First and Worst: Week of January 6 – January 12, 2014

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: Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira, UFC 172

My pick for the best new fight announced this past week is the upcoming UFC light heavyweight title fight between champion Jon Jones and challenger Glover Teixeira, which takes place at UFC 172 this April 26 in Baltimore, Maryland. This is the fourth time this fight has been booked, as it had been previously scratched three times due to Jones’ injuries healing slower than expected, but when it finally does go down in April, it should be one of the best fights of the year.

Although Jones has pretty much been unstoppable in the UFC thus far, he definitely showed signs of weakness in his war against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165. He was thoroughly outboxed by the tall Swede throughout five rounds, and the only reason he won the fight was due to his unorthodox and creative elbows. Against Teixeira, Jones will have to utilize his reach with his leg kicks, because if Teixeira gets inside, he can definitely end Jones’ night. And even if Teixeira can’t get inside but can at least keep the fight in his range, he will surely outbox Jones, who rarely throws punches.

Since that fight with Gustafsson, Jones has been dealing with a nagging foot injury and that’s the reason this fight against Teixeira has been scratched three times up until this point. Therefore, it’s possible that Teixeira is getting the champ at a good time, as the challenger has been sitting pretty since a brutal KO victory over Ryan Bader in early September and will be fresh and focused for this fight with Jones.

That being said, Jones is still a massive -750 favorite at the sports books right now, and it would still be an absolutely gigantic upset if Teixeira can defeat him, but of all the opponents Jones has had in the Octagon, I think it’s Teixeira who has the bet chance to dethrone the king. And at great odds of +500, I’m thinking about taking a shot at the Brazilian to come through this April.

UFC 172

• Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira

Click the stars to rate your anticipation for this fight.

Worst: Erick Silva vs. Takenori Sato, UFC Fight Night 36

My pick for the worst new fight announced this past week is the upcoming welterweight bout at UFC Fight Night 36 between Erick Silva and UFC newcomer Takenori Sato, who is taking the fight on short notice after an injury to Silva’s original opponent, Nate Loughran.

Just like the fight pitting Silva vs. Loughran, I just have to scratch my head at this matchmaking from the UFC. Yes, I know that Sato is a Pancrase champion, and he’s taking this fight on short notice, so the pickings were relatively slim, but still, are you really telling me the UFC couldn’t at least find a recognizable opponent for Silva with one month to go until the fight?

I know that Silva is still reeling from that brutal KO loss to Dong Hyun Kim at UFC Fight Night 29, and that the UFC is trying to help him regain his confidence by fighting someone lower-tiered, but Silva’s still one of the top 20 welterweights in the UFC as far as I’m concerned, and he should at least be fighting someone on the level of a Siyar Bahadurzada or a John Howard at this point, not a nobody like Sato.

Maybe Sato is better than I think he is, but I really see this fight with Silva as a giant mismatch on paper, designed to get Silva a win, and I see it playing out that way in the cage. Look for the Brazilian to get a devastating finish in his home country, as he gets back in the win column, and inches his way back up the UFC welterweight ladder.

UFC Fight Night 36