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: Chan Sung Jung vs. Ricardo Lamas, UFC 162
My pick for the best fight announced this past week is the upcoming featherweight tilt between Chan Sung Jung and Ricardo Lamas, which takes place at this July’s UFC 162 event. Both fighters are currently ranked in the top five of the division, so it’s likely this is a No. 1 contender’s bout.
This is a fantastic fight between two of the best in the world that is sure to be exciting. Although he has missed a year of action, Jung is currently riding a three-fight win streak, with victories over Dustin Poirier (via D’arce choke), Mark Hominick (via seven-second KO), and Leonard Garcia (via Twister), while Lamas has four wins in a row, over Erik Koch (via TKO), Hatsu Hioki (via decision), Cub Swanson (via arm-triangle choke), and Matt Grice (via head kick TKO).
Clearly, these are two of the most exciting up-and-comers in the entire UFC, so the matchup between the two should provide nothing short of fireworks for the fans, who are the real winners here with this fight announcement.
Although it hasn’t been officially confirmed as such yet, expect this fight to be the co-main event of UFC 162, behind only the headlining fight between UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and challenger Chris Weidman.
Worst: Ronny Markes vs. Derek Brunson, UFC on FUEL TV 10
My pick for the worst fight announced this past week is the upcoming middleweight fight between Derek Brunson and Ronny Markes, which takes place this June in Brazil at the UFC on FUEL TV 10 event, the same event which features the finals of TUF Brazil 2.
I know the fight makes sense from a rankings point of view, as each fighter is around the No. 20 mark in the division. But I just don’t think it’s going to be a very good fight. Don’t get me wrong, both Markes and Brunson are talented fighters, but they are both primarily wrestlers who have been tabbed as “lay-and-prayers” by fans, and I think they’re right, so I don’t think the fight will be very exciting.
Then again, often times when you have a fight between two wrestlers it turns into a standup fight, so it’s possible that could be the case here. But it’s much more likely the fans get a fight consisting of a lot of pushing against the fence that isn’t very exciting, so that’s why this is the worst matchup of this past week’s fight announcements.
UFC 162: Silva vs. Weidman is due to take place on July 6, 2013 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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UFC on FUEL TV 10: Nogueira vs. Werdum is due to take place on June 8, 2013 at Ginásio Paulo Sarasate in Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil.
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