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: Miesha Tate vs. Liz Carmouche, UFC on FOX 8
My pick for the best fight announced this past week is the upcoming women’s bantamweight bout at July’s UFC on FOX 8 event between Miesha Tate and Liz Carmouche, two of the top women’s fighters in the world. With both women having recently lost to champion Ronda Rousey, and with both fighters being known for their exciting styles, the fight makes a lot of sense, as the winner of this fight will stay in title contention, while the loser will have to really reconsider her future.
Sure, there aren’t many women signed to the UFC right now, and therefore it’s not like UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby had to do a lot of hard thinking to make this match, but still, the UFC could have easily matched Tate and Carmouche up with lesser-known women to try and build their stocks back up after their recent losses to Cat Zingano and Rousey, respectively. But the UFC took the risk to match them up, and thus risks losing one as a contender down the road (which is a dangerous thing to do in a shallow division). That said, I agree with the decision because this is the best fight available that could be booked from the fans’ perspective, which is the one that matters the most.
Worst: Erick Silva vs. Jason High, UFC on FUEL TV 10
My pick for the worst fight announced this past week is the upcoming welterweight matchup between Erick Silva and former Strikeforce fighter Jason High, which takes place at UFC on FUEL TV 10 this June. High is an injury replacement for John Hathaway, who had to pull out of the bout with an illness, although it should be pointed out he was scheduled to fight Ildemar Alcantara on the undercard, so he’s had a full training camp.
From a rankings perspective, this fight does make sense, as both Silva and High are ranked around No. 20 or so in the welterweight division. But from the perspective of protecting your investments, this isn’t a good fight at all, as Silva showed in his UFC 153 fight against Jon Fitch that while he is a solid prospect, he still has holes in his wrestling, and High is absolutely another guy that can exploit it.
Although High is a solid 170-pounder and is underappreciated by the majority of fans, he does have that label of “lay and pray” fighter. And there’s a very real possibility that he lies on top of Silva for 15 minutes in order to defeat him, as there’s no way he’ll risk standing with the young Brazilian phenom. And if that does happen, you’ll have to question the UFC’s decision to make this match, because Silva is a marketable fighter who is only going to improve, but a second-straight loss would really set him back in his career.
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UFC on Fox 8 is due to take place on July 27, 2013 at the KeyArena in Seattle, Washington.
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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.
Click the stars to rate how good you think UFC on FUEL TV 10 will be.
