First and Worst: Week of September 1 – September 7, 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: John Lineker vs. Ian McCall, UFC Fight Night 56

My pick for the best new fight announced this past week is the upcoming flyweight bout at UFC Fight Night 56 between top contenders John Lineker and Ian McCall. In a shallow UFC flyweight division, the winner of this matchup could very well be next in line to fight for the title against the victor of the UFC 178 main event matchup between champion Demetrious Johnson and challenger Chris Cariaso.

Although he’s had problems making weight in the past, Lineker is no doubt one of the top fighters in the weight class, and certainly one of the most exciting. His ability to knock opponents out at his weight is incredible, and I would argue he’s not only the hardest puncher in the division, but also one of the most powerful pound-for-pound punchers in the sport. Coming off of an amazing win over Alptekin Ozkilic, Lineker is back in the good graces of the UFC and the fans, and if he can beat McCall, all will be forgotten.

As for McCall, he’s clearly one of the top 125-pounders out there, and he’s proven it time after time in his career, including in his controversial draw against the champ Johnson a few years back. Although he doesn’t have much power, he does have excellent boxing technique and amazing footwork, and he’ll have to put those two things together if he is to avoid Lineker’s power shots and defeat him in their matchup, one that should be exciting as heck for the 15 or fewer minutes that it lasts.

Between this bout and the main event between Shogun Rua and Jimi Manuwa, UFC Fight Night 56 — set for Nov. 8 at Ginásio Municipal Tancredo Neves in Uberlândia, Brazil — is looking like a very solid card, and it should provide a ton of entertainment for the fans, be they those in attendance or those watching on Fight Pass around the globe.

UFC Fight Night 56

• John Lineker vs. Ian McCall

Click the stars to rate your anticipation for this fight.

Worst: Fabio Maldonado vs. Hans Stringer, UFC 179

My pick for the worst new fight announced this past week is the upcoming light heavyweight bout at UFC 179 between fan favorite Fabio Maldonado and little-known Hans Stringer. The pay-per-view event takes place Oct. 25 at Ginásio do Maracanãzinho in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Maldonado vs. Stringer is likely to take place on the preliminary card.

Anyone who has followed my stuff in MMA journalism for a while knows how big a fan of Maldonado I am. Even though he’s not the most talented fighter in the division, his heart and desire to win have always blown me away, as has his incredible boxing technique and his iron chin. The poor guy did the UFC a favor for his last fight, moving up to heavyweight to fight Stipe Miocic, and was KO’d in brutal fashion for his troubles. Now it looks like the promotion is making it up to him by booking him against Stringer, one of the lowest-ranked fighters in the division.

I know Stringer is pretty young, and I know I shouldn’t put too much stock into his UFC debut because the Octagon jitters are a very real thing, but I was not impressed at all with him in his fight against Francimar Barroso, and to be honest, I’m not really looking forward to seeing him fight again. Had the UFC booked him against someone like say, Gian Villante, I wouldn’t have cared too much, but to waste an exciting fighter like Maldonado against a guy like Stringer leaves me with a sour taste in my mouth.

Again, I think the UFC is giving Maldonado a winnable fight here because they “owe him one,” but if that’s the case, I would have preferred a matchup against an exciting fighter like Nikita Krylov. Because, as it stands now, Maldonado’s probably nearing the end of his career (due to all the punishment he’s taken) and this fight with Stringer just doesn’t sound intriguing to me at all, and seems like a waste, if anything.

UFC 179