Carmouche vs. Pudilova is Solid Matchmaking

On Wednesday, emerging Czech prospect Lucie Pudilova announced via social media that she would be fighting Liz Carmouche on February 23.

The bout is scheduled for UFC on ESPN+3 which takes place at the o2 Arena in Prague in Pudilova's native Czech Republic.

Fans were less than impressed with the UFC's matchmaking. Often justified, it is a common theme that has followed the women's flyweight division since the UFC introduced it officially in 2017.

The general feeling is that Carmouche -- who holds a 2010 victory over the current champion Valentina Shevchenko, and is coming off a win over former world number one Jennifer Maia -- deserves a bigger fight.

Not only that, but a fight that would do more to develop a division that has already seen one champion stripped for failing to defend the title.

There is no question that the matchmaking thus far has been poor. The selection of participants who competed on The Ultimate Fighter to become the inaugural UFC women's flyweight champion was particularly awful.

And that's the thing, nothing the detractors are saying about the booking is wrong.

They aren't entirely right either.

Right now, recently crowned champion Valentina Shevchenko needs contenders, plural. Not one. Not some faux-tournament where all the top ranked fighters are matched against each other throughout 2019 to whittle the numbers down.

The division needs quality title fights more than it needs competitive contender fights if it is to make an impact. Some would argue that the former is a product of the latter, but that is rarely the case.

Matching world class fighters like Claudia Gadelha and Joanna Jedrzejczyk against each other in the early days of the strawweight division, was a major factor in mid-pack fighters such as Jessica Penne and Valerie Letourneau being shoehorned into questionable championship bouts once Jedrzejczyk had the belt.

Should we be clamouring to see Valentina Shevchenko fight one fighter out of a growing list that includes Joanne Calderwood, Ariane Lipski, Jessica Eye, Liz Carmouche and Andrea Lee? Why, when we could see Shevchenko fight two or three of them over the course of the next 12 months instead?

And let's be real here for a moment about the idea that Carmouche deserves a bigger fight off the back of her win over former Invicta FC champion and, then, world number one Jennifer Maia.

Even discounting the fact that not a single casual MMA fan would have any understanding of why the win over Maia mattered, would a different booking now really mean a "bigger" fight for Carmouche?

Against another top contender in the flyweight division, it is still unlikely that Carmouche would be placed in a prominent position at a larger event.

But let's play the game and assume UFC matchmakers did understand the value of the win over Maia, and were warm to the idea of giving Carmouche a bigger fight against a highly ranked opponent.

Who is there?

Andrea Lee and Jessy Jess were set to meet this weekend in Milwaukee before Jess was forced out of the bout due to weight cutting complications.

Joanne Calderwood and Ariane Lipski are already booked to fight each other in January. So are Paige VanZant and Rachael Ostovich.

Montana de la Rosa is booked in Australia in February, Mara Romero Borella is pencilled in for Brazil the same month. Lauren Murphy faces Ashlee Evans-Smith in February too.

Valentina Shevchenko -- who Carmouche would not be facing considering her lack of drawing power, and current one-fight win streak -- fought this past weekend.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Jessica Eye and Katlyn Chookagian -- who Carmouche has already beaten -- all fought on that card too.

Carmouche already lost recently to Alexis Davis, plus has the win that does not need to be refought against the aforementioned Maia.

Meanwhile Sijara Eubanks is on her way back up to bantamweight.

So out of the official UFC top 15 that leaves Roxanne Modafferi who is coming off a defeat to Eubanks and is 1-2 in the UFC since returning in 2017.

Are people really in favour of benching Carmouche and making her wait for someone to become available?

No thanks. I'd rather see Carmouche fight and get paid.

There are tangible positives for both fighters to come out of taking this booking too. For Carmouche, it's a chance to get into the cage, stay active, and get paid. It's also a chance to improve her recent record to two straight wins and strengthen her fragile position in the top half of the rankings.

For Pudilova this is another opportunity to gain valuable cage time against a savvy veteran. Even if she loses, which most believe she will, Pudilova can learn plenty from the experience. The 24-year-old has time on her side and could become a player one day at 125 pounds. The bout with Carmouche can be an important part of that journey.

And who is to say that Pudilova won't get the nod anyway? Carmouche has had some rough treatment from judges in the past, and with Pudilova's output and workrate who knows what happens if this goes the distance. Maybe Pudilova does get the win and catapults herself into the upper echelons of the women's flyweight rankings.

More than that, the blend of experienced, physically imposing, womanhandler; and fearless, energetic up-and-comer, should make for a highly entertaining fight.

Isn't that what got most of us watching in the first place?