Top ten fighters most likely to get cut or released following a loss at UFC 157

Robertson lost both of his UFC fights since 2011, and a loss to Brock Jardine at UFC 157 would definitely seal the deal on his release from the promotion.Burrell is also set to make his UFC debut after coming over from Strikeforce.The 23-year-old was knocked out by Chris Spang at a Strikeforce event in 2012, and he'll possibly need to taste victory at UFC 157 to remain in the top pro MMA organization in the world.It's never a good thing for an up-and-coming prospect to open their Zuffa career with back-to-back losses, and that's exactly what Villefort will be looking to avoid when he steps into the cage with Nah-Shon Burrell.Villefort, 21, hopes to bounce back from a recent Strikeforce loss to Quinn Mulhern.View the list »
Ronda Rousey fights at UFC 157

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According to a Feb. 20 report from MMA Junkie, the UFC has released Jon Fitch, Vladimir Matyushenko and several other standout veterans.

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Besides Fitch and Matyushenko, the list of cuts includes Terry Etim, Ulysses Gomez, Josh Grispi, Che Mills, Jorge Santiago, Paul Sass and Motonobu Tezuka.

Etim, Gomez, Grispi, Mills, Santiago, Sass and Tezuka are each coming off losses at the UFC on FUEL TV 7 event in London.

Due to the opening of the new women's bantamweight division, and to make room for the influx of Strikeforce fighters, the UFC may released dozens more in the months to come.

"In 7+ years w/UFC, Fitch went 14-3-1, but UFC is hunting cost cuts everywhere. His $66K base & 1-2-1 record in last 4 likely sealed his fate," MMA Fighting writer Mike Chiappetta posted on Twitter.

"Sorry to everyone. Was flat tonight and did not give you all the fight you deserved. I will be back stronger," Fitch posted after his recent loss to Demian Maia.

No word yet on which promotion Fitch will end up with, but perhaps he'll find a home with Bellator MMA or the World Series of Fighting.

At the tender age of 34, he should have plenty of fight left in the tank.

More cuts may come as soon as immediately after UFC 157, where may fighters will be fighting for their jobs.

Here's a look at ten UFC 157 fighters who may be one loss away from getting released from the UFC.

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  • It's never a good thing for an up-and-coming prospect to open their Zuffa career with back-to-back losses, and that's exactly what Villefort will be looking to avoid when he steps into the cage with Nah-Shon Burrell.Villefort, 21, hopes to bounce back from a recent Strikeforce loss to Quinn Mulhern.
  • Burrell is also set to make his UFC debut after coming over from Strikeforce.The 23-year-old was knocked out by Chris Spang at a Strikeforce event in 2012, and he'll possibly need to taste victory at UFC 157 to remain in the top pro MMA organization in the world.
  • Robertson lost both of his UFC fights since 2011, and a loss to Brock Jardine at UFC 157 would definitely seal the deal on his release from the promotion.
  • Jardine opened his UFC career with a loss to Rick Story, and falling to Kenny Robertson at UFC 157 may earn him a pink slip from the promotion.
  • Sam "Hands of Stone" Stout dropped two of his last three, and a loss to Strikeforce import Caros Fodor may be enough to knock him out of the UFC.
  • If Grice fails to get past Dennis Bermudez at UFC 157, it would be two losses in his last three.He was recently knocked out by Ricardo Lamas, and just barely slipped by Leonard Garcia at a UFC on FX card in June, 2012.
  • The 35-year-old Lavar Johnson has dropped three of his last five UFC fights, and a loss to Brendan Schaub at UFC, would most definitely be enough to earn him a release from the promotion.
  • Schaub has been a fan favorite in the UFC for close to four years, but he dropped back-to-back contests.Schaub recently was knocked out by Ben Rothwell, and a sloppy performance at UFC 157 may earn him a swift release from the promotion.
  • If Court McGee fails to earn a victory over Josh Neer, it would mean a three-fight losing streak in the UFC ranks.McGee recently fell to Nick Ring and Costa Philippou in unanimous decisions.
  • Josh Neer has already been released from the UFC on two separate occasions, and a loss to Court McGee would likely earn him a third cut from the organization.Neer lost his last two in decisive fashion, including a knockout loss to Mike Pyle and a submission defeat at the hands of Justin Edwards.
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, Long Island MMA Examiner

Eric Holden, 29, has vast writing, editing and multimedia experience, most notably from a two-year stint as an MMA blogger for Y!CN, a Yahoo! Sports platform. He also had articles published in ESPN's Inside ...

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