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: Dustin Ortiz vs. Willie Gates, UFC Fight Night 73
My pick for the best new fight announced this past week is the upcoming flyweight bout at UFC Fight Night 73 between Dustin Ortiz and Willie Gates, who is filling in for an injured Ian McCall. The card takes place August 8 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, and Ortiz vs. Gates is expected to be on the televised preliminary card.
This is a terrific fight between two underrated fighters. Ortiz has shown time and time again that he’s one of the best flyweights in the world and extremely underrated, as he’s often counted out as the underdog in his fights, yet finds a way to win them. As for Gates, he’s still relatively new to the UFC, but he looked amazing in his last fight, a knockout win over Darrell Montague, and with his combination of athleticism and power, he can go far in the flyweight division.
125 doesn’t have a lot of fresh contenders for champion Demetrious Johnson, so the winner of this fight will be in a good position to get into title contention. Ortiz has had some chances against the division’s elite but has come up short, but still, he’s right there, and for Gates this is a tremendous opportunity to get his name out there.
UFC Fight Night 73 is a really nice card, and this is one of the better fights on it, so keep your eyes out for both guys, as they will almost surely deliver a Fight of the Night contender.
• Dustin Ortiz vs. Willie Gates
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Worst: Jonathan Wilson vs. Chris Dempsey, UFC Fight Night 73
My pick for the worst new fight announced this past week is the upcoming light heavyweight bout at UFC Fight Night 73 between Chris Dempsey, who is moving up from middleweight, and Jonathan Wilson, who is making his UFC debut against a new opponent after Jared Cannonier pulled out with an injury. This fight will take place on Fight Pass portion of the preliminary card.
This is just not a good fight. Dempsey’s fights in the UFC have been awful for the most part. In his debut he was brutally knocked out by Ilir Latifi, and then in his next outing he somehow won a close split decision against an even worse fighter in Eddie Gordon. Sure, he has a win in the UFC, but what does it really mean? To me, this is a fighter who shouldn’t be in the UFC, and moving up to light heavyweight, I expect him to struggle badly.
As for Wilson, I’ve written about him in this column before, and while it’s not fair to judge him until he actually fights in the Octagon, it’s hard to be too excited about him. He has a nice record, but he’s fought absolute nobodies for the most part, and it’s hard to get excited for him, even though light heavyweight is barren of prospects. I do expect him to win this fight, but I don’t think it will be very impressive.
The UFC light heavyweight division is the weakest weight class in the entire promotion, and fights like Dempsey vs. Wilson have no place in the UFC, even with as weak as the division is. UFC Fight Night 73 has a nice main card, but this fight is nothing special, and if you miss it, you probably won’t regret it.
• Jonathan Wilson vs. Chris Dempsey
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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.
