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The world of the UFC is a highly cutthroat one, and at times, even the biggest superstars are only one bad loss away from losing relevancy altogether.
Right now, the UFC has a number of big-name fighters who simply cannot afford to lose their next fight for several different reasons.
Whether a defeat would push them out of title contention or even signal the end of their career as a relevant fighter, it’s clear that they just cannot afford to lose.
Here are five UFC fighters who absolutely need to win their next fight.
#5. Petr Yan – UFC bantamweight contender
It seems hard to believe now, but if you rewind to less than two years ago, Petr Yan was not only a UFC champion, but he also looked like a pound-for-pound great.
‘No Mercy’ claimed the vacant bantamweight title by stopping the legendary Jose Aldo in the summer of 2020, and the win was his seventh straight inside the octagon.
With a devastating striking arsenal and underrated grappling, it looked like he would hold the title for a long time.
However, he lost it in his first defense against Aljamain Sterling, and while it’s fair to say the defeat came in controversial circumstances – Yan was disqualified – things haven’t worked out for him since.
He claimed the interim title in 2021 by beating Cory Sandhagen, but fell to Sterling in their unification bout. Since then, he has also lost to highly touted contender Sean O’Malley.
Sure, neither of those two losses have seen him being completely dominated, but they have shattered his reputation as the bantamweight division’s bogeyman. It was particularly striking to see him controlled on the ground so easily by Sterling.
Yan’s next bout will see him face powerful wrestler Merab Dvalishvili, and if he loses – particularly if he’s dominated on the ground – then his run at the top could be over, with his Achilles heel exposed.
Therefore, this is a fight that the Russian simply needs to win, even if it’s not going to be easy.
#4. Derrick Lewis – UFC heavyweight contender
This weekend sees former UFC heavyweight title challenger Derrick Lewis return to the octagon for the first time since the summer of 2022. To say that ‘The Black Beast’ needs to beat Sergei Spivac is an understatement.
Lewis, who holds the record for the most knockouts in the history of the promotion with 13, lost both of his fights in 2022. More to the point, he lost them both via KO, falling to the heavy hands of Tai Tuivasa and Sergei Pavlovich.
In isolation, two knockout losses to heavy hitters like Tuivasa and Pavlovich shouldn’t matter. After all, the two men have the power to turn the lights out on anyone.
However, the fact that Lewis appeared to have lost his durability in those bouts was concerning, particularly as he’s set to turn 38 years old next week.
If he can beat Spivac, then not only will ‘The Black Beast’ have righted the ship, but he’ll also continue to be a viable gatekeeper in the heavyweight division as well as a reliable headliner for the UFC’s smaller shows.
If he loses, though, particularly via strikes, it’ll be hard to quiet the calls for him to hang up his gloves altogether.
Therefore, this weekend’s fight is one that Lewis simply cannot afford to lose.
#3. Darren Till – UFC middleweight contender
The two fighters previously mentioned need a win in their next bout to keep their status as contenders alive, but it’s fair to say that middleweight Darren Till probably needs a victory to keep his UFC career alive.
Remarkably, ‘The Gorilla’ has only won once in his last six bouts, and has only won once at 185lbs, period.
That victory came over Kelvin Gastelum way back in November 2019, somewhat of an upset given that he hadn’t fought at middleweight before.
Since then, though, the Liverpool native has lost to Robert Whittaker, Derek Brunson and Dricus Du Plessis, suffering submission defeats to the latter two fighters.
Sure, his defeat to Whittaker was nothing to be ashamed of. ‘The Gorilla’ pushed the Australian harder than most fighters have managed in recent years.
However, his losses to Brunson and Du Plessis exposed a ground game that appeared to be lacking, and if Till wants to get back into contention, then he’ll need to close that hole.
More to the point, though, regardless of who he faces next, ‘The Gorilla’ absolutely needs to win. Sure, he’s a semi-star, particularly in the UK, but few fighters could remain on the promotion’s roster with four losses in a row and one win in seven.
#2. Jorge Masvidal – UFC welterweight contender
Last week saw a major announcement in the welterweight division, as it was confirmed that Jorge Masvidal and Gilbert Burns will face off in the co-headliner of April’s UFC 287. While this is a big fight for both men, it’s fair to say that Masvidal needs the win more.
Time flies in the world of MMA. While it doesn’t quite feel that way, by the time ‘Gamebred’ faces Burns, it’ll be well over three years since he picked up his last victory in the octagon.
That win famously came over Nate Diaz, making Masvidal the first-ever ‘BMF’ champion in the process. Since then, however, he’s lost three straight fights, suffering two defeats to Kamaru Usman and one to Colby Covington.
More to the point, his second loss to Usman, which came via a brutal knockout, did massive harm to his reputation as one of the baddest men in the promotion.
At the age of 38, there’s actually a chance that Masvidal could be reaching the end of his storied career. If he loses to Burns, then his image would probably be shattered for good, and it’d be hard to see him recovering.
If he can win, though, then he’d be back on track, at least in the sense of remaining a prominent star and big-drawing headliner for the UFC. In that sense, ‘Gamebred’ simply cannot afford to lose.
#1. Conor McGregor – UFC lightweight contender
While his status as the UFC’s biggest star is not in question, it’s probably safe to say that no other fighter is in need of a win right now quite as much as Conor McGregor.
‘Notorious’ has not won a bout in the octagon since his January 2020 victory over Donald Cerrone. Since then, he’s suffered two losses at the hands of Dustin Poirier, one coming via KO and the other after he suffered a severe leg injury.
Remarkably, were it not for his win over ‘Cowboy’, you’d have to go all the way back to his lightweight title win over Eddie Alvarez in 2016 to find the Irishman with his hand raised.
There has been no official date given for McGregor’s return, although it seems likely to be this year at some point, with Michael Chandler and Tony Ferguson both being mooted as potential opponents.
Regardless of who he faces, though, ‘Notorious’ absolutely needs to win. If he suffers another defeat, not only is his drawing power likely to diminish, but he’d also become largely irrelevant at the top level of MMA.
A win in his next bout could bring McGregor right back to the top and could even net him a title shot. If he loses, though, the only logical path for him would be to walk away. In that sense, he cannot afford to lose.
