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: Rick Story vs. Kelvin Gastelum, UFC 171
My pick for the best upcoming fight announced this past week is the welterweight fight at UFC 171 between divisional standout Rick Story and the winner of TUF 17, youngster Kelvin Gastelum. I absolutely love this fight, and the thing that makes it so intriguing to me is that Gastelum, despite having only two fights in the Octagon, is the one who called “The Horror” out, as he looks to take Story’s spot in the top 20 of the division.
Although he isn’t in title contention right now, don’t forget that Story is the only UFC fighter other than Georges St-Pierre to hold a win over Johny Hendricks. He also holds victories over fighters such as Thiago Alves and Brian Ebersole. So even though he certainly has fallen over the years, he’s still a relevant name with a good record in the UFC, and he’ll make a stern test for Gastelum as he looks to climb the ladder.
With two straight wins in the Octagon — over Uriah Hall and Brian Melancon — Gastelum is looking every bit like a TUF winner should. If he can take Story out in impressive fashion, he’ll immediately jump to the top of his weight class, despite the fact he is only 22 years old. Both these fighters are well-rounded and match up very well with one another, and on a card that already features four other welterweight matchups, including the vacant title fight between Hendricks and Robbie Lawler, this is the perfect addition, and I absolutely can’t wait for UFC 171 this March.
• Kelvin Gastelum vs. Rick Story
Click the stars to rate your anticipation for this fight.
Worst: Erik Koch vs. Rafaello Oliveira, UFC 170
My pick for the worst upcoming fight announced this past week is the lightweight bout at UFC 170 between Erik Koch and Rafaello Oliveira. This will be Koch’s first fight at 155 pounds in the UFC after a failed stint at 145, while Oliveira is 2-5 in the promotion and clinging to his spot on the roster.
I think this is a total squash match and a showcase fight for Koch in his lightweight debut, and I really don’t like it at all. If I was Oliveira right now, I’d be asking why the UFC keeps matching me up against dangerous strikers like Koch, considering what Edson Barboza did to his leg in his last outing at UFC 162.
I really don’t see any way that Oliveira wins this fight, unless for some reason Koch’s takedown defence is worse than we’ve ever seen it to be, or if he clowns around and doesn’t respect his opponent’s power. Otherwise, I see Koch ending this fight very early via devastating KO and moving his way up the lightweight ladder.
I wish that Joe Silva would give Oliveira a break and match him up with another grappler so he can actually have a chance to get his win bonus, but unless he pulls off a shocking upset over Koch, he’ll never get that chance, as I believe he will most certainly be cut with a loss, because a 2-6 UFC record just doesn’t cut it.
• Erik Koch vs. Rafaello Oliveira
Click the stars to rate your anticipation for this fight.
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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.
UFC 171: Hendricks vs. Lawler is due to take place on March 15, 2014 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
Click the stars to rate how good you think UFC 171 will be.
