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: Alexander Gustafsson vs. Glover Teixeira, UFC Fight Night 69
My pick for the best new fight announced last week is the upcoming five-round light heavyweight bout at UFC Fight Night 69 between Alexander Gustafsson and Glover Teixeira. The event is set to take place June 20 at O2 World in Berlin, Germany, and Gustafsson vs. Teixeira is the headliner.
This is, plain and simply, an exceptional matchup between two of the best 205-pounders in the world today. Gustafsson, despite a recent knockout loss to Anthony Johnson, is generally regarded as being the man who gave UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones his toughest fight to date. Teixeira, on the other hand, is another one of the few fighters who managed to go the distance with Jones, and overall, despite back-to-back losses to Phil Davis and Jones, he’s still an elite light heavyweight. So how could a fight between these two be boring? Answer: It can’t.
With both men coming off of losses — and in the case of Teixeira, two — I expect both men to be highly motivated to put on an amazing show for the fans in Berlin. For Gustafsson, he badly needs to atone for that shocking loss to Johnson, while Teixeira needs to show the world that at 35 he’s not done yet, even despite an awful, one-sided loss to Davis in his last fight. Although both men have gone through rough patches recently, I still believe in both men, and I’m expecting them both to come through with great performances at UFC Fight Night 69.
Gustafsson’s loss to Johnson may have set him back in the division, but a big win over Teixeira would put him right back in line for a title shot at 205. As for Teixeira, beating Gustafsson won’t get him a title shot in all likelihood, but it would put him back on the right track, and with a few more wins he could meet Jones again. And if that happens, I expect him to make better use of his opportunity than he did the first time.
Gustafsson vs. Teixeira is an awesome fight, and I can’t wait for it to go down this June in Germany.
• Alexander Gustafsson vs. Glover Teixeira
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Worst: Brandon Thatch vs. John Howard, UFC 189
My pick for the worst new fight announced last week is the upcoming welterweight bout at UFC 189 between Brandon Thatch and John Howard. The event takes place July 11 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and this bout is expected to be on the preliminary portion of the card.
I had reported on MMAOddsbreaker.com earlier in the day last Wednesday that Thatch was scheduled to fight Jordan Mein at UFC 189. Sources confirmed to me that the fight was happening, and everything was looking good, but later that evening UFC Tonight reported that Thatch was instead fighting Howard. My source told me Mein had to pull out of the fight due to lingering injuries, and as soon as that happened, the UFC was forced to scramble and find an opponent for Thatch. The matchmakers somehow settled on Howard.
I just don’t understand this matchup. Unlike Thatch vs. Mein, which would have been a battle of youngsters trying to break out at 170 lbs, Thatch vs. Howard is a squash match between a young upstart in Thatch and a fading vet in Howard. Although Howard has lost to good fighters, the fact is he’s lost his last three fights, and honestly, the UFC could have cut him. Thatch, meanwhile, has only lost to former UFC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson in the last seven years. So for him to go from a fight with Henderson to a fight with Howard, it just doesn’t make sense to me.
Thatch is a devastating striker, and Howard is coming off of a brutal knockout loss to Lorenz Larkin in his last fight. Larkin is a good fight, for sure, but Thatch has even more power than Larkin, and we saw how that fight with Howard ended. The UFC clearly wants to get Thatch back on the winning track, but still, couldn’t they have found someone more suitable as an opponent? With Mein injured, the UFC could have went with someone like Ryan LaFlare for Thatch’s next opponent. Instead, they went with Howard, and by doing so created a matchup no one is interested in.
Thatch is one of the most exciting welterweights in the UFC, and he’s liking going to score another awesome, highlight-reel victory in this spot versus Howard, but this mismatch is a waste of everyone’s time, and I’m secretly hoping the fight is scrapped and something else is booked in its place instead.
• Brandon Thatch vs. John Howard
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UFC 189: Mendes vs. McGregor (formerly UFC 189: Aldo vs. McGregor) takes place on July 11, 2015 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Click the stars to rate how good you think UFC 189 will be.
UFC Fight Night 69: Jedrzejczyk vs. Penne (formerly UFC Fight Night 69: Gustafsson vs. Teixeira) takes place on June 20, 2015 at O2 World Berlin in Berlin, Germany.
Click the stars to rate how good you think UFC Fight Night 69 will be.
