First and Worst: Week of July 13 – July 19, 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: Demetrious Johnson vs. John Dodson 2, UFC 191

My pick for the best new fight announced this past week is the upcoming flyweight title bout between champion Demetrious Johnson and challenger John Dodson, which goes down at UFC 191. It’s set as the main event of the UFC’s next show in Las Vegas, Nevada, which is scheduled for September 5.

This is one heck of a title fight. Johnson and Dodson previously met at UFC on FOX 6 and put on a “Fight of the Night” award-winning performance. Dodson hurt Johnson early in the fight and appeared to be well on his way to victory, but as the fight went on, Johnson’s superior gas tank came into play, as he beat Dodson down in the latter rounds and took a close, but fair, unanimous decision on the judges’ cards. It was one fantastic fight, and a rematch should prove to be quite awesome as well.

Since the two first met back in January 2013, Johnson has defended his title multiple times in decisive fashion, while Dodson has earned wins wrapped around a major injury. He didn’t look amazing in his last fight, a unanimous decision win over Zach Makovsky, but in a flyweight division devoid of other contenders, he has earned the right to a rematch with Johnson, and I am expecting the two to put on quite an exciting fight for the fans.

But while I think it’s going to be a good fight, I do think the UFC 191 card is going to tank on pay-per-view. Johnson is not a draw, and neither is Dodson, and with a weak co-main event (as of now, anyways) involving the fighters in my pick for the worst new fight of the week, this card is likely going to bomb. It’s a card for hardcores only, but those of us that live for the sport will get our fix, because Johnson and Dodson are two incredible fighters and will put on a great fight. Just don’t invite your casual fan friends over for this card, because they likely won’t appreciate it. It is what it is.

UFC 191

• Demetrious Johnson vs. John Dodson (UFC Flyweight Championship)

Click the stars to rate your anticipation for this fight.

Worst: Anthony Johnson vs. Jan Blachowicz, UFC 191

My pick for the worst new fight that was announced this past week is the upcoming light heavyweight matchup between top contender Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and Poland’s Jan Blachowicz, which goes down at UFC 191. It may end up being the co-main event of the card, unless another big fight is announced for this event, which is less than six weeks away.

As far as I’m concerned, this is one of the biggest mismatches the UFC has booked all year, and that’s saying something, considering some of the matchups the promotion has made in the past. Johnson is coming off of a loss to current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier at UFC 187, but that’s his only loss in his last 10 bouts. Otherwise, he’s been nothing but incredible since moving up to 205 lbs, and this fight against Blachowicz represents a massive step down in competition.

I do think Blachowicz is a decent fighter, and I think he can beat a lot of the bottom-rung light heavies in the UFC, but going up against Johnson after losing to Jimi Manuwa just screams mismatch to me. Blachowicz literally did nothing in his last fight to show to anyone that he can compete with the best 205-pounders in the world, and really, this fight booking appears to be a way to get Johnson back into the win column and have him re-emerge as a title contender.

When the betting line comes out for this fight, I think you’ll see one of the biggest spreads of the year, with Johnson almost certainly coming in at nearly 10-to-1 for this fight, one that he should absolutely win. The question is not if he wins, but whether or not he finishes the fight; in my opinion, he does so in devastating fashion somewhere early in the first round. I don’t think this fight is going to be close, let’s just say that.

I’m hoping the UFC adds a better co-main event for UFC 191, because if this is the co-main event to go along with Johnson vs. Dodson in the main event, you could be looking at a record-low number of PPV buys for this card. Right now, this looks like a fight card for hardcore fans only, and not the casual fans that are the difference between a successful PPV and an unsuccessful one.