UFC 193 came and went, producing one of the most shocking nights in mixed martial arts history. The night of shock and awe is now in our rear-view, and with that in mind, let’s take a look which UFC 193 competitors we may no longer see inside the Octagon… ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK Anthony Perosh “The Hippo” is coming off back to back knockout losses at the hands of Sean O’Connell and most recently, Gian Villante at this past weekend’s UFC 193 in Melbourne. That makes him 5-6 inside the Octagon and 2-5 in his last seven appearances. Normally, I think someone in his position would be receiving the pink slip from the promotion, but I think they will give the veteran another crack, likely on March’s Fight Night card in Brisbane, considering he is a fan favorite amongst the Australian fans. I would not be at all surprised to see him receive the boot, as I think his best days are behind him, even considering the fact that he recently switched training camps by moving States-side to Jackson-Wink MMA in Albuequrque, NM. That said, I think the UFC will keep him around for one more scrap. Richie Vaculik Vaculik is natural flyweight who competed on the TUF: Smashes reality television series as a lightweight and was eliminated from the tournament in his first bout in the TUF house. He made his promotional debut some time later in the 125-pound division, taking on highly touted prospect Justin Scoggins and losing the bout via first round TKO. In his next outing, he took on promotional newcomer Roldan Sangcha-An and won the bout via unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards. His luck ended there, however, as he was knocked out by Louis Smolka in his next outing, and went on to drop a unanimous decision against Danny Martinez at this past weekend’s UFC 193 in Melbourne. Now 1-3 inside the Octagon and on a two fight skid, I would not be surprised to see Vaculik receive his walking papers from the promotion, but consider his popularity with the Australian fan-base, much like with Perosh, I think there is a good chance they bring him back for another crack on another Australian card. All four of his Octagon appearances have come on Australian cards. Steve Kennedy Made his promotional debut on the heels of a seven fight winning streak at UFC Fight Night 69 against Peter Sobotta, losing the bout via rear naked choke submission in the very first round of action. He next took on Richard Walsh at this past weekend’s UFC 193 in Melbourne, losing the bout via unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards and falling to 0-2 with the promotion. I think his two Octagonn appearances have proved tha he is no a UFC-calibre competitor, so I expect Kennedy will be receiving his pink slip from he promotion shortly. The only reason I see them keeping him around is to give someone like Erick Silva another easy win, likely via first round finish. Steve Montgomery This American Top Team product made his Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 70 while riding a five fight winning streak and was knocked out in the first round by fellow promotional newcomer Tony Sims. That bout took place in the lightweight division, and following it, he made the move up to middleweight, while Sims went down to lightweight. In his 185-pound debut inside the Octagon, “The Creepy Weasel” took on Daniel Kelly at this past weekend’s UFC 193 in Melbourne, and after three closely contested rounds of action, he lost a unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards to the hometown underdog. Now 0-2 with the promotion in two weight classes, I think Montgomery is another fighter who has shown that he is not quite UFC-calibre, so I would not at all be surprised to see him let go following this skid.
