The Hot Seat - UFC on FOX 2: Evans vs. Davis

The UFC is back on Fox this Saturday night as they present what is the first official show under their deal with the broadcasting giant. They had a trial run back in November which saw only one bout televised. Of course that fight was for the UFC heavyweight champ and fans witnessed the title change hands as Junior dos Santos knocked out Cain Velasquez in just 64 seconds.

This time around the UFC is giving fans an outstanding card. The main event will see former light heavyweight champ Rashad Evans take on undefeated Team Alliance fighter Phil Davis. If Evans wins he will face Jon Jones in attempt to win back the title he lost to Lyoto Machida at UFC 98, most likely at UFC 145. If Davis wins that opportunity will go to former PRIDE and Strikeforce champion Dan Henderson. Davis can win convincingly, but will need to build his resume a bit more before he gets a crack at the 205lb. belt.

The co-main event will see the winner face UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva in Brazil this summer. Former number one contender Chael Sonnen was originally scheduled to face Mark Munoz, but an injury forced the UFC to move Michael Bisping into his slot. Bisping of course was scheduled to face another former middleweight title contender in Demian Maia, but jumped at the opportunity to face of f with Sonnen. Maia will now face undefeated prospect Chris Weidman. To see what Weidman had to say on this matchup check out my interview with him.

Now let’s go ahead and see which of the following undercard fighters may be in line for a pink slip should they lose on Saturday night. There are some interesting match-ups that the UFC has lined up for us to see on Fuel TV.

Chris Camozzi:

Camozzi was brought back to the UFC at UFC 137 in October where he lost to Francis Carmont. The loss ran his UFC record to 2-2. Camozzi was released after his first UFC loss which followed two wins in his first two bouts with the organization. For some reason or another they weren’t too enthralled with his performance. He will face Dustin Jacoby who is fighting for his second time in the Octagon. Camozzi needs a win here to keep his job, if one loss was enough to get him cut, then what will two in a row do for him?

Dustin Jacoby:

Jacoby as stated above will be fighting for the second time in the UFC. He lost his initial bout to Clifford Starks at UFC 137 after winning his first six professional bouts fighting in the midwest region. He trains at Finney’s Hit Squad which was originated by former welterweight kingpin Matt Hughes. He has finished all six of his wins, five by knockout and one by submission so he has a killer instinct, but he better be on point Saturday night or he will find himself out of job and back on the regional circuit.

Lavar Johnson:

Although this is Johnson’s UFC debut he has lost his last two fights while competing for Strikeforce. Johnson was shot on July 4, 2009 at a party and was back in action in less than a year. He won his first two bouts back before suffering some setbacks. He is big and strong knocking out out 13 of his fifteen victims. This may be a one and done for Johnson unless he and Joey Beltran put on a slugfest which isn’t out of the question. Anytime the “Mexicutioner” is in the cage there are sure to be fireworks.

Michael Johnson:

Johnson is just two fights removed from fighting in The Ultimate Fighter Season 12 finale against Jonathan Brookins. He lost that bout and won his following match-up against Eddie Faaloloto. Up next he took on Paul Sass at UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson. He lost via first round submission and now finds himself with his back against the wall. With an overall record of 9-6 he needs a win. The UFC doesn’t normally keep fighters on their roster who are creeping towards the .500 mark.

Shane Roller:

Roller has lost his last two UFC bouts after winning his debut inside the Octagon against Thiago Tavares. He took home the Knockout of the Night bonus that night, but hasn’t had any success since. He may get a break here because he took this fight on short notice after Cody McKenzie was injured. It all depends on his performance here, if he goes out and lays it all on the line he could be ok, but it’s always tough to keep your job when you’ve lost three fights in a row.

Cub Swanson:

Swanson is in a tough spot here as he lost his UFC debut against Ricardo Lamas at the initial UFC on FOX card in November. Before that he had gone 4-3 in his last seven bouts in the WEC. On top of that he has had problems with injuries, in fact he withdrew from two fights last year and was out of action for exactly 366 days. For Swanson to start his career inside the Octagon at 0-2 will definitely put his job in jeopardy. He’s lost to both Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes so you won’t be see him fighting at the top of any cards anytime soon, he is expendable.

John-Olav Einemo:

Einemo saw his first bit of action in almost five years at UFC 131 last June where he lost to Dave Herman. He is 36 years old and doesn’t seem to interested in fighting a full schedule. A second loss in two tries usually spells doom unless the UFC plans on keeping him around to fight once a year or so. He may hold some value there, but otherwise he needs to defeat Mike Russow on Saturday night.

That seems to be it for this version of Who’s on the Hot Seat. Enjoy the fights!! next week we are back with UFC 143!!