series for MMARatings.net, where every week Adam will make his pick for the
best and worst newly-announced fight of the past week (Monday to Sunday). If
you’d like to see any additions to this series, hit him up on Twitter @MMAdamMartin.
definitely the upcoming UFC 156 matchup between two of the very best
welterweights on the planet, Jon Fitch and Demian Maia. The fight between the
two elite grapplers is one of the most intriguing MMA matchups due to take
place in 2013, and has the potential to be an epic ground battle.
Regarded for years as a perennial title contender, Fitchfell on hard times when he drew with B.J. Penn at UFC 127 and was knocked out
in 12 seconds by Johny Hendricks at UFC 141. But he rebounded in a big way at
UFC 153, decisioning hotshot prospect Erick Silva in what was a “Fight of theNight” performance. Fitch wants another shot at UFC welterweight champion
Georges St-Pierre after his failed attempt to claim the title at UFC 87, and a
win over the surging Maia would be huge.
Maia, a former 185-pound title contender, has looked
incredible since making the drop down to 170 pounds, TKOing Dong Hyun Kim at
UFC 148 and submitting Rick Story at UFC 153. Maia has returned to the
grappling roots that saw him score submissions in his first five UFC fights,
and along with his size for the division and his championship experience, he is
most definitely a player in the UFC welterweight division.
is no doubt going to wind up on the floor. Once it’s there, though, it’s
unknown who will have the advantage. Will it be Maia with his BJJ black belt?
Or will it be Fitch with his smothering wrestling and ground-and-pound? We’ll have
to wait until February 2 to find out.
Finale
My pick for worst matchup is Roy Nelson vs. Matt Mitrione,
which will be the main event for The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale. Mitrione is a
late-notice replacement for Shane Carwin, who was forced to pull out of the
bout with Nelson with a knee injury, the latest in a string of fights featuring
TUF coaches that have been canceled or postponed for injury or some other
reason.
due to fight Phil de Fries at UFC 155 this upcoming December, but instead he’ll
fight the iron-chinned Nelson. Mitrione has drawn the ire of UFC president Dana
White because he’s turned down fights with Travis Browne and Daniel Cormier in
recent months, and he needs a good performance against Nelson to get back into
the boss’ good books.
scored knockouts, while the lone loss was when he was outwrestled by Cheick Kongo at UFC 137. Facing the tough-as-nails Nelson, the chance of a knockout is
remote, and there’s no way he’s going to outgrapple Nelson, who is a far
superior fighter on the ground. Nelson also possesses massive power, so really
in this fight the only advantage Mitrione – the former NFL player – has is his
athleticism.
But despite his un-athletic appearance, Nelson is an elite
heavyweight fighter. The former TUF winner and IFL heavyweight champion is 4-3
in the UFC with three “Knockout of the Night” bonuses and a “Fight of the
Night” award to his credit. Nelson is a submission wizard, and one of the
toughest fighters in the game today, and after training the past few months for
a far superior fighter to Mitrione in Carwin, there’s no reason he shouldn’t
put on a great performance.
that we’ll be seeing Mitrione vs. Nelson now, because this really isn’t a great
fight. Mitrione has no business being in the cage with Nelson at this point in
his career, and really, he’s only in this spot because he’s a last-minute
replacement. This is not only my pick for the worst fight announced in the past
week, but my pick for the weakest UFC main event of the year.
