Four years ago, Joe Doerksen found his head smushed against the UFC’s octagon, scrambling desperately to escape a chokehold his opponent, C.B. Dollaway, refused to let go.

For a moment, he found a reprieve as Dollaway adjusted his arms. But the move merely brought another version of the guillotine choke in which he had been stuck, and after rolling several times to create space to breathe, he was forced to tap out.

Two months later, Doerksen’s returned to the octagon to face Dan Miller. In a plodding fight, he lost a split decision. He returned to his home in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to find a contract release notice from the UFC. Sixty fights into his professional career, he was without a promotional home.

Doerksen (51-16), 37, didn’t give up on MMA. Three months after his exit, he fought former Bellator champ and current UFC welterweight Hector Lombard, losing via TKO stoppage due to a cut.

He had two more fights in 2011, then two in 2012, one in 2013, and one in 2014. He’s 5-1 since leaving the UFC.

“It’s been an interesting couple of years,” Doerksen told MMAjunkie Radio. “Fights have been slow in coming. It seems like we get a fight lined up, and then something falls through.

“Things have just been slow. I don’t really understand why.”

It’s a classic situation for a fighter with Doerksen’s level of experience. Promoters can’t find him fights. Up-and-coming prospects and mid-level fighters don’t want to risk a loss to him. With his level of experience, commissions can be anxious about matchmaking.

Doerkson now works at Headingley Correctional Centre in to make ends meet. The job doesn’t require a lot of physical labor, he said, so he goes to the gym afterward to train. He said he’s healthy and feeling better than ever.

The UFC is also aware of his situation, he added. They want to see him win more fights.

“I guess they’re maybe looking for one or two more,” Doerksen said. “They did make a comment about me being 37, there’s a rule in Nevada that you can’t take fights on less than 30 days’ notice.”

The Nevada State Athletic Commission, to which the UFC defers on regulatory matters, requires fighters over the age of 35 to appear before the commission to prove they are fit to be licensed for a fight. Given that meetings occur every few months, the promotion would have to book Doerksen with ample time to be cleared.

That puts the promotion in a tough spot given the hundreds of fighters it has under contract, all of whom are looking to stay as busy as possible. In many cases, short-notice opportunities are the best way to get back.

Doerksen, meanwhile, is going to keep training and try to get the necessary wins to win another contract, whether it be in the UFC or Bellator.

“To be honest with you, I don’t really care where I go,” he said. “Obviously, most of my fights are behind me, and not in front of me. I’m not going to keep fighting for 10 more years, but right now, I’m physically fit. I’m healthy and I’m motivated. As long as those conditions are in place, I’m going to keep going forward.

“It’s one fight at a time for me right now, but realistically, as long as I don’t get injured, I can see myself going for three or four years, and where I go isn’t that important to me. I just want to go out there and compete and have fun.”

Doerksen said it’s definitely not money he’s fighting for when it comes to keeping his career alive. He’s got a job to cover his living expenses. But that doesn’t satisfy him in the same way competition does.

“I want to test myself a few more times before I say goodbye,” he said.

MMAjunkie Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show, available on SiriusXM channel 92, is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.