First and Worst: Week of March 17 – March 23, 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: Cub Swanson vs. Jeremy Stephens, UFC Fight Night 44

My pick for the best fight announced this past week is the upcoming featherweight title fight at UFC Fight Night San Antonio this June between surging contenders Cub Swanson and Jeremy Stephens. The winner of this fight, which is scheduled for five five-minute rounds, could earn a title shot at 145 pounds.

This is excellent matchmaking here, as both Swanson and Stephens are dangerous strikers with excellent grappling, and this matchup should prove to be fireworks when it takes place. And as the main event of a free TV card, how can the fans really ask for anything better?

Swanson has been on a roll, winning his last five bouts, while Stephens has looked amazing since dropping to featherweight, where he’s won three straight fights. So for the UFC to book these two heavy-hitting sluggers against one another, I just can’t see how this is a bad fight.

Some may say Stephens doesn’t deserve to fight Swanson, who is knocking on the door of a title shot, but I disagree, as I believe Stephens is a long-time veteran of the Octagon who has finally found his home at 145, and he deserves the chance to really test his skills. So even though this is technically Swanson taking a step back, I’m still cool with it.

This fight should be nothing but entertaining when it goes down this June, and I absolutely can’t wait to see who wins it, and who emerges as the next top contender in the UFC featherweight division.

UFC Fight Night 44

• Cub Swanson vs. Jeremy Stephens

Click the stars to rate your anticipation for this fight.

Worst: Amanda Nunes vs. Alexis Dufresne, UFC on FOX 11

My pick for the worst new fight announced this past week is the upcoming women’s bantamweight bout at UFC on FOX 11 between Amanda Nunes and Alexis Dufresne. Nunes is so far 2-0 in the Octagon, while Dufresne will be making her official UFC debut in this bout.

I don’t like this fight for a number of reasons, the first being that Nunes already has two wins in the UFC, while for Dufresne it’s her first fight. Yes, Dufresne has been impressive so far in racking up five straight wins to open her MMA career, but just because she TKO’d Kim Couture doesn’t mean she’s ready for a big step up, and Nunes is what I would classify as a big step up.

Although Nunes had a rough go of it in Strikeforce and Invicta, she’s been sensational in the UFC so far, destroying Sheila Gaff and Germaine De Randamie in her two victories. I really thought that Nunes was going to get a step up against a top-ranked female fighter – maybe the winner of Liz Carmouche vs. Miesha Tate, for instance – but instead the UFC is matching her up with a newcomer.

It’s possible I’m missing something here, but I just don’t see how this fight makes any sense from a rankings point of view. And as far as a logistical point of view goes, this fight is exactly four weeks away. Why did the UFC feel the need to book both these fighters on such short notice for a card that’s already stacked? I’m just really confused by all of this and feel like I’m missing something.

Maybe Dufresne goes in the cage and shuts me up by finishing Nunes. But even still, this fight booking is a real head scratcher and I have to say I’m not a fan of this matchup at all.

UFC on Fox 11