Dan Hardy and 10 UFC Fighters in Dire Need of a Victory

When Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy takes on Chris Lytle this weekend at UFC on Versus 5, he will be fighting for his career in the UFC.

Currently riding a three-fight losing streak, Hardy cannot afford to make it four in a row, which is almost a guaranteed removal from the organization unless your name is Tito Ortiz.

His losses include those to the likes of UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre and contenders Anthony Johnson and Carlos Condit.

He's not the only one who will be fighting for his job during upcoming events. These are 10 others who are in dire need of a victory and are riding extensive losing streaks.

Notable Mention: Nate Diaz

Nobody can really blame Nate Diaz for losing to fighters like Clay Guida, Gray Maynard and Rory MacDonald, but his two-fight losing streak puts him in need of a victory.

Diaz is the last person to beat Melvin Guillard, and his fights with Maynard, Guida and Dong Hyun Kim were competitive fights that some thought he should have won.

He finds himself in a similar situation now that he was in before when he had two back-to-back losses. He goes up against a dangerous striker in Takanori Gomi at UFC 135.

10) Ryan Bader

Going into 2011, Ryan Bader had an undefeated record and five UFC victories over very good opponents.

Now he finds himself on a two-fight losing streak with losses to current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones and Tito Ortiz. He was the only fighter to lose to Ortiz in over five years.

A third loss in a row may not be critical for him to stay on the UFC roster, but it will be for his confidence.

9) George Sotiropoulos

It isn't a terrible thing to have two losses in a row but when one of those is by knockout early in a fight, it puts a fighter like George Sotiropoulos in a scary position.

The Australian fighter was knocked out in brutal fashion by Rafael Dos Anjos in their fight at UFC 132. That followed a decision loss to Dennis Siver. Before that, he had won seven straight in a row.

He might have been one fight away from a title shot last year, but his current losing streak puts him one fight away from possibly being cut.

8) Manvel Gamburyan

Former WEC featherweight contender Manvel Gamburyan returned to the UFC at UFC Live 4 when he faced Tyson Griffin in a preliminary bout. Griffin was making his 145-pound debut and won a very close majority decision.

It was Gamburyan's third loss in the UFC in a row, with the others coming against Rob Emerson and Thiago Tavares.

He goes up against Diego Nunes, who just lost to Kenny Florian at UFC 135.

7) Daniel Roberts

Despite having six appearances in the Octagon, Daniel Roberts hasn't fought on a main card. His two-fight losing streak has something to do with it.

Roberts worked hard to erase the memory of his UFC debut where he was knocked out by John Howard in the first round. He did so by winning three consecutive bouts, including two by submission.

Unfortunately, losses to Claude Patrick and Rich Attonito followed, and it puts him in a very tough spot when he faces TJ Waldburger at UFC Fight Night 25.

6) Steve Cantwell

Not too many fighters get a fourth chance in the UFC, but in Steve Cantwell's case, he gets that chance when he fights Mike Massenzio at UFC 136.

Cantwell won the WEC light heavyweight championship when he knocked out Brian Stann in the first round of their fight. They had their third and final bout in the UFC, but Stann came out on top and won a decision.

That fight was in between two losses to Cyrille Diabate and Luiz Cane.

5) Wanderlei Silva

Wanderlei Silva may be one or two fights from ending his career as a UFC fighter.

His most recent loss came in just 27 seconds against Chris Leben at UFC 132. Many were expecting a war, but the Brazilian fighter's chin couldn't hold up to the power "The Crippler" possessed. It was his sixth loss in his last eight bouts.

Other losses include those two Chuck Liddell, Quinton Jackson, Mirko Flipovic, Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson.

4) Jorge Santiago

Jorge Santiago made his much-anticipated return to the UFC when he faced Brian Stann at UFC 130. It turned out to be deja-vu all over again for the Brazilian when he suffered his third consecutive knockout loss in the UFC.

Santiago has become part of the highlight reel for several UFC fighters, including Alan Belcher and Chris Leben. His last and only victory in the UFC came in 2006.

He will be taking on Demian Maia at UFC 136.

3) Dan Hardy

Dan Hardy may have a chance to save his career even with a loss to Chris Lytle this weekend. If he can make a fight of the night out of it, he might actually have a chance at staying in the UFC. Even if he doesn't come out victorious.

He can either decide to stand and bang and take a chance at getting knocked out, or fight conservatively and try to win an easy decision. Nothing comes easy against Lytle, and it will be interesting to see how the Brit approaches the fight while being on a three-fight losing streak.

All of those losses came against quality opposition, including the title fight loss to Georges St. Pierre.

2) Mirko "Cro Cop" Flipovic

Mirko "Cro Cop" Flipovic returns for possibly the final time in his career when he faces Roy Nelson at UFC 137.

Both fighters are on two-fight losing streaks, but Nelson's streak isn't as bad. "Cro Cop" suffered two devastating knockouts to Brendan Schaub and Frank Mir.

There were talks of his retirement after the Mir loss, so there is no choice but for him to win this fight impressively. Considering how tough Nelson is to finish, it's going to be a long night for the Croatian if he can't get him out of there early.

1) Brandon Vera

Brandon Vera is kind of lucky to still be in the UFC. He was recently added back onto the roster after his UFC 125 loss versus Thiago Silva was overturned due to Silva failing his post-fight drug test.

Before that, two losses versus Jon Jones and Randy Couture occurred. There is nothing terrible about losses to them, but lackluster victories and losses preceded in his career.

He battles in a "loser leaves town" match at UFC 137 versus Eliot "The Fire" Marshall.