The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was in Denver, CO for the sixth time in promotional history last Saturday (January 28, 2017) with UFC on FOX 23: Shevchenko vs. Pena. It was an incredible night of mixed martial arts action that saw eight of 12 bouts end inside the distance, and with everything 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 Andrei Arlovski “The Pitbull” put together four straight wins in his second stint with the UFC, but he has since dropped four straight, being finished in all four contests. Coming off a first-round knockout at the hands of Francis Ngannou this past Saturday night in Denver, it would not surprise me to see the UFC serve the former heavyweight champ his pink slip from the promotion. That said, I think it is more likely that the 37-year-old will get one last crack, perhaps in a matchup he will be favored to win heading in, as he has been the underdog in the four previous contests he has come up short in. J.C. Cottrell Cottrell made a short-notice promotional debut against Michel Prazeres last year and lost a unanimous decision. He got his second crack at at a first UFC win this past weekend where he took on Jason Gonzalez, though he unfortunately lost the bout via Brabo-choke submission in the opening stanza after looking good in the early going of the contest. Now 0-2 inside the Octagon, I think there is a fair chance that the promotion will opt to release Cottrell from his contract.
