill a zombie is with a head shot, and he was knocked out in the second round.

With another loss, the "Korean Zombie" will be almost certainly be shown the door by Dana White.

Paulo Thiago

Paulo Thiago has had one of the most brutal groups of opponents in UFC history, with his five fights coming against Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, Mike Swick, Martin Kampmann and Diego Sanchez.

While a 2-3 record against that run of fighters is respectable, three straight losses usually means you’re out in the UFC, and Thiago has lost two in a row.

Andrei Arlovski

The former UFC heavyweight champion has seen better days, and since leaving the UFC in 2008, he has gone 2-3 with three straight losses.

After being destroyed by Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rodgers, Arlovski put up a decent fight against Antonio Silva but was handed a unanimous decision loss.

Four straight losses is a career killer, and if Arlovski doesn’t get back on track, his Strikeforce and MMA careers could be over.

Cheick Kongo

The hard-hitting heavyweight has slowly gone from fan favorite to being known as one of the dirtiest fighters in MMA.

To make matters worse, Kongo has looked terrible in his last four fights, losing to Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir, winning an unimpressive fight against Paul Buentello and then fighting to a draw against Travis Browne at UFC 120 in October.

The French kickboxer needs a win to solidify his spot in the UFC’s heavyweight division.

Kendall Grove

The Ultimate Fighter Season 3 winner has had an up and down UFC career, often trading wins for losses and consistently falling short against top-ranked opponents.

After a close victory over Goran Rejlic at UFC 116, Grove once again fell short against top contender Demian Maia earlier this month and will once again be fighting for his job.

Yoshihiro Akiyama

The Korean-Japanese brawler has delighted fans in his three UFC fights, winning a close decision against Alan Belcher and then dropping two straight to Chris Leben and Michael Bisping.

"Sexyama" is one of the most entertaining fighters at 185 due to his iron chin, but a third straight loss could send him home, no matter how many Fight of the Night checks he has cashed.