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: Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva, UFC 168
The most important fight announced this past week, and the fight that I believe will end up being the most exciting of any of those announced, (and there were quite a few) is the upcoming UFC middleweight championship rematch between Chris Weidman and Anderson Silva, which will take place at UFC 168 on December 28 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
For all its faults, the first fight between these two, which headlined the recent UFC 162 card, produced one of the most exciting, yet shocking, finishes in MMA history, as Weidman knocked out Silva, the greatest striker the sport has ever seen, in the second round with a beautiful left hook while Silva’s guard was down.
There was a lot of talk that the first match was a fix, but there’s no way that’s what happened that night. Rather, Silva fought overconfidently, and it ended up costing him when his disrespect for Weidman’s tools left him staring into a doctor’s flashlight after Weidman cleaned his clock with one punch.
After taking a week to think about what he wanted to do next in his career, Silva says he’s fired up for this rematch and promises the fans we’ll see the best Silva yet in the cage this winter.
This is my most anticipated bout of the rest of 2013, and I can’t wait to see what happens when these two meet again.
Worst: Robbie Lawler vs. Bobby Voelker, UFC on FOX 8
My pick for the worst fight announced this past week is the upcoming welterweight bout between Robbie Lawler and Bobby Voelker, which takes place at next weekend’s UFC on FOX 8 event. Voelker is a last minute injury replacement for Siyar Bahadurzada, who himself was an injury replacement for Tarec Saffiedine.
Now I’m not saying that Voelker is a bad fighter or anything like that, because I actually really enjoy watching him fight, and I believe he was robbed by the Quebec judges in his UFC debut against Patrick Cote at UFC 158. But Voelker is not on Lawler’s level, and even though this is a short-notice fight, the UFC isn’t giving Lawler the calibre of opponent that he deserves to be fighting after knocking Josh Koscheck out at UFC 157 in his return to the Octagon.
I expect Voelker to be durable, but with a short camp I can’t see him beating Lawler, who looks like he’s really turned back the clock as of late. Instead, I see Voelker being fed to the sharks here, and since I’m not a fan of mismatches, I can’t say I’m a fan of this fight.
I know the UFC was in a tough spot with all the injuries to Lawler’s first two opponents, but really, they should have pulled Lawler from this card and matched him up with Demian Maia a week later – especially since Maia was about to face Koscheck, who Lawler just beat, until Koscheck pulled out with an injury. It made sense, and the UFC really missed the boat. That’s why I have to vote Lawler vs. Voelker as the worst new fight announced this past week.
**********
UFC 168: Weidman vs. Silva II is due to take place on December 28, 2013 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Click the stars to rate how good you think UFC 168 will be.
UFC on Fox 8 is due to take place on July 27, 2013 at the KeyArena in Seattle, Washington.
Click the stars to rate how good you think UFC on Fox 8 will be.
