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: Ronda Rousey vs. Sara McMann, UFC 170
My pick for the best new fight announced this past week is the upcoming women’s bantamweight title bout at UFC 170 between Ronda Rousey and Sara McMann. This fight will be the new main event for that PPV card, replacing Daniel Cormier vs. Rashad Evans, which has been dropped down to the co-main event slot. I love this matchup in every possible way, and I believe the UFC made a great move by getting Rousey back in the cage just two months after Saturday night’s title defence against Miesha Tate.
The most intriguing part about this matchup to me is that it will pair two Olympians with different combat sports backgrounds who are both undefeated so far in MMA. Rousey was a bronze-medal-winning judo player, while McMann was a silver-medal-winning wrestler, and now they will fight one another so that we can find out who the better grappler is . And I can’t wait to find out.
The fact that these two are Olympians is cool, and the fact that this card takes place during the 2014 Olympics makes it tie in well thematically, even though of course wrestling and judo aren’t part of the Winter Games. Still, it will likely help make the promotion for the bout that much easier.
And as far as the way the fight goes stylistically, it’s going to be super interesting to see if McMann can stop Rousey’s takedowns, as Rousey has been unstoppable so far in the Octagon with her patented judo throws. I think, though, that if there’s anyone who can stop the takedowns it’s indeed McMann, and she might be able to do it next February in Las Vegas.
It would be surprising to most if Rousey lost this fight, but I really feel like McMann has a great chance of pulling off the upset here, and I can’t wait until these two step into the cage so that we can find out.
Click the stars to rate your anticipation for this fight.
Worst: Clint Hester vs. Andy Enz, UFC 169
My pick for the worst new fight announced this past week is a middleweight bout at UFC 169 between TUF 17 competitors Clint Hester and Andy Enz. Hester is so far 2-0 in the Octagon, while Enz is making his UFC debut here after he broke his arm in his fight against Uriah Hall to get into the house.
I’m not against the UFC giving Enz a shot in the Octagon, but I don’t think this fight against Hester makes any sense. Yes, Enz is undefeated in his young MMA career, but he has been fighting absolute cans. As for Hester, he is already 2-0 in the Octagon with TKO wins over Bristol Marunde and Dylan Andrews, and I really thought the win over Andrews would get him a significant step up in competition.
Instead, the UFC has decided to give him Enz. I just don’t understand it. Yeah, they were both of TUF 17, but so what? They aren’t anymore, and there are plenty of other middleweights to book for fights, especially in Hester’s case. So I just really feel like this is poor, lazy matchmaking on Joe Silva’s part. (Although, of course, watch me be wrong about it, and see an Enz upset.)
Anyway, I just think there were more exciting matchups for Hester, so I’m disappointed with this one. But at the very least, we’ll see how Hester does against a ground fighter, as that is his one big weakness, and going forward that information will be good to know. But I still feel like he deserved a bigger fight.
Clint Hester vs. Andy Enz
Click the stars to rate your anticipation for this fight.
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UFC 169: Barao vs. Faber II is due to take place on February 1, 2014 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Click the stars to rate how good you think UFC 169 will be.
UFC 170: Rousey vs. McMann is due to take place on February 22, 2014 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Click the stars to rate how good you think UFC 170 will be.
