5 fighters who cannot afford to lose at UFC 303

This weekend sees UFC 303 go down in Las Vegas. While it isn't the blockbuster card fans hoped for, it's still a hugely stacked show.

UFC 303 features some of the promotion's most exciting fighters and for some, losing simply cannot be an option this weekend.

Here are five fighters who cannot afford to lose at UFC 303 this weekend.

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#5. Michelle Waterson - UFC strawweight contender

Few fighters on the current UFC roster have fallen quite as quickly and as far as strawweight veteran Michelle Waterson.

'The Karate Hottie' has never quite made it into title contention at 115 pounds, but since her arrival in the octagon back in 2015, she has been a popular fighter and a reliable headliner too.

Recently, though, it appears that her time at the top has finally come to an end. Waterson is coming into this weekend's event on the back of a four-fight losing streak.

Not only has she been finished in two of those four losses, but you also need to rewind all the way back to September 2020 to find her last win. In fact, that win is her only one in her last seven bouts.

'The Karate Hottie' finds herself buried deep on the preliminary card for her clash with the tough Gillian Robertson this weekend. If she falls to the Canadian fighter, there's almost no doubt that her UFC career will be over. In fact, it wouldn't be surprising to see her look to retire on the back of a defeat.

Therefore, if she wants to continue competing, Waterson simply has to win this fight.

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#4. Anthony Smith - UFC light-heavyweight contender

Under normal circumstances, the pressure tends to be lifted from any fighter who takes a bout on short notice. For Anthony Smith, though, the situation he finds himself in at UFC 303 this weekend is a little different.

Initially, 'Lionheart' appeared to have helped to save the event when it was struck with various injuries earlier this month. Smith accepted a fight with the surging Carlos Ulberg on late notice, replacing former light-heavyweight champ Jamahal Hill.

However, this past weekend, it was announced that Ulberg was now sidelined from the fight. It was then announced that Roman Dolidze would take his place against 'Lionheart.'

Given that Dolidze has not only lost his last two fights in the octagon, but he's also never fought in the promotion above 185 pounds before, many are favoring Smith.

Sure, 'Lionheart' won't be cut even if he's knocked out in this fight. He's too much of a company man and he's always exciting to watch, therefore it's likely he has a roster spot for life.

However, if he does fall to 'The Caucasian,' it'd probably mark the end of his time near the top of the 205 pound division, even as a gatekeeper. That spot is one that Smith likely will not want to lose at any cost. Therefore, 'Lionheart' cannot afford to suffer what would be a shocking defeat this weekend.

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#3. Joe Pyfer - UFC middleweight contender

At the start of 2024, it's probably fair to say that the UFC's middleweight division had few hotter fighters than Joe Pyfer.

After earning a contract with the promotion on Dana White's Contender Series, 'Bodybagz' burst onto the scene with an impressive debut win over Alen Amedovski.

With plenty of charisma and an exciting fighting style, Pyfer appeared to have everything one needed to become a star, and it was unsurprising to see the UFC treat him as such.

When he followed his debut win with two more victories, both via finish, it appeared that the sky was the limit for the young fighter.

However, when he came up against Jack Hermansson in his first ever headline bout in February, Pyfer came up painfully short. He was outclassed by 'The Joker', and came out on the wrong end of a five-round decision.

This weekend sees 'Bodybagz' return against an opponent far lower on the totem pole in the form of Marc-Andre Barriault. 'Power Bar' is tough, but he's the kind of opponent that Pyfer ought to beat if he has plans on reaching the top.

If 'Bodybagz' falls to a second defeat in a row, any idea he had of climbing into contention and becoming a star would likely go right out of the window. Therefore, for the good of his career, it's clear that he cannot afford to lose.

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#2. Ian Machado Garry - UFC welterweight contender

UFC 303's main card opener will see a very intriguing welterweight battle between fast-rising prospect Ian Machado Garry and former Bellator star Michael 'Venom' Page.

For Page, this fight marks only his second octagon appearance, and as such, the pressure is largely on his opponent. Realistically, few observers expected him to become a title contender in the UFC, and so anything he can achieve would class as a bonus.

The same cannot be said for Garry, though. Despite sporting a fantastic record of 14-0, with half of those wins coming in the octagon, 'The Future' definitely has a lot to prove here.

Unfortunately, a lot of that pressure is Garry's own doing. While he's a hugely confident fighter, he hasn't quite endeared himself to the fans just yet, and came under serious fire for withdrawing from a fight with Vicente Luque late last year.

Moreover, his showing against Geoff Neal in March also saw him heavily criticised for a perceived safety-first approach, even if it won him the bout.

If 'The Future' can win convincingly this weekend, particularly if he can finish 'MVP,' then the fans will likely get back on his side, as he continues to call out the villainous Colby Covington.

If he loses, though, it'll be hard not to see him as more hype than substance, meaning that he probably can't afford to come up short on fight night.

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#1. Jiri Prochazka - UFC light-heavyweight contender

It seems crazy, but the fighter with the most to lose at UFC 303 this weekend will be competing in the headline bout.

That headliner will see Jiri Prochazka attempt to regain the light-heavyweight title when he faces current titleholder Alex Pereira in a rematch.

Under normal circumstances, there probably wouldn't be too much pressure on 'BJP.' After all, both he and Pereira have taken this fight on relatively short notice, and there's no danger of him losing his roster spot with a defeat.

However, the issue for the Czech fighter is the fact that he has lost to 'Poatan' before.

The two men met for the then-vacant title in late 2023, and an exciting bout ended when Pereira knocked Prochazka down and then finished him off with strikes.

'BJP' has since bounced back with a victory over Aleksander Rakic, and looked impressive too.

However, as other fighters such as Robert Whittaker, Max Holloway and Joseph Benavidez have found in the past, if you suffer two losses to a reigning champ, it's nearly impossible to get back into title contention.

Therefore, if this weekend's fight goes in favor of Pereira, any chance of Prochazka returning for another title shot while Pereira reigns over the division would basically vanish.

'BJP' would essentially become the highest-level gatekeeper possible, and while there's nothing wrong with occupying that spot per say, for a fighter who clearly has aspirations of being champ, it'd be disappointing.

With that in mind, the Czech fighter can't afford to lose at UFC 303.