This Wednesday night, as the UFC invades Atlantic City, New Jersey for UFC Fight Night 45, three fighters from the Pacific Northwest could be fighting to keep their jobs. Pat Healy, Rick Story, and Evan Dunham have all gone from hot commodity to inconsistent challenger in the UFC’s Lightweight division. In a competitive organization like the UFC it can be increasingly difficult to remain atop a division when so many young and talented fighters are coming up through the ranks. With time never on the side of the fighter it seems that the last push is here for these well-known veterans of the sport. On Wednesday night Healy, Story, and Dunham will each need to prove that they deserve to keep the roster spots they earned through past performances.
The fighter who is most likely to see the door is Portland, Oregon’s, Pat “Bam Bam” Healy. Healy is on a three-fight skid and in his last outing he was beaten handily by Jorge Masvidal. It seems that while Healy has changed up his training camp over the past year it hasn’t allowed him to create the type of offense that he is known for imposing. Going back to Healy’s first fight back with the UFC following the Strikeforce merger, one can see a difference in the aggression and speed Healy was showing. In that bout with Jim Miller, Healy traded shots, won scrambles, and used his distance effectively. He will need to do just that in Atlantic City if he hopes to defeat his opponent, Gleison Tibau. Tibau is a powerful man for the Lightweight division and has a stellar wrestling and submission game. It isn’t often that a fighter can match the experience level of Healy but Tibau, much like Healy, has around fifty professional fights. It will be interesting to see just how well these fighters match up. I spoke with Healy prior to his last fight and he seemed to believe he could use the pressure that he was feeling about an impending cut from the organization as a way to push himself during his training. Hopefully he did the same throughout this fight camp because four losses in a row will most certainly spell doom for Healy’s time in the UFC.
While a losing streak like Healy’s is obviously cause for concern, a fighter showing overwhelming inconsistency can be equally concerning. Over the last three years, no fighter in the UFC has been more up and down than Rick “The Horror” Story. Having alternated wins and losses dating back to 2011, Story has at times shown flashes of the brilliance that made him a contender. However, in his losses, Story has shown little to make people believe he can return to contender status. I recently penned an article about Story and in it, I questioned if he would be able to rise up out of his current trajectory while remaining with Brave Legion fight team in Vancouver, Washington. Story has always been remarkably loyal to the team. Shortly after the article ran, Story reached out to me and expressed his frustration with all the criticism that he had been receiving. While he felt my article represented his situation fairly, he wanted to let me know that for his upcoming fight with Lenardo Mafra he would actually be leaving Brave Legion. Story said,
“I have kept it on the down low but as of now I am training with The LAB in Glendale, Arizona … My career has been rocky but training is finally fun again and [I’m] sure it will show [in my fight].”
A move this dramatic will most certainly show the UFC brass that Story is serious about returning to the dominant form he once displayed. Training with The Lab will afford Story the luxury of working with former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson and many other great fighters. But all that aside, if this move doesn’t pan out for Story he will be sitting at just 3-6 over his last nine fights. It would be easy to justify handing Story his walking papers.
The last fighter who is in major need of a win is Eugene, Oregon’s, Evan Dunham. After starting his professional career off 11-0, including 3 wins in the UFC, Dunham has become rather inconsistent. While some of his losses have been controversial decisions, it doesn’t excuse a 3-5 record over his last eight fights. If Dunham loses his fight with speedy striker, Edson Barboza, he will have lost three straight fights for the first time in his career. Dunham has traditionally struggled when fighting opponents who use speed as a weapon; four of Dunham’s five losses have come at the hands of fighters who are considered very quick athletes. This bodes well for the Muay Thai kickboxer Barboza. Barboza has dazzled fans with quick strikes and highlight reel knockouts. Dunham will likely look to force the action and fight inside when he takes on Barboza. It will be more important than ever for Dunham to impose his game plan. Dunham is the least likely to be cut following a loss, only because he has fought in many Fight of the Night winning bouts and is well regarded by UFC President, Dana White. With that being said, three straight losses is a bad look for anyone, even Evan Dunham. Don’t be surprised to hear his name on the cut list if he ends up with one more fight in the loss column.
Wins and losses are accumulated week to week in mixed martial arts. Fighters like Healy, Story, and Dunham all have reputations as top-level talent in the sport. However, they have all shown just how easy it is to go from winning streak to losing streak. Even high caliber fighters like these are not immune to the dreaded pink slip. I hope that you watch these fights with a different perspective tonight, as these three fighters look to gain footing in a division that is widely regarded as the most talent rich in all of MMA, and try to remember that with just one loss the journey can spiral a different direction leaving a well-known professional fighter looking for the starting line.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
