First and Worst: Week of July 21 – July 27, 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. Daniel Cormier, UFC 178

My pick for the best new fight announced this past week is the upcoming title fight main event at UFC 178 between UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones and top contender Daniel Cormier, who is filling in for an injured Alexander Gustafsson. The card takes place September 27 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and it’s one of the best overall events on paper the UFC has announced all year long, as it features a number of important undercard fights in addition to the fantastic main event between DC and Jones.

Although I am disappointed that the Jones vs. Gustafsson rematch will have to wait, the Jones vs. Cormier matchup is just as, if not even more, intriguing than that fight, and as far as replacement bouts go, the fans really can’t go wrong with this one. Both Jones and Cormier are essentially undefeated in MMA (save Jones’ DQ loss to Matt Hamill) so to pair these two up for the title right now, while both are in their primes, should make for a great fight.

Cormier has looked fantastic since dropping down to 205 lbs, dispatching Patrick Cummins and Dan Henderson with ease. He was going to take the rest of the year off and wait until 2014 to fight the Jones-Gustafsson winner, but when this opportunity came up to fight Jones – even though it’s technically on short notice – it was too good to pass up, and now Cormier will face the #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world in two months for the title.

As for Jones, he’s made seven-straight title defences and at this point seems unbeatable. But against Gustafsson he was taken down in the first round, and Cormier is 10 times the wrestler Gustafsson is (which says more about Cormier’s level of wrestling than Gustafsson’s, which is terrific compared to most fighters). So who knows, if Cormier can get inside Jones’ reach, he may be able to take him to the ground. And if that happens, he could potentially become the first man to legitimately beat Jones.

This is a terrific, intriguing fight between two of the best, most-complete fighters in the entire game, and although the Gustafsson and Jones rematch was highly anticipated, this replacement fight could potentially be even better.

UFC 178

• Jon Jones vs.Daniel Cormier (UFC Light Heavyweight Championship)

Click the stars to rate your anticipation for this fight.

Worst: Niklas Backstrom vs. Mike Wilkinson, UFC Fight Night 53

My choice for the worst new fight announcement of the past week is the upcoming featherweight bout at UFC Fight Night 53 between Niklas Backstrom and Mike Wilkinson. The event takes place October 4 at Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, and is the first of two UFC cards in a day, as UFC Fight Night 54 takes place in Halifax that evening.

I like Backstrom a lot and I don’t understand why the UFC is booking such a silly fight for him. The undefeated Swede, who trains with UFC light heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson at Allstar Training Center in Stockholm, defeated Tom Niinimaki in his UFC debut via first-round submission in one of the bigger upsets of the year. That win over the veteran Niinimaki should have netted Backstrom an opponent somewhere in the top 20, not someone like Wilkinson, who is 0-1 in the UFC and who couldn’t even hack it on TUF Smashes.

Although Wilkinson might be better than what he showed against Rony Jason in his UFC debut, I still don’t understand a) why he is getting a step up in competition after that defeat, and b) why the UFC is rushing him into the cage with a stud like Backstrom after over a year on the sidelines. It’s lazy matchmaking, and Sean Shelby can do better. I know the UFC wants to get Backstrom a win in his hometown, but they can at least try and make a competitive fight, not book a blowout mismatch like this will turn out to be.