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: Joanne Calderwood vs. Norma Rueda Center, Invicta FC 6
My pick for the best fight announced this past week is the upcoming women’s strawweight bout at Invicta FC 6 between Joanne Calderwood and Norma Rueda Center, who is a late-notice injury replacement for Sarah Schneider.
I like this bout because any fight featuring Calderwood, one of the top up-and-coming women’s talents in any division, is guaranteed to be exciting. Sure, she’s not taking on a world beater here in Center, but she is taking on an undefeated fighter who trains out of Greg Jackson’s gym, so she should be well-prepared for the battle that awaits her, and that should hopefully make for an entertaining affair.
And what a battle it will be, as Calderwood has proven herself to be one of the most destructive female strikers in the sport just six fights into her career – I mean, how can we forget her “Knockout of the Night” knee to the body finish of Ashley Cummins at Invicta FC 3? Calderwood is a beast, and a future champion, and she’ll get to prove that’s the case if she keeps running through all the girls Invicta throws at her — and Center is next.
Worst: Yushin Okami vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, UFC Fight Night 28
There weren’t many new fights announced this past week, but of the ones that were announced, my pick for the worst is the upcoming middleweight bout at UFC Fight Night 28 between Yushin Okami and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza.
I don’t like this fight because it seems like an unnecessary risk, as the UFC may very well lose Souza as a middleweight contender if Okami is able to use his classic “wall-and-stall” approach, which has seen him eliminate contenders such as Alan Belcher and Hector Lombard in the past. With Souza just getting to the UFC, I don’t understand why the UFC is risking this happening yet again, and so soon.
Sure, I know that Okami is the ultimate gatekeeper at 185, and if you beat him, then you have proven yourself to be worthy of a title shot. But that doesn’t mean he makes for exciting fights, and I have a feeling that this bout with Souza is going to be boring. Like, really boring.
Hopefully I’m proven wrong and this fight is actually really entertaining, but how many times have we said that about a fight with Okami? Not many, and I think it speaks volumes about his style if we can’t pick out five exciting fights from his Octagon tenure, even though no middleweight has had more UFC fights than he’s had.
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Invicta FC 6: Cyborg vs. Coenen 2 is due to take place on July 13, 2013 at the Ameristar Casino Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri.
Click the stars to rate how good you think Invicta FC 6 will be.
UFC Fight Night 28: Teixeira vs. Bader is due to take place on September 4, 2013 at the Estadio Jornalista Felipe Drumond in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Click the stars to rate how good you think UFC Fight Night 28 will be.
