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: Junior dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem, UFC 160
The best fight announced this past week is the upcoming
heavyweight bout between top contenders Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem,
which will serve as the co-main event of UFC 160. The winner of the fight will
likely be next in line for a title shot, so with so much on the line and over
500 pounds of human flesh in the cage this May slinging bombs at each other,
fans can expect one of these two fighters to be KO’d in brutal yet beautiful
fashion.
Dos Santos vs. Overeem was supposed to happen back at UFC 146
when dos Santos was still the UFC heavyweight champion, but Overeem failed a
random drug test, and the fight was scratched. Since then, dos Santos lost the heavyweight title to Cain Velasquez at UFC 155, while Overeem was knocked out
by Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva at UFC 156. For both men, it was their first loss in
years, so it will be interesting to see how both fighters rebound from their
respective defeats.
“Cigano” and “The Reem” are the two best strikers in the UFC
heavyweight division, so even though there’s no belt on the line this time
around, fans are still going to get an awesome fight between two guys who
aren’t afraid to stand in the centre of the Octagon and slug leather, and the
best thing is there’s actual heat between the two.
After Overeem tested positive, dos Santos
started to speak out against PED users, and told UFC president Dana White he
wanted to knock “The Reem” out. Overeem responded by saying dos Santos was
scared of him and that’s why he wanted to fight Velasquez again, and dos Santos
wasn’t happy about that at all. So there’s a genuine beef here, and the two
will get to settle the score the old-fashioned way, and that’s by beating the
brains out of each other in the Octagon.
This is one of the best heavyweight fights to take place in MMA
for quite some time, and for many fans, it’s the real main event of UFC 160.
Expect nothing less than the “Knockout of the Night” from this bout, which is
sure to be heavily promoted over the next few months.
Worst: Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, UFC 160
I know the UFC was boxed into a corner, but the worst fight to
be announced this past week is the upcoming heavyweight title fight between
champion Cain Velasquez and challenger Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva at UFC 160. It’s a rematch of their first meeting at UFC 146, a fight which Velasquez won
handily after taking Silva down, cutting him open, and punching him in the face
until the referee was forced to stop the fight.
Unfortunately for “Bigfoot,” I, as well as most other observers
of the sport, believe the rematch is going to down exactly like their first
fight did, and possibly even bloodier and quicker this time around.
Yes, I know “Bigfoot” is coming off the surprising knockout win
over Overeem at UFC 156, but don’t forget he lost the first two rounds of that
fight after Overeem took him down and controlled him on the mat. If “The Reem”
can take “Bigfoot” down at will, there’s no question that Velasquez can as
well.
In my opinion, this fight just illustrates that the UFC’s heavyweight
division, while growing, is still thin. In no other division would you have a
fighter who was TKO’d by the champion just a year earlier fighting for the
title so soon, but that’s the reality of heavyweight MMA.
Silva has certainly been involved in his fair share of upsets –
his wins over Travis Browne and Fedor Emelianenko come to mind – but I think
his luck has run out this time. I see Velasquez putting the hurt on him and
keeping the title, and I have no idea where “Bigfoot” goes from there if that
is indeed the case this May.
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UFC 160: Velasquez vs. Bigfoot II is due to take place on May 25, 2013 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Click the stars to rate how good you think UFC 160 will be.
