First and Worst is an ongoing 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.
First: Jacob Volkmann vs. Bobby Green, UFC 156
Another Strikeforce fighter makes his UFC debut when
lightweight Bobby Green is greeted by veteran Jacob Volkmann at UFC 156 this
coming February in Las Vegas. Green is a veteran of King of the Cage,
Strikeforce and even Affliction, and has amassed a 19-5 record thus far in his
career. Volkmann, on the other hand, is a borderline top-10 lightweight in the
UFC, as his 15-3 MMA record – including a 6-3 mark inside the Octagon – isn’t
too shabby either. He’s coming off the best win of his career over Shane Roller at UFC on FX 5, and another impressive win over Green would be great for his
career.
Obviously this week had slim pickings in new fights announced
because Green vs. Volkmann is preliminary filler. But it’s also a pretty fun
matchup stylistically, and there has already been some Twitter trash talking
going on between these two. The winner of this fight will get a significant
step up in competition in the division, while the loser will likely become
forgotten. So expect the rivalry between these two to start heating up in the
coming weeks with UFC 156 just around the corner, and don’t be surprised if
this fight becomes a sleeper “Fight of the Night” candidate, something which I
can’t believe I’m saying since it’s a Jacob Volkmann fight, but I’m serious.
Worst: Neil Magny vs. Jon Manley, UFC 157
The worst fight announced is a battle of “The Ultimate Fighter”
season 16 semifinalists, as Neil Magny takes on Jon Manley at UFC 157. Both
fighters were eliminated by the show’s finalists Mike Ricci and Colton Smith
during what was by far the worst season of TUF to date. In fact, the season was
so bad that only the four fighters mentioned in this paragraph – among 16 total
in the house – were even invited back for one more fight following the show.
That says a lot.
Magny and Manley have some potential, but it’s limited. Judging
by the way season 16 of TUF went, I expect both of these fighters to fight very
tentatively against one another, and that doesn’t make for an exciting fight at
all. Sure, the winner of this bout will keep his job while the loser will lose
his, but still, we saw the lack of passion these guys fought with on the
show,so why should it change now? This fight is going to be ‘the blur’ of UFC
157, as UFC president Dana White puts it, and I’m not excited for it one bit.
