It may have lost Jon Jones, but the UFC 187 card still looks excellent as Saturday's event approaches.
With Jones' light heavyweight title being stripped, a new 205-pound champion will be crowned. Former title challenger Daniel Cormier has replaced Jones in the main event and will battle Anthony Johnson for the vacant belt.
Additionally, Chris Weidman will finally clash with Vitor Belfort in a middleweight title bout. The two elite 185-pounders have had two scheduled meetings cancelled due to Weidman injuries, but the third time seems to be the charm.
Obviously, all four championship-bout competitors appearing at UFC 187 have secured their spots on the UFC roster. However, some combatants will head into the weekend with less job security.
Here are the individuals sitting on the hot seat heading into UFC 187 on Saturday in Las Vegas.
Josh Burkman
With his UFC 182 loss to Hector Lombard overturned due to his opponent failing a drug test (testing positive for the steroid Madol), Josh Burkman is officially 0-0 since returning to the UFC roster.
For that reason, it seems unlikely that Burkman would be axed regardless of the result of his UFC 187 bout with Dong Hyun Kim. However, you never know whether the UFC brass will treat Burkman's appearance opposite Lombard as a loss or as if it never happened.
Given that Lombard cheated, the latter seems like the more logical option. However, if Burkman misses weight or loses badly Saturday, don't put it past the UFC to factor that showing against Lombard into its decision on whether to keep Burkman around or not.
Nina Ansaroff
Like Burkman, it would take a big screw-up for Nina Ansaroff to be released even in the event that she does lose to Rose Namajunas at UFC 187.
Although most fighters who start their UFC careers with 0-2 records are cut, Ansaroff has drawn a tough matchup opposite a former title challenger. She is also competing in a division that is developing and needs depth, so the UFC is giving strawweights more slack than those in other weight classes.
If she makes weight and puts up the least bit of resistance against Namajunas, Ansaroff should get another shot inside the Octagon no matter what happens Saturday night.
Justin Scoggins and Josh Sampo
While chances are slim that the UFC would release Burkman or Ansaroff, Justin Scoggins and Josh Sampo should both enter UFC 187 with a sense of urgency.
At 23 years old, Scoggins has huge potential and showed it in his first two UFC appearances. However, the American Top Team product has since lost two in a row and will need to get back on track this weekend. Because he has such a high ceiling, Scoggins might get away with three straight losses, but he does not want to put himself in that position.
Now 30 years old, Sampo is in a position where he must deliver now. The Gremlin has lost back-to-back bouts since winning in his UFC debut. He faces a tough challenge opposite Scoggins, but there's a real possibility that Sampo will need to win at UFC 187 in order to keep his UFC career going.
Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2468939-ufc-187-whos-on-the-hot-seat-in-las-vegas-this-weekend
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