UFC 130 Fight Card: Fighters Who Are Fighting for Their Jobs Saturday Night

Unlike many events as of late, UFC 130 is actually light on fighters who will likely be fighting for their jobs with the UFC. In fact, only three fighters on the entire card lost in their last fight.

Of those three fighters (Kendall Grove, Tim Boetsch and Roy Nelson), Grove and Nelson are former winners of The Ultimate Fighter, which usually results in being given more slack than others before being released from a contract.

Still, there are a few fighters who could be under a bigger microscope than others when they step into the Octagon later tonight.

Cole Escovedo and Rafaello Oliveira

Although both of these fighters accepted their fights on short notice and are fighting in the UFC for at least the first time in awhile, there is a small chance they could be released after a loss.

The UFC is usually lenient towards fighters who take fights on short notice as they have, though, so they will probably each be given another opportunity with the UFC as long as they don't put on a completely pitiful performance.

Both fighters are sitting in a pretty decent spot right now, but Oliveira certainly has a greater chance of being released after a loss than Escovedo. Oliveira is fighting in the incredibly deep lightweight division, which still needs to trim some fat.

Tim Boetsch

Boetsch had won four consecutive fights before running into Phil Davis in his last bout. Still, Boetsch is a fighter without a huge fan following, so a second straight loss definitely wouldn't leave him sleeping well tonight.

Not to mention, Boetsch has been released from the UFC before, meaning there is a good chance he will be on a short leash in his second stint with the organization.

The one thing Boetsch does have going for him is that his fight with Grove at UFC 130 will be his debut at middleweight, so the UFC may be willing to give him another shot in the new weight class should he lose.

Kendall Grove 

The Ultimate Fighter winners often get more chances before being released, but Grove is nearing the point where he has expelled all his oppotunities with the organization.

Grove is 4-5 in his last nine fights, but none of those four fighters he defeated remain under contract with the UFC.

Grove is nearing the point where he can no longer be considered a viable threat at middleweight, so he desperately needs a win over Boetsch at UFC 130.

UFC 130: Fight Card, News, Predictions, Results, and More!

Sean Smith is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. For the latest insight and updates on everything MMA, you can follow Sean on Twitter @seansmithMMA.