Fighters who have the most to lose

The UFC has trimmed its roster after each event in the fourth quarter of 2024, and many of the fighters released are men and women who lost their fights on those shows.

UFC Fight Night Edmonton could have a similar schedule. Based on their current professional status and recent fighting history, not all of the following fighters may be at risk of being cut. Still, they may have the most to lose if their bout on Saturday at Rogers Center doesn't go according to plan.

Brandon Moreno

In the main event, former UFC men's flyweight champion Brandon Moreno finds himself at a crossroads as he takes on Amir Albazi. Moreno is currently at number 2, while Albazi returns to action after a 17-month absence due to a neck injury.

The fight puts Albazi in a prime position as the next challenger for the 125-pound title following the UFC 310 bout between champion Alexandre Pantoja and newcomer Kai Asakura.

Even if Moreno wins, he would only have a chance to challenge for the title if Asakura beats Pantoja, and even then, No. 1 contender Brandon Royval would have earned more.

Like Royval, Moreno has fought and lost against Pantoja multiple times – three times, to be exact. With no one begging for a fourth meeting, Moreno's best chance of regaining his title is a win over Albazi and a win against Asakura in December.

Those are many eventualities and none of them are a given.

If Moreno loses, he will be out of striking distance of the title. He would not only be behind Royval, with whom he had two fights in their career, but also Albazi and possibly Pantoja and Asakura.

A defeat on Saturday could significantly dent Moreno's immediate title hopes.

Erin Blanchfield

Blanchfield's situation is similar to Moreno's, but not quite as serious.

She expects a possible losing streak of two fights. However, the two losses would have come against Manon Fiorot, the likely next title contender for Valentina Shevchenko to former strawweight world champion turned flyweight contender Rose Namajunas.

Blanchfield's loss to Fiorot ended a nine-fight losing streak, including six straight wins in the UFC. Even if she loses to Namajunas, Blanchfield won't be out of sight, but all the momentum she's built over the past four years will be wiped out.

Blanchfield would likely have to face someone even lower than Namajunas, now ranked No. 6, to maintain her spot in the top five.

Next up could be a matchup with No. 6 Natalia Silva or a rematch with No. 12 Tracy Cortez (Blanchfield lost to her in Invicta in February 2019) if she loses to Namajunas.

The fight with Cortez would be even more likely if she defeats Miranda Maverick on December 14th at UFC Tampa.

Caio Machado and Brendson Ribeiro

Machado and Ribeiro are in it together. The two Brazilians could face a sort of squad eliminator match. It seems that there is a possibility that the loser will be released after the fight.

Machado's massive body transformation is an excellent story, but he finds himself in a must-win situation.

He recently told MMA Fighting that he knows his “job is on the line” in the fight with Ribeiro.

A loss would snap a three-fight losing streak for Machado. He has not won a fight since securing a contract in the UFC with a victory over Kevin Szaflarski on the Dana White Contender Series in August 2023.

Likewise, Ribeiro is on a two-fight losing streak and has not won since qualifying for a UFC contract on DWCS on the same season of the show.

It's almost like professional wrestling; A loser leaves the city game.

Marc-André Barriault

Nobody wants to lose a fight in their home country. It's even worse if that loss causes you to go on a three-fight losing streak. That's what awaits Barriault if he falls victim to Dustin Stoltzfus.

Again, the current climate in the UFC isn't particularly kind to the 34-year-old middleweights who haven't yet reached star level with the promotion and are in three fights.

The signs are there. Barriault has faced declining competition in his last three fights. Barriault moved from Chris Curtis to Joe Pyfer and is now fighting Stoltzfus.

Barriault needs a win. If he loses to a stoppage like he did against Pyfer, that's an even bigger problem. Barriault has an all-action style, so that works to his advantage.

Mike Malott

Was Malott's loss to Neil Magny just a blip on the radar? Will it be a fight we look back on in a similar way to Magomed Ankalaev's last-second loss to Paul Craig in 2018?

Perhaps. We'll get the first answer to these questions on Saturday when Malott takes on Trevin Giles in Edmonton.

Giles has become Mr. Fraud Check in the UFC's welterweight and middleweight divisions, and rarely has a highly touted fighter failed his test. Giles has shown that he is the type of fighter who can defeat mid- to low-level talent.

He competes with fighters who have big plans, but usually loses the fight. Take a look at the last eight fights of Giles' career and pay attention to the opponents and who they became.

• Loss to Carlos Prates via KO (punch) – UFC Fight Night 236 (February 10, 2024)
• Loss to Gabriel Bonfim via submission (guillotine choke) – UFC 291 (July 29, 2023)
• Win over Preston Parsons by decision (split) – UFC on ESPN 43 (March 25, 2023)
• Win over Louis Cosce by decision (unanimous) – UFC Fight Night 210 (September 17, 2022)
• Loss to Michael Morales via TKO (punches) – UFC 270 (January 22, 2022)
• Loss to Dricus Du Plessis via KO (punches) – UFC 264 (July 10, 2021)
• Win via Roman Dolidze by decision (unanimous) – UFC on ESPN 21 (March 20, 2021)
• Win via Bevon Lewis by TKO (punches) – UFC on ESPN 17 (November 7, 2020)

Prates appears to be a real title contender and will headline UFC Vegas 100 on November 9th. Bonfim had a speed bump against Nicholas Dalby but is back on track with a win over Ange Loosa. Giles defeated Parsons and Cosce.

Morales is one of the fastest-rising welterweights in the UFC and Du Plessis is the middleweight champion.

Malott enters; Where will he fit into Giles' list of opponents? Malott lost to Magny because he gassed out in the third round after dominating the first two frames.

Great things are expected of him, but if he loses to Giles – particularly due to fatigue – it will appear that he has reached a limit.

Charles Jourdain

Jourdain appeared to be on his way to closing out 2023 after two straight wins. However, he has lost two fights in a row, with his most recent loss being a loss to Jean Silva in June.

Jourdain wants to avoid a winless 2024 and a three-fight losing streak. He doesn't seem like a fighter in danger of being released, but he's in a tough spot.

Jourdain has previously fought at featherweight, but he moved up to 135kg for Saturday's bout with 37-year-old Victor Henry.

That's a big deal considering Jourdain has fought up to 155 but never lower than featherweight in his career. If he loses his bantamweight debut, it would be a major loss after all the work it took to get to 135 pounds.

Like Barriault, Jourdain is Canadian, which may add more pressure.

Because of all the details, this fight has a lot of history to it.

Check out all the watch information you need for UFC Fight Night Edmonton, including the entire card.

Main Card – 8:00 p.m. ET – ESPN+

• Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi
• Erin Blanchfield vs. Rose Namajunas
• Derrick Lewis vs. Jhonata Diniz
• Caio Machado vs Brendson Ribeiro
• Marc-André Barriault vs. Dustin Stoltzfus
• Mike Malott vs. Trevin Giles

Preliminary Card – 5:00 p.m. ET – ESPN+

• Aiemann Zahabi vs Pedro Munhoz
• Ariane da Silva vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
• Charles Jourdain vs. Victor Henry
• Jack Shore vs. Youssef Zalal
• Alexander Romanov vs. Rodrigo Nascimento
• Serhiy Sidey vs. Garrett Armfield
• Chad Anheliger vs. Cody Gibson
• Jamey-Lyn Horth vs. Ivana Petrovic

Stay tuned for post-fight coverage and reaction.