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: Michael Bisping vs. Luke Rockhold, UFC Fight Night 55
My pick for the best new fight announced this past week is the upcoming five-round middleweight bout at UFC Fight Night 55 between Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold. The event takes place November 8 at Allphones Arena in Sydney, Australia, and the fight between Bisping and Rockhold will be one of the most anticipated on the MMA calendar for the rest of 2014.
The grudge match between Bisping and Rockhold took over as the main event of the next Australia card after Tyron Woodley refused to fight Hector Lombard, which was the UFC’s original plan for the main event. But thankfully it’s a fight that deserves to be five rounds, as both men are ranked in the top 10 and the winner will be inches away from a UFC middleweight title shot.
Rockhold has been nothing but impressive as of late, absolutely destroying Costa Philippou and Tim Boetsch in his last two fights, while Bisping recently returned to the win column with a TKO win over Cung Le. Both Rockhold and Bisping have done a great job of promoting a prospective fight against one another on social media for a little while now, and given where both are ranked in the division, as well as the fact the next title shot is currently with Vitor Belfort – a man who recently defeated both Rockhold and Bisping by KO, by the way – it makes sense to have these two fight each other now, so the winner can duke it out with “Jacare” Souza for the next crack at the belt.
Not only is Bisping vs. Rockhold a great fight as far as promotion goes, but it’s also a solid fight stylistically that should prove to be entertaining to the fans, and it’s also a fight that makes sense as far as the rankings go. All great markings of an awesome fight, and that’s why it’s my pick for the best new fight announced this past week.
• Luke Rockhold vs. Michael Bisping
Click the stars to rate your anticipation for this fight.
Worst: Yves Edwards vs. Akbarh Arreola, UFC Fight Night 57
My pick for the worst new fight announced this past week is the upcoming lightweight bout between Yves Edwards and Akharh Arreola, which is due to take place at UFC Fight Night 57 on November 22 at Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas.
Edwards is one of my favorite all-time fighters (who can forget his flying head kick knockout on Josh Thomson from back in the day?) but there’s no doubt he’s not the same fighter he once was – not even close, actually. He’s 4-5 with 1 NC in his latest UFC stint, which isn’t horrible, but the fact he’s on a four-fight winless streak isn’t good at all. In fact, it should be a four-fight losing streak, but Yancy Medeiros was caught for marijuana so his KO win over Edwards last year was overturned. Either way, while Edwards was once a great fighter, it’s clear his best days are behind him, and if anything, the UFC is doing him a favor here for all his years of service by matching him up with Arreola, who is one of the worst fighters in the entire division.
Arreola isn’t UFC caliber, in my opinion, and he proved that with a listless loss in his UFC debut to Tiago Silva. Arreola did absolutely nothing in that fight and the only reason the UFC is giving him another bout in the Octagon is because they need bodies to fill out the roster. No offence to Arreola, but I don’t see him as someone who will be on the UFC roster long, and I really feel like the UFC wants Edwards to win this fight because they like him and they don’t care much for Arreola.
This is a throwaway fight, to be sure, and it’s not like it’s taking a spot on a main card, but still, it’s not a good fight, and no one other than Edwards’ die-hard fans is going to be looking forward to it much.
• Yves Edwards vs. Akbarh Arreola
Click the stars to rate your anticipation for this fight.
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UFC Fight Night 55: Rockhold vs. Bisping is due to take place on November 8, 2014 at the Allphones Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. (Due to the time differences, the event will air on November 7, 2014 in the United States.)
Click the stars to rate how good you think UFC Fight Night 55 will be.
UFC Fight Night 57 is due to take place on November 22, 2014 at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas.
Click the stars to rate how good you think UFC Fight Night 57 will be.
