UFC Fight Night 35: Rockhold vs. Philippou - The Cut List

I'm not going to lie to you, folks. I'm exceptionally busy right now, so this post might not live up to my usual biting analysis and ridiculously accurate predictions. At least my sarcasm is on point, right? UFC Fight Night 35 features a bunch of fighters coming off a loss - 11, to be exact. That's almost half the card. Two fighters are making their UFC debuts, and one (Charlie Brenneman) is back in the organization in a new weight class. Only two guys are on multi-fight losing streaks in the UFC though, so there doesn't seem to be a lot of danger on this card. Okay enough of the preamble, let's get the to the point.

One thing before that though - I don't believe Mike Easton will get cut even if he loses his third in a row. He's a very talented guy that brings a lot of the things the UFC likes, so he'll get a shot to bust his losing streak if he drops the bout to Dillashaw.

Okay, NOW let's get to the point.

Likely to be cut with a loss

Ramsey Nijem - He did make the finals of TUF and won his first three UFC bouts. But he's been in a tailspin lately, getting stopped by both Myles Jury and James Vick. The last one came in just 58 seconds too. This seems like one of those TUF elimination bouts to me, and if he can't take out his ex-teammate he's probably getting the boot.

Trevor Smith - He was pretty damn entertaining in his UFC debut against Ed Herman, winning fight of the night. But he lost the bout and he lost his final Strikeforce bout too. Unless he brings another Voelker-like performance in a loss, I can see them keeping him around for another shot. He is the type of guy that could get a late replacement fight in the future though.

Brian Houston - He only has five pro fights under his belt and got dusted by a Derek Brunson head kick (and rear naked choke) in just 48 seconds in his debut. A second loss will almost definitely see him returning to the minors to get some more seasoning.

Vinc Pichel - He was a decent fighter on a bad version of TUF (season 15). He made the semis but was totally destroyed by Rustam Khabilov in his official debut. Fair enough, Khabilov is a killer. This fight is much more up his alley, but there's no real reason to keep him around if he loses.

Garett Whiteley - He actually has a really good story and I'll be rooting for him when it comes time to throw down with Pichel. But he doesn't even have the TUF vehicle behind him so a second straight loss (especially at 33) will probably be the end of the road for now.

Possibly cut with a loss

Justin Edwards - After a 2-3 run at welterweight he has decided to drop to 155. A loss would be his second straight and third out of four, so a lot of it depends on how his fight with Nijem goes. If it's exciting, he might get another shot even if he comes up short. But if he gets blown out? That might mean the door.