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: Sam Alvey vs. Derek Brunson, UFC Fight Night 73
My pick for the best new fight announced this past week is the upcoming middleweight fight between Sam Alvey and Derek Brunson, which goes down at UFC Fight Night 73 on August 8 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s expected that Alvey vs. Brunson will be featured on the main card.
This is a great fight between two of the most underappreciated middleweights in the game today. Alvey is 3-1 in the UFC with three straight knockout wins, and overall he has looked fantastic. With his knockout power to go along with a tremendous personality, Alvey really has what it takes to become a B-level star in the UFC middleweight division, and taking out a guy like Brunson would be huge for his career.
As for Brunson, he’s just extremely underrated. He’s 4-1 overall in the UFC, with his only loss coming to Yoel Romero, and in his last fight he dominated Lorenz Larkin. He didn’t look that good in Strikeforce, but credit to Brunson, he’s really improved his game over the last few years and is now clearly a top-15 middleweight, and possibly a guy who could be top 10 soon.
This is a really intriguing fight. We’ve seen Alvey have some issues with wrestlers before, and Brunson is very solid in that regard. In the case of Brunson, we know he’s a great wrestler, but he has a bit of a shaky chin, and Alvey has the power to finish him. I love fights like this where you can make a case for either guy winning, and I can’t wait to see it go down this summer. It’s going to be a good one.
• Sam Alvey vs. Derek Brunson
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Worst: Alex Oliveira vs. Joe Merritt, UFC Fight Night 70
My pick for the worst new fight announced this past week is the welterweight bout at UFC Fight Night 70 between Brazilian Alex Oliveira and UFC newcomer Joe Merritt. The card takes place June 27 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, and Oliveira vs. Merritt will be featured on the preliminary card.
The UFC had some issues with getting fighters for this card, so I understand why they made this fight. That being said, I don’t t like it. First off, let’s start with Oliveira. The Brazilian made his UFC debut back in March, and after getting the better of top prospect Gilbert Burns for two rounds, lost in the third by submission. He took that fight on very short notice, moving down to 155 lbs for it, and even in defeat he looked great.
For his next UFC fight, once again the UFC called Oliveira on short notice, filling in for an injured Yan Cabral against KJ Noons at UFC Fight Night 67, and he looked amazing in the fight, earning a first-round submission over the vet. He didn’t take any damage, but one would have figured he’d get some time off after that fight. Well, apparently not, as he’s right back in the Octagon and taking on Merritt this weekend, just a few weeks after that fight with Noons.
Now I know his nickname is “Cowboy” and I know there have been comparisons made to Donald Cerrone, but still, I don’t like what the UFC is doing with this guy. He’s a young, talented fighter and he deserves to get a full training camp for his fights, not just get thrown into the Octagon with little preparation. Again, I know that MMA is a sport where guys have to make money when they can, but taking three short-notice UFC bouts in three months is, dare I say, crazy, and it’s a credit to Oliveira that he’s been doing so well in them. Having said that, imagine he had a full camp? He’d likely look even better.
As far as Merritt goes, he’s another one of these Xplode Fight Series vets with an extremely padded record. He’s literally fought a bunch of cans and is now taking on a legit prospect in Oliveira on just a week’s notice. I don’t like that, and it really looks like the UFC is just trying to build up Oliveira against an experienced opponent. It’s possible Merritt has a better performance than I think he will, but even still, there’s a reason he’s a 4-to-1 underdog heading into this bout.
I don’t like short-notice fights on the UFC level, and I know the UFC was in a rush to try and fix this card due to all the visa issues, but still, this is strange matchmaking to me. And I have no idea what the UFC is doing with Oliveira, but I hope they don’t run this kid into the ground. Yes, he may be nicknamed Cowboy, but he’s not Cerrone, and throwing him into the cage three times in three months is pretty crazy.
• Alex Oliveira vs. Joe Merritt
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UFC Fight Night 70: Machida vs. Romero takes place on June 27, 2015 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
Click the stars to rate how good you think UFC Fight Night 70 will be.
UFC Fight Night 73: Saint Preux vs. Teixeira takes place on August 8, 2015 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
Click the stars to rate how good you think UFC Fight Night 73 will be.
I reeealllly wish they'd limit the ridiculous weight-cutting and then short-notice fights wouldn't be as much of a problem, fighters would be healthier, and shows like TUF could actually have fighters in their "true" weight class.