More Kevin Iole: Houston Alexander faces a ‘must win’ situation when he takes on tough BJJ specialist Eric “Red” Schafer at UFC’s ‘Ultimate Fight Night’. And we’re not just talking about a *metaphorical* ‘must win’ situation either–Dana White hisself says that Alexander’s UFC gig is on the line:

After his wins over Jardine and Sakara, there were calls for Alexander to get a title shot. Now, there are many questioning why the UFC signed him to a recent long-term contract extension.

UFC president Dana White, who isn’t shy about releasing a fighter, was adamant that Alexander needs to turn things around.

“There’s no doubt about that,” White said. “He needs a way. He desperately needs a win. Another loss and he’s going to have to go out and start working his way back up to the UFC.”

Alexander understands what he’s up against, but he’s as adamant as White that he feels no pressure. And though it would seem to have been a cruel matchmaking trick by Joe Silva, the UFC’s vice president of talent relations, putting him in against a jiu-jitsu expert in a fight he absolutely must win, Alexander harbors no ill will.

He does a fairly good job of convincing you it’s actually in his best interest.

“If this is a challenge from Joe to me, I thank him for it because I think it’s a good thing for me,” Alexander said. “And let me tell you something: I’m better at jiu-jitsu and wrestling than a lot of people think. I’ve seen his tapes and he is very good, but I believe I present him some unique problems just as he presents those to me.”

Alexander’s win over Jardine was monsterous–he looked like a guy whose life was on the line if he didn’t KO his opponent. He did just that, which vaulted him to MMA prominence. That was followed by another impressive win over Alessio Sakara. Since then, he’s had two fights and two quick TKO losses–one to tough Thiago Silva and the other an 8 second debacle to James Irvin.

Schaefer is no easy out–obviously a BJJ specialist is a tough matchup for Alexander’s aggressive style. Schaefer is also something of an underrated fighter–his 3 losses have come to a couple of tough guys in Michael Bisping and Stephan Bonnar, along with a lesser known fighter named Dustin Denes who is something of an underrated competitor in his own right.

Alexander faces must win @ Yahoo Sports