First and Worst: Week of November 18 – November 24, 2013

By Adam Martin

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: Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza vs. Francis Carmont, UFC Fight Night 36

My pick for the best new fight announced this past week is the upcoming middleweight bout at UFC Fight Night 36 between Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Francis Carmont. It’s a fight that makes a lot of sense as far as the rankings go and it makes sense stylistically as well, two of the markers of a quality fight booking.

With Souza, he’s looked nothing short of amazing in the UFC so far, submitting Chris Camozzi in the first round at UFC on FX 8 and knocking out Yushin Okami in the first round at UFC Fight Night 28. Honestly, he probably deserves a title shot at this point, but since Vitor Belfort and Lyoto Machida are ahead of him in line for a middleweight title shot, Souza needs to stay busy, and Carmont is a perfect matchup for him.

Carmont has won 11 fights in a row and is 6-0 in the UFC, with wins over Camozzi, Karlos Vemola, Magnus Cedenblad, Tom Lawlor, Lorenz Larkin, and Costa Philippou. It was the win over Philippou at UFC 165 that earned Carmont his spot in the top 10 of the division, and he’s earned a shot at fighting one of the best in the world. And, this time, that’s Souza.

I do expect Souza to win this fight, as he has an advantage in the striking and BJJ, as well as home-field advantage, as the fight takes place in his native Brazil, but Carmont is a physical specimen and has come through as an underdog in the past. And who knows, maybe he’s better than we think he is. We’ll find out next February.

UFC Fight Night 36

Francis Carmont vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza

Click the stars to rate your anticipation for this fight.

Worst: Donald Cerrone vs. Adriano Martins, UFC on FOX 10

My pick for the worst new fight announced this past week is the upcoming lightweight bout at UFC on FOX 10 between Donald Cerrone and Adriano Martins. It’s a random matchup that came out of nowhere, and one that doesn’t make any sense as far as the rankings go.

Although Cerrone has been inconsistent in 2013, going 2-2 inside the Octagon, look at who he has been facing: Anthony Pettis, Evan Dunham, Rafael dos Anjos, and KJ Noons. Yes, he lost to the top-10-ranked dos Anjos and Pettis, who later became the champion of the division, but he absolutely destroyed Noons, and his recent “Submission of the Night” win over Dunham proved he’s still one of the best in the world when he’s “on.”

Martins, on the other hand, recently made his UFC debut and won in impressive fashion, submitting Daron Cruickshank with a straight armbar at UFC Fight Night 32. Prior to that, Martins competed in Strikeforce and defeated Jorge Gurgel in his final fight in the promotion. While both Cruickshank and Gurgel are decent wins, they are nowhere near the caliber of fighters that Cerrone has been fighting, and that’s why I think that Martins doesn’t deserve this step up in competition to fight a guy like Cerrone yet.

I’m not saying that Martins can’t win this fight, I just feel that it’s an underserved step up in competition, and for Cerrone, an undeserved step down. Yes, I know that Cerrone is likely never going to win the lightweight title because of his inconsistencies and the flaws in his game, but he’s still one of the bigger fan favorites in the UFC’s lightweight division, and I don’t like him in the gatekeeper role. But with this matchup, it’s obvious that’s what the UFC sees him as now: a gatekeeper. However, the only way he can change UFC matchmaker Joe Silva’s mind is to keep winning, and to keep winning in impressive fashion. Let’s see if he can do it against Martins next January.