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: Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler, UFC 171
My pick for the best fight announced this past week is the upcoming welterweight title fight at UFC 171 in Dallas between the top two contenders in the division, Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler. The fight will be contested for five rounds, and the winner will be awarded the UFC welterweight championship that Georges St-Pierre vacated last week.
This is an epic fight, and I expect it to be one of the most memorable matches of 2014 after it’s all said and done.
Obviously, many consider Hendricks the true champ right now anyway after the judges ripped him off at UFC 167, and so to many this will seem like his first title defence. Even though he technically lost to GSP, I think that the great fight they had actually raised his profile higher than it’s ever been before – and perhaps even turned him into a superstar — and that’s why I think the fans are going to be super excited for this fight with Lawler when it happens.
As for Lawler, he is surely the Comeback Fighter of 2013 after taking out Rory MacDonald, Bobby Voelker, and Josh Koscheck in brutal fashion. Although I believe that Carlos Condit should have been the one getting this fight for the belt, I understand the UFC wants a fresh matchup, and since Condit and Hendricks fought at UFC 154, it makes sense to go with someone new in Lawler. And it doesn’t hurt that he’s a great fighter in his own right.
I feel like Hendricks and Lawler is going to be an absolute war between two heavy-handed sluggers with solid wrestling bases, and I cannot wait until they fight and a new champ is crowned next March in Dallas.
• Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler (UFC Welterweight Championship)
Click the stars to rate your anticipation for this fight.
Worst: Erick Silva vs. Nate Loughran, UFC Fight Night 36
My pick for the worst fight announced this past week is the upcoming welterweight matchup at UFC Fight Night 36 in Brazil between Erick Silva and Nate Loughran.
When this fight was announced, tons of fans went on social media to say that they had never heard of Loughran, and even I had to check his name on Sherdog to remember who he was. Although he is a member of the “Skrap Pack” with the Diaz brothers and Gilbert Melendez, and although he has fought in the UFC before, he has only fought twice in the last five years. So it was very strange to many people that he got a fight against Silva in his return to the UFC after five years away, and I can’t blame people for admitting they don’t know who Loughran is.
I know that Silva is on a bit of an up-and-down swing right now, and I know he’s coming off a devastating KO loss to Dong Hyun Kim, but for Silva to fight someone not just unranked, but who wasn’t even in the UFC last week, is just absolutely ridiculous to me, as Silva – despite his flaws – is still one of the top 15 or 20 welterweights in the UFC. Loughran, on the other hand? Not so much.
I guess this matchup is going to accomplish what the UFC’s goal is – to try and get Silva back into the win column – but I just have the feeling the UFC could have accomplished the same goal by not booking such a big mismatch, and actually giving Silva a challenge instead.
Click the stars to rate your anticipation for this fight.
