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This weekend sees UFC 272 take place in Las Vegas. As always, with a major pay-per-view event like this, the stakes are high for a number of fighters.
For a number of reasons, more than one fighter will be competing at UFC 272 in a fight that they simply cannot afford to lose.
With this kind of pressure, can these fighters rise to the occasion in their must-win bouts, or will they falter under the spotlight?
With that in mind, here are five fighters who desperately need to win at UFC 272.
#5. Kevin Holland – UFC welterweight contender
It doesn’t seem all that long ago that Kevin Holland was amongst the hottest fighters in the entire UFC. ‘The Trailblazer’ enjoyed a blockbuster 2020. After winning five fights in a row, he looked set to break out as a genuine star in 2021.
However, to say things went wildly wrong for him would be a massive understatement. Despite defeating famed grappler Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza from the bottom, Holland’s lack of defensive wrestling was badly exposed in his losses to Derek Brunson and Marvin Vettori.
Those two losses knocked him out of contention at 185lbs. When he attempted to rebound by defeating prospect Kyle Daukaus, he found himself knocked out badly in the first round.
The result of that bout ended up being overturned when it became clear that Holland had been stunned by an accidental headbutt. However, it still left him winless for the year and marked the first time he’d been knocked out.
This weekend sees ‘The Trailblazer’ return. Interestingly, he is dropping to 170lbs for the first time since 2017 to take on Alex Oliveira.
On paper, at least, Oliveira – a flashy offensive fighter who isn’t likely to look to blanket Holland – should be a good opponent for the former 185lber. However, question marks still hang over how he’ll make 170lbs and his mindset following his winless run.
Win here, and Holland will signal his intentions to become a welterweight contender. If he loses, his future in the promotion could be at stake, making this weekend a must-win situation.
#4. Edson Barboza – UFC featherweight contender
This weekend’s main card sees Edson Barboza take on Bryce Mitchell. Not only does the fight appear to be a classic striker vs. grappler affair, it’s also a classic example of a battle between a veteran and a prospect.
That means that essentially, all of the pressure is on Barboza, who is returning to the octagon for the first time since his loss to Giga Chikadze last August.
Sure, ‘Junior’ didn’t have a bad 2021 by any means, as he followed a win over Makwan Amirkhani with an impressive knockout of Shane Burgos. However, at the age of 36, should he go on a losing run like he did from 2019 to 2020, his UFC career could well prove to be over.
Does this match bode well for Barboza? Perhaps. Mitchell is a dangerous grappler, but he’s largely unproven on the feet, and ‘Junior’ does have pretty solid takedown defense.
However, ‘Thug Nasty’ has never been beaten in his MMA career. He will be entering the octagon with the confidence of a fighter who believes he can run through any opponent – including Barboza. That makes him almost uniquely dangerous.
This doesn’t look like an impossible task for Barboza. However, given that his back is definitely against the wall, he simply needs to win this fight to stay afloat in the featherweight division.
#3. Greg Hardy – UFC heavyweight contender
With his fight this weekend being the final one on his current deal with the UFC, there’s every chance that Greg Hardy will be leaving regardless of whether he wins or loses.
Put simply, the former NFL star hasn’t lived up to the expectations that were around him when he debuted in the octagon in 2019. Given he’s on a six-figure contract, Dana White and company may simply decide that he just isn’t worth it.
However, should Hardy knock out opponent Sergey Spivak in impressive fashion this weekend, there’s still a chance that the promotion could offer him a new contract.
If he leaves the UFC with a big, highlight-reel win, a rival promotion like Bellator the PFL may offer him something. This would allow him to continue his MMA career.
If he loses to Spivak, though – and he may well, given his ground game still looks very raw – then it’s likely that his MMA career will probably be over unless he’s willing to settle for a much lower salary.
Essentially, there’s more pressure on Hardy to perform this weekend than he’s ever felt in his career as a fighter. This clash really is all or nothing for ‘The Prince of War’.
#2. Rafael dos Anjos – UFC lightweight contender
Initially, the co-headline bout at UFC 272 was set to see former lightweight kingpin Rafael dos Anjos take on hot prospect Rafael Fiziev. In that bout, most of the pressure would’ve been on Fiziev to perform and break into the elite at 155lbs.
However, with the Kazakhstani sidelined due to a positive COVID-19 test, the UFC were forced to scramble for a replacement this week. They eventually decided on Renato Moicano, who last fought in February, choking out Alexander Hernandez.
It’s fair to say that Moicano is an excellent fighter. However, given that he is not ranked in the promotion’s top 15 right now, this is a high-risk, low-reward bout for dos Anjos.
Should the veteran win, he will have beaten an unranked, arguably underrated fighter who took a fight on very late notice. It won’t advance dos Anjos in the rankings, and it’s likely he’ll be matched with Fiziev again in the future.
If he loses, though, any idea of him making another run at the lightweight title will be dead in the water. It’s likely that his career as a top-level fighter will also be seen as over too.
Therefore, ‘RDA’ is in an absolute must-win situation this weekend. Arguably more than anyone else on this card, he cannot afford to lose.
#1. Jorge Masvidal – UFC welterweight contender
While he remains one of the UFC’s most bankable stars and one of their biggest draws right now, it’s safe to say that Jorge Masvidal is in a must-win situation this weekend. For more than one reason too.
‘Gamebred’ is set to headline the event against friend turned bitter rival Colby Covington. Given the amount of trash that both men have talked coming into the bout, the idea of Masvidal losing to ‘Chaos’ is probably unpalatable for him.
More to the point, though, if he does lose, very valid questions will probably begin to be asked about his relevance to the welterweight division on the whole.
Masvidal has not won a bout inside the octagon since his win over Nate Diaz in November 2019. He’s only fought twice since in a pair of losses to Kamaru Usman.
Naturally, there’s no shame in losing to ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’, but as more time passes, Masvidal’s wins over Diaz, Ben Askren and Darren Till look less impressive.
If ‘Gamebred’ can overcome Covington, nobody could question the idea that he’s still one of the world’s most dangerous 170lbers. If he loses, though – particularly by stoppage – then not only will fans begin to question his durability, they’ll also wonder whether he can still compete at the top.
Therefore, if Masvidal wants more big-time headline bouts like this one – and more money – in his future, then he absolutely needs to win this weekend.
