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. Stipe Miocic, UFC Fight Night 65
My pick for the best new fight announced this past week is the five-round main event of UFC Fight Night 65 between heavyweight sluggers Mark Hunt and Stipe Miocic. The card takes place May 10 at Adelaide Entertainment Centre in Adelaide Australia, and Hunt vs. Miocic headlines what is stacking up to be a very fun card overall.
This is going to be a war between two of the top 10 heavyweights in the UFC. Miocic is coming off of an outstanding five-round fight with Junior dos Santos, a fight he lost via unanimous decision, but it was one of the best fights of 2014, and it proved Miocic is an elite fighter. As for Hunt, he is coming off of a TKO loss to Fabricio Werdum at UFC 180 which cost him a chance to lift the UFC interim heavyweight title, but he was looking really good in that fight up until the finish, and even at 41 years of age he’s still one of the best in the game.
I’m expecting a really good fight here, and the winner will definitely be in title contention, despite the fact that each fighter is coming off of a loss. Let’s face it, there’s just not much depth in the UFC heavyweight division, so if you’re an exciting fighter with a name who the fans can get behind like Miocic or Hunt, you can get one step closer to a title shot.
This is an amazing matchup, and it’s going to be a real treat for the Australian fans. Either there will be a big knockout or this fight will be a five-round war, but either way this is going to be a hell of a fight, and it is one of my most highly-anticipated MMA fights coming up in the next few months.
• Mark Hunt vs. Stipe Miocic
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Worst: Joanne Calderwood vs. Maryna Moroz, UFC Fight Night 64
My pick for the worst new fight announced this past week is the upcoming women’s strawweight bout between Joanne Calderwood and Maryna Moroz, which is set for UFC Fight Night 64. The event takes place April 11 at Krakow Arena in Krakow, Poland, and Calderwood vs. Moroz, a Poland native, is expected to be a preliminary card bout.
I just don’t understand this fight booking. Calderwood is one of the best strawweights on the planet, a top contender, and yet in her first two UFC fights she’s been booked against two below-average fighters in Seo Hee Ham and Maryna Moroz. Even in Invicta she fought below-average competition for the most part. I just don’t understand it. She’s clearly one of the most talented 115-pounders on the roster, and yet she keeps getting matched up with fighters that can’t truly test her.
I don’t know much about Moroz, but taking on someone with the skillset of Calderwood in her UFC debut just seems like a terrible, terrible matchup. Moroz is more of a grappler and Calderwood is a striker, so if Moroz can get a takedown she could possibly do something funky, but Calderwood has exceptional takedown defence, and as long as this fight takes place on the feet, I expect Moroz to get absolutely battered. And even though strawweights generally don’t have power, I think Calderwood can get a stoppage.
I know the UFC matchmakers want to keep Calderwood busy, but I really hope they can find someone better to match her up against in her next fight, because much like UFC bantamweight
Iuri Alcantara, at some point a talented fighter beating up scrubs gets boring, and I’m just not excited for this Calderwood vs. Moroz matchup. At all.
• Joanne Calderwood vs. Maryna Moroz
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UFC Fight Night 64: Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop 2 takes place on April 11, 2015 at Krakow Arena in Krakow, Poland.
Click the stars to rate how good you think UFC Fight Night 64 will be.
