UnderGround Forum >> Gurgel on UFC: Win in, Lost Out

Note: I wonder if this is for all fights?

The stakes are clearly laid out for the fighters competing this weekend at "Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine," according to Jorge Gurgel.

"The winners go back to the UFC, and the losers get released, just like that," the veteran told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

For Gurgel (14-8 MMA, 2-3 SF), who meets promotional newcomer and fellow lightweight Adriano Martins (23-6 MMA, 0-0 SF) at Chesapeake Energy Center in Oklahoma City, that means returning to a promotion that released him five years ago.

"Come ready because I'm angry," Gurgel offered to his fellow Brazilian. "You never fought in America before. I'm going to give you a nice welcome to the U.S.A., brother."

Following a 1-3 stretch inside the octagon, "The Ultimate Fighter 2" veteran was given his walking papers. Seven months later, he was back in the cage when Strikeforce signed him to a multi-fight agreement.

Gurgel continued to slide with a 1-2 record in his new home, but his time with UFC parent company Zuffa would not be over. In March 2011, he again became a Zuffa fighter (under a different corporate name) when the company purchased Strikeforce.

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt is 1-1 under new management, so he'll leave the cage on Saturday with a winning or losing record. Gurgel and Martins meet in an untelevised preliminary-card bout prior to the Showtime and Showtime Extreme broadcasts.

Gurgel originally was scheduled to fight DEEP champion Mizuto Hirota on Sept. 29, but the Strikeforce event was canceled, and officials ultimately scrapped the matchup rather than rebook it.

With one shot left to prove his worth, Martins, who fights a one-off with the soon-to-expire promotion, is the planned recipient of Gurgel's aggression.

"Let's put it this way: I'm going to do anything in my power to leave him unconscious on the mat," he said.