UFC Fight Night 48 and 49 were live last night from Macau, China and Tulsa, Oklahoma for another UFC double-header featuring a combined 21 fights and 12 finishes. The fights are now behind us, so let’s take a look at which UFC Fight Night 48 and 49 fighters we may no longer see compete inside the Octagon… ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK: Roland Delorme I thought there was a very good chance Delorme would be cut after his last outing, but the UFC decided to immediately throw him back into action against a top prospect just two months later. Maybe they were giving him one last chance, or just feeding him to a wolf, knowing he should already be released anyway. In any case, I hold no doubt Delorme will now be receiving his walking papers, as he is basically 1-4 in his last five fights, though one of those losses (which came via knockout at the hands of Francisco Rivera) was turned into a No Contest because Rivera tested positive in a post-fight drug test for having an over-the-counter stimulant in his system. After his UFC career started strong with back-to-back rear naked choke submission victories over Josh Ferguson and Nick Denis in his first two Octagon appearances, things have since taken a down turn for the Canadian. Coming off yesterday’s first round rear naked choke submission loss against promotional newcomer Yuta Sasaki, he has now lost three in a row and should soon be headed back to the regional circuit. Francis Carmont The French-Canadian is now on a three-fight losing streak, coming off a second round knockout at the hands of the veteran Thales Leites. The knockout marked the first time he has been finished inside the Octagon in nine bouts with the promotion. The previous loss on his current skid was a unanimous decision against CB Dollaway. Preceding that, he dropped a unanimous decision to Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, a fight many expected him to be submitted in, but he held his own with the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace on the mat. Even though he lost, he impressed in the “Jacare” bout and faced a fighter coming off a win in his next outing in Dollaway. After the close loss to Dollaway, he was paired up with another middleweight coming off a win in Leites. I am unsure whether the UFC was just trying to give him fights to lose, or if they were impressed enough with him to give him opponents who are on win streaks. The latter technically makes more sense, but not so much when you consider how critical Dana White has been of Carmont and his style. I guess the UFC’s next move will really answer that question. Even though he’s lost three in a row, I think he deserves another shot inside the Octagon. If they don’t give him another fight, I’ll feel more certain that they wanted him out. If they like him enough have kept giving him these big fights against guys coming off wins, then they’ll surely give him another crack on an undercard at the least.
