First and Worst: Week of October 20 – October 26, 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: Mark Hunt vs. Fabricio Werdum, UFC 180

My pick for the best new fight announced this past week is the upcoming interim UFC heavyweight title match at UFC 180 between Mark Hunt and Fabricio Werdum. The fight was announced after UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez pulled out with an injury, meaning that when the UFC visits Arena Ciudad de México in Mexico City for the first time it will be doing so without its biggest draw in the country.

Obviously, it goes without saying that the loss of Velasquez to the Mexico card is going to hurt the UFC very bad. The event was already sold out and was going to be a huge hit in Mexico, and while it will still be a big event, it won’t be anywhere near as close without Velasquez, Erik Perez, and Diego Sanchez, three Mexican stars who pulled out of the event in the last few weeks with injuries. Velasquez vs. Werdum was the best fight the UFC could have made in the heavyweight division, but injuries happen, and unfortunately there’s nothing that can be done to stop the human body from not being invincible.

Fortunately, though, the UFC has the resources to make great replacement fights when things like this happen, and there’s no doubt in my mind that the fight between Werdum and Hunt is the best possible replacement fight the matchmakers could have made for the interim title. Both Werdum and Hunt are among the elite in the heavyweight division in MMA, and honestly, it was likely that Hunt would have faced the winner of Velasquez vs. Werdum for the title next, anyways. Now he just gets to fight for the title sooner. Sure, he has to cut a bunch of weight on short notice, but regardless he’s getting his chance to win a title, and that’s something not many 10-8-1 fighters can say.

I think the fight between Werdum and Hunt is fascinating. While I do favor Werdum because he is a more complete and polished fighter, Hunt is excellent in his own right, and with his knockout power there is no one in the heavyweight division who is truly safe. I think that Werdum wins this fight by submission, but we have seen him get knocked out before, and Hunt certainly has the striking to get things done. So I wouldn’t count him out completely.

I was sad when I heard Velasquez was hurt, but I also had a strange feeling in the last few months that he wasn’t going to be ready to fight, and it turns out I was correct (unfortunately). Still, Werdum vs. Hunt is a solid replacement fight, and I for one have no problem with it being the new headliner of UFC 180.

UFC 180

• Fabricio Werdum vs. Mark Hunt (UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship)

Click the stars to rate your anticipation for this fight.

Worst: Erick Silva vs. Mike Rhodes, UFC Fight Night 58

My pick for the first new fight announced this past week is the three-round welterweight bout at UFC Fight Night 58 between Erick Silva and Mike Rhodes. The card takes place December 20 at Ginasio Jose Correa in Barueri, Brazil, and Silva vs. Rhodes is likely to be a part of the event’s main card.

I’m not really a fan of squash matches, but that’s exactly what this is. Rhodes is a decent fighter, but after going 0-2 in his first two UFC bouts, it seems clear to me that the 24-year-old American was rushed to the big show too soon. He has solid striking fundamentals, no doubt about it, but the UFC hasn’t been kind to him, first giving him a fight against George Sullivan on short notice in his debut, then sending him down to New Zealand to face Robert Whittaker. He was fairly competitive in both fights, but he also lost both fights, and the UFC should have given him a step back. Instead, the UFC is matching him up with Silva, a top-20 welterweight who, on some nights, is one of the most electrifying welterweights in the world.

With Silva, it’s been one of two things for him in the UFC. Either he fights a bottom feeder and wins, or he fights a top guy and loses. I wouldn’t call Rhodes a bottom feeder per se, but he’s certainly nothing more than a mid-level fighter at this point of his career. I know Silva is coming off a brutal beating at the hands of Matt Brown in his last outing, but still, this fight against Rhodes is one that is tailor-made for him to get back in the win column with, and I have no doubt in my mind that Silva is going to win this fight in impressive and dominating fashion.

Having said that, what’s the point? Now age 30, I think it’s fair to say we can shed the prospect label on Silva. He’s certainly a good fighter, but at this point in time there is no point of building him up with squash matches, and that’s exactly what this fight with Rhodes is. Sure, the Brazilian fans will see some blood in this one, but is it worth ruining Rhodes’ already-low confidence just to do it? Personally, I don’t think so. I would have rather the UFC had booked Rhodes against a lower-ranked fighter or released him outright than give him an opponent who is going to hurt him like Silva will. And in Silva’s case, I’d rather the UFC had give him someone like Mike Pyle, another fighter of similar rank and stature coming off of a loss. But the UFC chose to go another direction, and at the end of the day, sacrificial lamb Rhodes is the one who is likely to suffer the most.