First and Worst: Week of January 19 – January 25, 2015

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: Erick Silva vs. Ben Saunders, UFC Fight Night 62

My pick for the best new fight announced this past week is the upcoming welterweight bout at UFC Fight Night 62 between Erick Silva and Ben Saunders. The card takes place March 21 at Ginasio do Maracanazinho in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Silva vs. Saunders will undoubtedly be a part of the main card.

This is a very exciting matchup between two fighters who love to finish their fights. Out of the pair’s combined 35 career victories, 29 of them have come via stoppage, proving these are two men who do not like going to the judges’ scorecards. And that means the fight is likely to be extremely exciting for the fans, which is one of the main goals in MMA matchmaking.

As far as the rankings go, this one makes a lot of sense as well. While Silva is hovering around the #15 mark in the division, he has shown on numerous occasions that he is not ready for the top 10 fighters in the division, and a guy like Saunders who is unranked makes perfect sense as his opponent. As for Saunders, he’s 2-0 since coming back to the UFC, and while he isn’t even in the top 30 of the division, with an exciting fighting style, a win over Silva would jump him way up the company ranks.

As far as the matchup itself goes, it’s an interesting one for sure. Both men have exceptional ground games, so I see them canceling each other out. And since I don’t think either man has the wrestling to get this fight to the ground anyways, I think this is a bout that likely stays standing. Obviously Silva is more dangerous in the striking department, and Saunders’ chin isn’t very good, but Silva also gasses extremely badly in all of his fights, so if he can’t get a stoppage in the first round, Saunders could very well outlast him and take it to Silva in the later rounds and steal a victory in Brazil.

This is just a very fun fight and it should be a Fight of the Night contender when it’s all said and done at UFC Fight Night 62. I can’t wait to watch this.

UFC Fight Night 62

• Ben Saunders vs. Erick Silva

Click the stars to rate your anticipation for this fight.

Worst: Josh Thomson vs. Gilbert Burns, UFC Fight Night 62

My pick for the worst new fight announced this past week is the upcoming lightweight bout at UFC Fight Night 62 between former Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson and top prospect Gilbert Burns. It’s expected that this fight will be on the main card for the event, which is headlined by a bantamweight rematch between Urijah Faber and Raphael Assuncao.

I simply do not understand the matchmaking thought process here by Joe Silva, and I really detest this matchup.

Thomson is definitely on a decline, but he is still one of the best lightweight fighters in MMA. He has proven himself for over 10 years to be one of the best in the world, and even though he has lost his last two fights by split decision to Bobby Green and Benson Henderson, it’s not like those two guys are chumps — they’re two of the best fighters in the world. So for Thomson to go from fighting top-10 fighters to fighting an unranked opponent like Burns, I simply don’t get it.

I think Burns is a super prospect and I believe in his potential, but he has done nothing to earn this step up to a top-10 opponent. I mean, look at his two wins in the UFC: Christos Giagos and Andreas Stahl. That’s two guys without Wikipedia profiles. The way that Burns beat those two was impressive, to be sure, but still, those are literally two no-name fighters in the sport, and beating fighters like those doesn’t earn you a top-ranked opponent. Or at least it shouldn’t.

Now having said all of that, crazy enough I think Burns has a chance to win this fight, and I think the UFC does too, which is why they booked this matchup. They probably see Thomson as a guy who has already made it to the top of the sport and who lacks motivation now, so while there are many out there who will automatically assume Thomson beats Burns, I don’t. I think this is a really dangerous matchup for Thomson to take, and if he loses it, he might even consider retirement.

This could be an interesting fight, but Thomson did not deserve such a drastic step down in competition after losing to Green and Henderson, and Burns didn’t deserve such a step up after beating Giagos and Stahl. So for that reason this fight is my pick for the worst fight announcement of the past week.