Jay Primetown gives his thoughts on each of the fighters who competed at UFC 205 in New York City. Jay gives his letter grades for each fighter on TheMMA-Analysis podcast which can be found on MMAOddsbreaker.com Liz Carmouche vs. Katlyn Chookagian Carmouche: Coming off a long layoff, she did an excellent job at forcing the grappling exchanges where she was dominant. She slowed down in round three but did enough in first two rounds to get the job done. Grade remains B- Chookagian: She was unable to prevent the takedown early in the fight putting herself too far behind in the fight to get a result on the scorecards. Grade remains C+ Thiago Alves vs. Jim Miller Alves: Looked sluggish in this fight. He had some decent moments on the feet, but was taken down rather easily in every round. Disappointing result especially given the drop in weight. Downgraded from B- to C Miller: Solid performance in this fight from Miller. He did a great job of getting this fight to the mat in each round where he has a significant advantage. He’s found a bit of resurgence late in his career. Grade remains C+ Vicente Luque vs. Belal Muhammad Luque: I’ve been totally wrong on Luque, but finally see it now. His movement is excellent and his ability to switch stances is as effortless as I’ve seen in MMA. He combines that fluidity with big time power (both in his punches and kicks). At just 24 years of age, he’s one of the most promising fighters in the welterweight division. Upgraded from D+ to C Muhammad: Didn’t have much time to get into the fight and was out struck by a better striker. He got hit clean and was unable to recover from it. End of story. Downgraded from C to C- Tim Boetsch vs. Rafael Natal Boetsch: One of his best fights inside the Octagon. Striking was crisp from the opening bell and put pressure on him throughout the fight until he floored Natal. Solid win for Boetsch and he’s having a bit of a career resurgence. Upgraded from C to C+ Natal: He was stung early by Boetsch’s power in his hands. Fought tentative from that point on until he was knocked out later in the first round. When forced into striking contests, he’s going to struggle moving forward. Downgraded from C+ to C Michael Johnson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov Johnson: He never stood a chance in this fight. Once Nurmagomedov was able to get him to the mat in the first round, it was one way traffic. Just a nightmare matchup for Johnson and the realization that he can’t just strike to make it to the top of the UFC. Downgraded from A- to B+ Nurmagomedov: Complete and utter domination of his top 10 ranked opponent. The undefeated Dagestani lightweight has done this to just about every opponent he has ever faced. It’s time for him to fight for the championship. In my mind, he’s already the best fighter in this division. Upgraded from A+ to A++ Frankie Edgar vs. Jeremy Stephens Edgar: Fought with a torn MCL and against a fighter much bigger than him on fight day. It was a rather competitive contest early on, but Edgar’s conditioning and grappling were the difference in this one. He continues to show that he’s one of the most consistent fighters in MMA. He rarely has an off night. Grade remains A+ Stephens: He gave Edgar a tough fight and had him hurt at one point in time. This was a great learning experience for Stephens. He should know from this fight that he is capable of competing with the best in the division. Upgraded from B to B+ Raquel Pennington vs. Miesha Tate Pennington: Solid performance from start to finish for The Ultimate Fighter product. She outstruck Tate on the feet with relative ease and even got the best of the grappling. This was a signature win for her and puts her into the top 10 of the division. Upgraded from C+ to B- Tate: Poor performance from Miesha Tate who didn’t seem to have the usual resilience that she normally has in her fights. She announced her retirement after the fight; probably one fight late. Retires as C+ Yoel Romero vs. Chris Weidman Romero: A competitive first two rounds, but Romero’s athleticism really shined in round three when he landed a hellacious knee to knock out Weidman. He’s now beaten Lyoto Machida, Jacare, and Weidman back to back to back. He’s deserving of the middleweight title shot. Upgraded from A to A+ Weidman: This may be a tough loss to overcome for Chris Weidman. He’s struggled with injuries the last few years and this is now back to back brutal knockout losses in the Octagon. He’s only 32 years old, but I don’t see him fighting much longer. Downgraded from A+ to A Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz Jedrzejczyk: Outside of being clipped midway through the fight, she controlled every other moment of this bout. She simply was able to land much more consistently than her Polish counterpart. Jessica Andrade will be an interesting test because of the power Andrade has in her hands, but outside of that I don’t see anyone else currently who could even give her a challenge. Grade remains A+ Kowalkiewicz: She was never in trouble in this bout and showed she can strike with Jedrzejczyk, but she just wasn’t accurate enough on the feet. If they fought again, it would be a very similar result. Grade remains A- Stephen Thompson vs. Tyron Woodley Thompson: He was hurt multiple times in this fight but recovered well and made this a very competitive contest. His striking is tough to figure out and his resilience from being hit by some of Woodley’s big shots make me believe he could spend a longer time in the elite part of the weight class than I previously thought. Grade remains A Woodley: He had Thompson in trouble in two different rounds in this fight, but was unable to finish. He certainly did more damage in this bout, but in between big rounds he lost closer rounds to make this a very close fight on paper. I would think a rematch definitely plays in his favor. Grade remains A Eddie Alvarez vs. Conor McGregor Alvarez: Speed difference was apparent from the start. He was hit by a McGregor left hand early in the fight and he had no answer for it time and time again. He got snookered into a boxing match which is the polar opposite of what he wanted. He lost the mental fight with McGregor which certainly played a big factor in losing the physical one as well. Downgraded from A to A- McGregor: A beautiful performance from start to finish. He won the battle of the words rattling Alvarez and then just beat him in the physical fight with faster hands, better power, and more accurate strikes. For all intents and purposes, this was a blowout. McGregor is now the first fighter in UFC history to hold two belts simultaneously. A tremendous achievement for him as we now wait to see what’s next. Upgraded from A to A+
Updated Fighter Grades: Post-UFC 205
