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: John Makdessi vs. Daron Cruickshank, UFC 158
I’m pretty sure that John Makdessi vs. Daron Cruickshank, which takes place at UFC 158 in Montreal, is going to be the most anticipated preliminary bout on what is shaping up to be one of the most stacked cards in recent memory. After all, this a main card that features Georges St-Pierre defending the UFC welterweight championship against Nick Diaz, Carlos Condit rematching Rory MacDonald, and Johny Hendricks taking on Jake Ellenberger.
Both Makdessi and Cruickshank are world-class strikers who, when paired together, could put on one of the most exciting fights of the year. In Makdessi’s case, we all saw what he was capable of when he KO’d Kyle Watson with a brilliant spinning back fist at UFC 129. Though he’s been inconsistent since, he’s coming off a huge divisional win over Sam Stout at UFC 154, and a win over Cruickshank would shoot him up the ranks, considering how good Cruickshank looked in his last fight, when he knocked out Henry Martinez with an incredible head kick at UFC on FOX 5. That fight demonstrated why he was a favourite heading into season 15 of The Ultimate Fighter.
Although Cruickshank didn’t win TUF, he’s won back-to-back fights in the UFC since the show, and is showing rapid improvements in both his standup and wrestling. For Makdessi, the win over Stout snapped a nasty two-fight losing streak, in a fight that wasn’t the most exciting, despite looking like that on paper. However, I believe Makdessi fought Stout with a conservative gameplan in mind, knowing that another loss would likely have led to his UFC release, so now that the pressure’s off his shoulders, I fully expect him to go out and bang with Cruickshank, and give the fans a great show.
This fight has the potential to be a standup war that is remembered for years to come, and I’m just glad I’ll be in Montreal to witness it live. Although it’s still a few months away, keep this one in mind, because it’s likely to be very exciting.
Worst: Pat Healy vs. Kurt Holobaugh, Strikeforce Finale
The worst fight announced this past week pits veteran lightweight Pat Healy against newcomer Kurt Holobaugh, and will take place at the Strikeforce Finale. Healy, if you recall, was first set to face Gilbert Melendez for the lightweight belt, but after an injury to Melendez forced him out of the fight, fellow contender Jorge Masvidal stepped up and took the fight in his place. But then Masvidal got injured too, and Holobaugh was called in at the last minute, taking the fight against the dangerous veteran Healy on just over one week’s notice.
OK, let me be fair for a second. This wasn’t Strikeforce’s fault, per se, because injuries nixed the two fights they wanted to put together (and both Melendez vs. Healy and Masivdal vs. Healy were exciting fights on paper). But to sign a promising prospect like Holobaugh – who is a quiet 8-0 to start his career – and throw him to the wolves is silly, especially when you consider the fact that Holobaugh’s Twitter says he fights at featherweight, while Healy is a guy who used to fight at welterweight. The odds are that Holobaugh will show some skills for however long he’s in the cage, but Healy should be able to definitively defeat him.
It’s possible Holobaugh took the fight knowing that even with a loss he would get a shot in the UFC’s featherweight division, so it was a no brainer for him. But for Healy, this fight is pointless, other than the fact he’ll cash a paycheck. It’s not like a win over Holobaugh is going to shoot him up the lightweight ranks or anything, so I don’t understand why Zuffa couldn’t have just transferred him over to the UFC without him having to fight Holobaugh first. He definitely deserves it based on his resume at this point in time.
This fight could produce a nice finish for Healy, but really, is that going to get him any closer to the UFC lightweight title? Absolutely not. As for Holobaugh, it’s an audition and the opportunity of a lifetime, but man, Healy is quite possibly the toughest fight a newcomer to the Strikeforce lightweight division could get. Good luck, sir.
