The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was in Phoenix, AZ for the third time in promotional history last Sunday (January 15, 2017) with UFC FIght Night 103: Rodriguez vs. Penn. The night had its ups and downs, and with the action now in our rear-view, let’s take a look at which of the evening’s competitors we may no longer see going to work inside the Octagon… ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK John Moraga Moraga stepped in on short notice as a replacement for the injured Jussier Formiga against Sergio Pettis and lost the bout via unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards following three rounds of action. The loss puts him on a three-fight losing streak following a pair of unanimous decision losses to Joseph Benavidez and Matteus Nicolau. Due to the short notice nature of the bout, I could see the UFC giving Moraga another shot at cracking back into the win column, but the UFC does not usually care about the details behind a loss. I think there is a good chance that they will serve Moraga with his walking papers, but I would definitely not be surprised to see him back inside the Octagon, especially considering how razor-thin the UFC’s flyweight division is. Frankie Saenz Saenz came up short in a split-decision loss to Augusto Mendes last night and is now on a three-fight skid inside the Octagon, including a unanimous-decision loss to Urijah Faber and a third-round TKO at the hands of Eddie Wineland. Considering the close nature of the bout, I could see the promotion giving him another crack, however, the UFC is not know to be too friendly, so I think it’s more likely that he will be receiving a pink slip from the promotion. Viktor Pesta Pesta suffered the first-ever Ezekiel choke submission in the UFC first round at the hands of Alexei Oliynik in the first round and is now on a three-fight losing streak in the UFC. He was winning the bout and had mounted Pesta on the mat when the Ukrainian snuck in a choke from bottom position. It was an incredible submission, with a very good chance of being the best of the year 12 months from now. Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger Jones-Lybarger went into her bout against Nina Ansaroff with her back against the wall, coming off back-to-back defeats against Tecia Torres and Randa Markos. She suffered her third straight loss against Ansaroff, being submitted via rear-naked choke in the third and final round of action. Following three straight defeats, I think there is a good chance we have seen the former RFA women’s strawweight champion inside the Octagon. However, I would not be surprised to see the promotion keep her around, considering how small the UFC’s women’s strawweight division is.
