The Ultimate Fighting Championship was live from Austin, TX last night (November 22, 2014) with UFC Fight Night 57, which was headlined by a five round featherweight contest between Frankie Edgar and Cub Swanson. Now, after an entertaining evening, let’s take a look at which UFC Fight Night 57 fighters we may no longer see compete inside the Octagon… ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK: Isaac Vallie-Flagg After defeating veteran Yves Edwards via split decision in his Octagon debut, Jackson-Winklejohn MMA’s Vallie-Flagg has gone on to drop three in a row, all via unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards. First he was bested by undefeated Brazilian Elias Silverio, and then by veteran Takanori Gomi while picking up a ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus. He came short of securing another bonus in his bout against Matt Wiman at last night’s UFC Fight Night 57 in Austin, as the two were involved in one of the more entertaining contests of the entire evening. Vallie-Flagg put up a heck of a fight against Wiman, and I think the fight was closer than the scorecards indicated. Now, after having dropped three straight, I think it is likely that the Jackson-WInklejohn MMA product will be receiving his walking papers from the UFC. That said, I would not be surprised to see him get one last chance, as he has been a real gamer and has left it all in the cage every time he has stepped inside the Octagon. Yves Edwards Edwards has dropped seven of his last nine bouts, having been finished in his last three, and I believe he will most certainly be released from his contract after last night’s outing at UFC Fight Night 57 in Austin, where he was upset by Mexican underdog Akhbar Arreola, who scored a first round armbar submission over the veteran. Out of the three fighters mentioned in this article, Edwards is the only fighter I would be truly shocked to see get another crack. The 38-year old veteran has been on a decline, and regardless of whether he chooses to hang up his gloves or not after this one, I think it’s safe to say we’ve seen the last of the “ThugJitsu Master” inside the Octagon. Juan Puig The Mexican rode a six-fight winning streak into his promotional debut at The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale back in July, which came against the Brazilian Adriano Martins. Puig suffered a first round knocked at the hands of Martins, and he saw the same fate in his next Octagon outing, which came at last night’s UFC Fight Night 57 in Austin, where he was knocked out by South Korean promotional newcomer Doo Ho Choi only 18 seconds into the fight. Puig is now 0-2 in the UFC, having been knocked out twice in only two minutes and 39 seconds total. Seeing him get a third chance, perhaps against a fighter who isn’t known to be a knockout artist, wouldn’t come as a major shock, but I think it’s more than likely that we’ll see him on a Bellator undercard than inside the Octagon for a third time.
