First and Worst: February 9 – February 15, 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: Frankie Edgar vs. Urijah Faber, UFC Fight Night 66

My pick for the best new fight announced this past week is the upcoming five-round featherweight fight between Frankie Edgar and Urijah Faber, which headlines UFC Fight Night 66, which takes place May 16 at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, Philippines. It’s the first time the UFC will head to the Philippines, and the fans there will be treated to an epic main event when the promotion comes this spring.

This is a truly amazing matchup. In one corner, you have the former UFC Lightweight Champion Edgar, who has looked nothing but sensational in his last three fights, defeating Charles Oliveira, BJ Penn, and Cub Swanson in impressive fashion. Edgar did lose to divisional kingpin Jose Aldo in his featherweight debut, but since then he’s looked absolutely outstanding, and a win over Faber could earn him another shot at the 145-pound title.

As for Faber, he’s the former WEC Featherweight Champion, and easily one of the most exciting fighters in all of MMA. He is moving up to 145 lbs for the first time in five years for this fight with Edgar, but he should still be fairly competitive, given that Edgar isn’t the biggest featherweight on the planet. Faber was pigeonholed at bantamweight because he won’t fight his friend and teammate TJ Dillashaw for the title, so moving back to featherweight makes sense for him, and a win over Edgar would vault him into title contention.

I am expecting not just Fight of the Night from Edgar and Faber, but a potential Fight of the Year candidate. These are two of the most well-rounded and exciting fighters you will find in the entire sport, and this has the potential to be a truly amazing fight. I have to lean towards Edgar just based on the fact he’s looked so amazing as of late, but Faber is no joke, and if he gets the upset it wouldn’t shock me. Great fight, and a great main event for the fans in the Philippines during the UFC’s first foray into the country.

UFC Fight Night 66

• Frankie Edgar vs. Urijah Faber

Click the stars to rate your anticipation for this fight.

Worst: Zhang Lipeng vs. Kajan Johnson, UFC Fight Night 66

My pick for the worst new fight announced this past week is the lightweight fight at UFC Fight Night 66 between Zhang Lipeng and Kajan Johnson, a bout that has the potential to be epically bad, which is the complete opposite of what I’m expecting from the Edgar vs. Faber fight in the main event.

This is just not a good fight at all. Lipeng, the TUF China winner, looked terrible in his last fight, losing a clear-cut unanimous decision to Chris Wade at UFC Fight Night 59 in a snoozer. He is still young and improving in all aspects of MMA, but a grind-heavy style is not exciting for the fans, and unless he somehow becomes a finisher overnight, I don’t think he’ll ever become the popular fighter in Asia the UFC is hoping he will become.

As for Johnson, I like watching my fellow Canadian fight, but let’s be honest, this is a guy who shouldn’t be in the UFC anymore. Yes, he is coming off of a Fight of the Night performance against Tae Hyun Bang, but he took an absolute beating in that fight, one that culminated in him losing via brutal KO. He also lost via KO to Chad Laprise on TUF Nations and broke his jaw in that fight. Although Johnson is a scrappy dude, I don’t think he should be fighting anymore, and especially not at the highest level of the sport.

I’m not expecting much from this fight, so if it’s good I’ll be a happy man, but this is a throwaway fight if I ever saw one, and the loser of it should absolutely be released from the promotion.