10 Fighters Who Are About to Disappear from the UFC

There is a pretty good amount of turnover in the UFC, especially now with an entire generation of stars aging before our eyes and Strikeforce slowly dripping its lifeblood into the Octagon like some huge IV bag. Departures are a way of life in the UFC now, but that's the way it is. You've got to clear out the dead wood. Out with the old, in with the new.

Without further ado, here are the 10 fighters who appear likely to disappear from the UFC before long, be it by cut or retirement.

10. Cody McKenzie

If he can't get past Michael Johnson during UFC on Fox 2 next month, it would be the third straight loss for the master of the McKenzietine. As most serious fans are aware, in many cases three losses in a row equals a pink slip for a UFC fighter.

9. Steve Cantwell

How many chances is this guy gonna get?

After dropping three straight fights—that familiar magic number—at light heavyweight, Cantwell, possibly to avoid the executioner's axe, dropped down to middleweight.

In this debut at 185, he lost by unanimous decision to Mike Massenzio, himself a former UFC castoff. The fight wasn't even particularly close, with Massenzio getting the better of, well, pretty much everything.

Cantwell (7-5 overall) is now expected to face Riki Fukuda at UFC 144. We'll see how that one goes for him.

8. Rob Broughton

If he can't get past UFC newcomer Edinaldo Oliveira at UFC 142 in January, that would be the third straight loss for Broughton.

Seeing how neither of the two previous defeats—unanimous decision losses to Travis Browne and Philip De Fries—was exactly inspiring and put his UFC record at 1-2, that probably spells curtains for Broughton's career.

7. Matt Brown

A win over John Howard in June gave Brown a little breathing room. But he wedged himself right back into a tight spot with a submission loss to Seth Baczynski in June.

You have to think the word is out now on Brown: Just take him down and submit him. He's 12-11 now overall, with nine of those losses coming by tapout. When you have a weakness that glaring, you're not going to have a lot of lasting power in today's UFC.

6. Tim Credeur

An anticipated October bout with Brad Tavares was scuttled when Credeur revealed an injury. To make matters worse, it's not the first time he's been sidelined with injuries, and some of them have seemed serious. 

At 34 years old, on the shelf with an injury and riding a two-fight losing streak, it would seem Credeur is at a crossroads.

5. Efrain Escudero

Escudero was cut from the UFC after failing to make weight and then losing to Charles Oliveira in September. But in a downright Veraesque turn of fate, he was recently re-signed to replace an injured T.J. Grant to face Jacob Volkmann at UFC 141.

It's a great shot at redemption for Escudero, but if he loses to Volkmann, the opportunity might disappear as quickly as it came.

4. Pat Barry

Barry is now 3-4 in the UFC and has dropped two in a row, most recently to journeyman Stefan Struve. He's an exciting fighter and a really funny and charismatic guy, but at some point you have to get serious results in the cage.

3. Matt Hughes

After being battered by BJ Penn and again by Josh Koscheck, Hughes essentially asked for a sabbatical from the sport.

The 38-year-old former welterweight champion has said repeatedly that he wants to go out a winner (I'm convinced he would have retired in the cage had he beaten Koscheck). But he has also repeatedly said he only wants to fight high-level opponents.

At this stage of his career, I don't think Hughes can have it both ways.

Something tells me that realization will eventually take root, and Hughes will ride off into the sunset as is rather than take another beating or accept some charity fight in the name of leaving with a W at the top of his record. He has enough of those already.

2. Forrest Griffin

After a not very competitive showing against Shogun Rua at UFC 134, Griffin's pre-fight comments came into sharp relief. You know, the ones where he said he wasn't having fun anymore in the sport and didn't really see himself getting any better.

Plus, he became a father not long after the event.

Plus, he's a successful author who probably has a broadcasting job whenever and wherever he wants it.

Taken together, it's all pretty illustrative. Maybe he'll get in there one more time for a rubber match with Ortiz (a Winner-and-Loser Leave Town fight?). Maybe he'll fight someone else. Regardless, I think the writing's on the wall: Forrest Griffin is not long for the sport.

1. Tito Ortiz

Anyone who watched or read about UFC 140 had to know this was coming.

After getting smashed by Antonio Rogerio Nogueira for his second straight defeat, the 36-year-old Ortiz has asked for one more fight, saying specifically that the next would be "it" for him. 

We'll find out soon whether Dana White is inclined to accommodate this final request. Either way, though, Ortiz is primed to call an end to his illustrious career.