After UFC Fight Night 236, as with most Ultimate Fighting Championship events, there was a tangible sense of unease among some of the fighters who fell short, knowing they could be next on the chopping block.
Amid those moments of triumph, however, attention now shifts to the fighters whose future hangs in the balance. We now look at some of the competitors who, with losses on Saturday, face the looming specter of career uncertainty.
Fernie Garcia
This could very well be the end of the road for 31-year-old Garcia. Since his impressive showing on Dana White's Contender Series in 2021, he has been on a four-fight losing skid. Garcia perhaps realizes now that in the quest for the unabated march to the top of the division and championship gold, many fighters like him come to realize that the competition is tougher, and the margin for error is infinitesimal.
True to his “Hurricane” moniker, Hyder Amil overwhelmed Garcia on Saturday, leaving him bloodied and battered with crisp striking. The defining moment of the fight was punctuated by several unanswered shots to Garcia’s head, which forced the referee to intervene and stop the contest at 2:12 of the second round for a standing TKO.
Garcia touched down in the UFC with a 10-1 record but has looked like a pale reflection of his former self in recent fights. While he may receive a reprieve from the UFC for having stepped up on short notice for the Amil fight, if the promotion decides to retain him, the Fortis MMA athlete, instead of chalking those losses up to a bad night in the office, should be looking inward like he has mentioned previously in the face of losses, and address the shortfalls in his preparation.
Zac Pauga
Pauga’s journey speaks volumes about his pursuit of excellence. He has chased his dreams in several different sports, including playing college football at Colorado State University and eventually making it all the way to the professional ranks with the NFL’s Houston Texans in 2011.
While switching his focus from the gridiron to the cage, then carving out a spot for himself in the UFC as the heavyweight runner-up of Season 30 of “The Ultimate Fighter” is impressive, his recent performances have unfortunately not been impressive enough. At “UFC Vegas 86,” American suffered a first-round knockout loss at the hands of Bogdan Guskov, which takes his record to 1-3 in the UFC, without much appreciable success at heavyweight or light heavyweight. His plan to cement his legacy as a fighter that everyone will have their eyes on going forward seems fizzled, and his fate lies in the hands of the UFC's brass. Pauga’s last victory was a unanimous decision triumph against Jordan Wright last February.
Darrius Flowers
It can very well be said that Flowers is surviving in the UFC on borrowed time. With back-to-back losses in the Octagon, the viral Contender Series graduate hasn’t been able to establish his presence in the welterweight or the lightweight division.
At UFC Fight Night 236, his opponent, Michael Johnson, pulled off a solid game plan built around his trademark striking with panache. He also mixed in some swift and timely takedowns, which was enough for the judges to score the contest unanimously in his favor. Only time will tell whether Flowers will be retained in the UFC, but the 29-year-old has time on his side and should regather himself to fight tooth and nail for his spot in the organization.