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: Brandon Thatch vs. Gunnar Nelson, UFC 189
My pick for the best new fight announced this past week is the upcoming welterweight bout at UFC 189 between Brandon Thatch and Gunnar Nelson. The card takes place July 11 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Thatch vs. Nelson is scheduled to take place on the main pay-per-view portion of the card.
I absolutely love this fight, and it’s one of those rare instances where an injury actually worked out for everyone. John Hathaway was originally set to fight Nelson in a fight I saw as a blowout for Nelson, while Thatch was supposed to fight John Howard in a squash match on the undercard. I wasn’t a fan of either of those fights, so once Hathaway got injured I’m glad the UFC decided to shift Thatch up to fight Nelson and have Howard take on short-notice replacement Cathal Pendred.
Nelson vs. Thatch is a tremendous matchup between two of the best young fighters in the division, and with both fighters coming off of losses to Rick Story and Benson Henderson, respectively, I think both guys are going to be highly motivated to get back in the winning column, leading to what should be a terrific matchup for the fans.
In one corner, you have Nelson, who was being hyped up as a welterweight title contender before losing in an upset to Story in his last fight, and in the other corner you have Thatch, who was quickly rising up the welterweight ranks before being tapped out by the former lightweight champ Henderson in his last outing. Thatch’s strength is on the feet while Nelson’s is on the ground, so it makes for an intriguing clash of styles considering what happened to both fighters their last times out.
I absolutely love this fight, and think it has potential to be Fight of the Night at UFC 189, and that’s really saying something. A grade-A quality matchup as a replacement on a UFC card? That’s a rarity in this day and age, so sign me up for this fight – I can’t wait for it to go down.
• Gunnar Nelson vs. Brandon Thatch
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Worst: Maryna Moroz vs. Valerie Letourneau, UFC Fight Night 74
My pick for the worst new fight has to be the upcoming women’s strawweight bout at UFC Fight Night 74 between Maryna Moroz and Valerie Letourneau. The card takes place August 23 at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and Moroz vs. Letourneau will likely get a main-card slot.
I don’t like this matchup because it simply makes no sense, and it gives Moroz no credit for her win over top-ranked Joanne Calderwood in her UFC debut back at UFC Fight Night 64. Not only did Moroz beat Calderwood, she finished her with an armbar. Prior to getting the sub, she was lighting up Calderwood on the feet as well and proving she belongs in the top tier of the UFC women’s strawweight division.
Instead of getting a step up against someone like Randa Markos, instead the UFC has given her an unnecessary step down as she takes on Letourneau, a solid fighter but not a top 10 fighter. Yes, Letourneau is 2-0 in the UFC, but both wins were against mediocre competition and she does not have a win on her resume to justify a fight against someone like Moroz. I just feel like Letourneau is getting rewarded with a big push for beating two bad fighters, while Moroz is not being given the proper step up for finishing Calderwood.
Usually I dig Sean Shelby’s matchmaking, but to me, this fight makes no sense at all. I think Moroz could be fighting for the title right now – that’s how high I am on her – and instead she’s getting a fight against someone who didn’t earn that step up. It’s very strange matchmaking, and yes I get they’re building up Moroz, but it’s just not the type of fight that makes sense for someone who just finished a top-10 fight. It’s simply not an appropriate fight for either lady, and I am not a fan of this booking.
• Valerie Letourneau vs. Maryna Moroz
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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 74: Holloway vs. Oliveira takes place on August 23, 2015 at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Click the stars to rate how good you think UFC Fight Night 74 will be.
Well I like both fights about the same. I find it interesting that you think Hathaway/Nelson was a squash match that the guy who lost to Rick Story was going to win over the guy who beat Rick Story. I thought it was going to be an interesting fight and very similar to Neil Magny/Deimian Maia and that Hathaway/Magny and Nelson/Maia would've been better matchups. Also I do find Nelson/Thatch intriguing because of similarities between it and Thatch's loss to Ben Henderson.
As for Moroz/Letourneau, while Maryna impressed me as well and SW is one of the shallowest divisions, I see nothing wrong with taking the slow approach and seeing if Moroz' win over JoJo was truly the upset it seemed at the time. Letourneau seems a good barometer to find out.