With an ever expanding Global roster it is perhaps no surprise that the UFC has to be entirely ruthless when it comes to maintaining their roster which at present sits at 563 fighters across ten weight divisions.
So we thought we would review the current European offering that the UFC has on its books and look at those fighters who are perhaps playing it too close to the chopping block.
Here are a few names from across Europe that are in desperate need of a W in the column;
Flyweight Alptekin Ozkillic (1-3 UFC, 9-4 MMA)
With three losses on the bounce things are not looking too good for “The Turkish Delight” at present. Since winning his UFC debut on a split decision he has lost a unanimous decision and then been stopped twice by TKO. The only thing which may save him for one more fight is the lack of depth in the 125lb men’s division but I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t see Ozkillic return to the Octagon.
Bantamweight Vaughan Lee (3-4 UFC, 14-10-1 MMA)
Birmingham’s Vaughan Lee has had a rough ride in the UFC which started with his debut, dropping a split decision to Chris Cariaso. He has since suffered defeats to current Bantamweight Champion TJ Dillashaw, Raphael Assuncao and Iuri Alcantara. But looking at the names of the fighters who he has suffered losses to may be enough to save him. Also he has not yet lost two fights on the bounce in the promotion which may be his saving grace.
Lightweight Piotr Hallman (2-2 UFC, 15-3 MMA)
Hallman only has two losses in the UFC to Al Iaquinta and Gleison Tibau which is nothing to be ashamed of, but after testing positive for drostanolone after the Tibau fight I think the Polish fighter may be on borrowed time. He is scheduled to fight on the UFC Berlin card in June and I think should he not win it may be the last time we see Hallman grace the Octagon.
Welterweight Gasan Umalatov (1-2 UFC, 15-4-1 MMA)
Russian Umalatov may feel very hard done by in his last fight which saw him loose a very close split decision to Cathal Pendred but with a record of 1-2 in the UFC he needs to get back to winning ways asap to stay on the roster. I think given the close result he will definitely return at least once but I suspect one more loss may make things difficult for him to keep his place in a stacked 170lbs division.
Middleweight Tom Watson (2-4 UFC, 17-8 MMA)
It’s been a tough old time for Tom Watson in the UFC after having a very dominant European career. Watson lost his debut to Brad Tavares before scoring a huge TKO over Stanislav Nedkov on home soil to get him to 1-1. Watson then lost two on the bounce which many thought was the end for him but a win over Sam Alvey kept him in the good books of the UFC. His last fight saw him drop a unanimous decision to Rafael Natal in Brazil and I think the fact that in all of the four losses in the UFC he has never been stopped has really saved Watson’s skin.
Heavyweight Daniel Omielanczuk (1-2 UFC, 16-5-1-1NC)
Poland’s Omielanczuk suffered a gruelling unanimous decision loss to Anthony Hamilton on home soil in his last bout which was the second loss on the bounce for the 32 year old. Omielanczuk who has nine submission victories in his sixteen wins to date has been unable to impress since getting a KO win in his UFC debut. Two unanimous decision losses on the bounce is always a difficult predicament to get yourself out of and I think the only thing which may save him is the small number of European Heavyweights on the UFC roster.