The Pink Slip: Who Might Be Cut After UFC on ESPN 55

UFC on ESPN 55 measured up to the expectations of its intended effect, staging 13 solid fights that lit up the familiar enclose of the Apex Facility in Las Vegas. For its next billing, the Ultimate Fighting Championship takes a trip to tropical paradise with UFC 301, set to go down on May 4 at the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro. With the next pay-per-view event led by 125-pound king Alexandre Pantoja right around the bend, the recently concluded Fight Night fixture facilitated the second rise of a violent force in the division with a knockout victory that will reverberate on the champion’s door. While Alex Perez’s triumph over Matheus Nicolau stole the show, the event left a trail of vanquished opponents in its wake. For some, it denotes a more daunting repercussion that casts a shadow over their future in the UFC. With that, let’s take a look at some of the fighters who face the looming threat of the dreaded pink slip:

Na Liang

Liang grabbed headlines when she signed with the UFC, the first woman to be signed from the UFC Academy Combine from the Performance Institute in Shanghai. Joining the Las Vegas-based promotion while riding a five-fight winning streak, she has struggled to mount any success through four appearances thus far. To make matters worse, “Dragon Girl” has been finished on each occasion, most recently succumbing to a submission from Ivana Petrovic. The 27-year-old from the province of Heilongjiang, China, showed fleeting moments of promise on the feet, only for Petrovic to nullify Liang by wrenching her to the ground with relative ease. As Liang faded, Petrovic wound up procuring the finish via arm-triangle choke. Even in a division like flyweight that could use more fighters, four consecutive stoppage losses do not bode well for the UFC prospects of the Longyun MMA Gym product.

While other names on the billing, including the likes of Gabriel Benitez and Tim Means, may be bordering on career uncertainty, it’s unlikely that they will be cut from the roster immediately. By established standards, the UFC tends to offer a lengthier lifeline to regular fixtures compared to newer talents. Benitez has 15 UFC fights under his belt, while Means has suited up 29 times for the Las Vegas-based promotion. Additionally, the organization is less keen on releasing competitors after two straight defeats. This should give hope to names like Marnic Mann, Caio Machado, Michal Figlak and Austen Lane, who have all struggled since joining the league.