Jay Primetown gives his thoughts on each of the fighters who competed at UFC 206 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Jay gives his letter grades for each fighter on TheMMA-Analysis podcast which can be found on MMAOddsBreaker.com. Zach Makovsky vs. Dustin Ortiz Makovsky: A flat performance from the former Bellator flyweight champion. He was pushed against the cage with regularity and was able to maintain top position in the grappling exchanges when he was unable to gain it. The fight wasn’t as close as the judges scored it. Grade remains B- Ortiz: Did a great job pressing the pace on the feet and winning the majority of the scrambles in the grappling. His best win in the UFC. No question. Grade remains B- Rustam Khabilov vs. Jason Saggo Khabilov: The power he possesses in his right hand is impressive and a difference maker. However, his bread-and-butter is wrestling, and he was able to secure takedowns throughout the fight to earn a relatively easy win. It’s time for Khabilov to face a fringe Top 15 lightweight again. Upgraded from C+ to B- Saggo: He offered no threat to Khabilov on the feet and was taken down in each round of the fight. This was a tough matchup for Saggo and one that was always going to be difficult for him to win. Grade remains C- John Makdessi vs. Lando Vannata Makdessi: Has talked about retirement recently and getting knocked out in this fashion may send him back to retirement thoughts. Downgraded from C+ to C Vannata: Landed one of the best head-kick knockouts one will ever see in the history of MMA. Tremendous win over a veteran that will only build his confidence. Upgraded from C+ to B- Mitch Gagnon vs. Matt Lopez Gagnon: Returning from a two-year layoff and having poor cardio to begin with, his inability to finish the fight in the first round was his undoing. He had no way to get off his back and was dominated in the final two rounds. Tough result for Gagnon, and the secret is clearly out on how to beat him. Downgraded from B- to C Lopez: Struggled early in the fight with the striking power of Gagnon and was nearly finished. He weathered the storm and did a tremendous job out wrestling Gagnon the final 10 minutes of the fight earn a decision. That’s a win that puts Lopez on the map. Upgraded from D+ to C Valerie Letourneau vs. Viviane Pereira Letourneau: Did well in round one, but got complacent in the final two rounds and didn’t make an effort to differentiate herself from her opponent. I thought she won the fight, but it was close enough that the loss is not much of a surprise. Letourneau has been on a rough run in the UFC, and a lot of it has to do with the weight cut to strawweight. She’s meant to fight at flyweight, but the UFC currently doesn’t have a division in that weight class. Downgraded from C to C- Pereira: Despite giving up significant reach and size, she succeeded in getting inside her opponent’s reach and making this is a close fight. This is an excellent win in her UFC debut, but I have to think she will struggle long-term giving up size in this weight class. Debut grade is C- Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Drew Dober Aubin-Mercier: Had surprising success on the feet early on landing well on the counter. Once he was able to get a dominant position on the ground, he had Dober in all sorts of trouble easily latching on a submission for the victory. Grade remains C- Dober: He really struggled with the size and reach of his opponent. He was unable to get inside his opponent and when he was able to land he found himself quickly in guard where he had no answers for his opponent’s grappling game. Dober’s hit his ceiling in the UFC. He’s an action fighter, but his upside is rather limited. Downgraded from C- to D+ Misha Cirkunov vs. Nikita Krylov Cirkunov: His grappling was strong throughout the fight as he was able to earn takedowns regularly in the fight. It was the stand-up which ultimately was the difference-maker, as a straight left hand dropped Krylov. It’s time for Cirkunov to face a name in this division. Upgraded from C- to C Krylov: He did well in the scrambles, but he was taken to the ground too easily and his striking defense has a lot of holes. He’s very young for the division and has time to improve, but his ceiling right now is fringe Top 10. Grade remains C- Emil Meek vs. Jordan Mein Meek: He was hurt in round one, but his constant pressure and then ability to take Mein to the ground were the difference in this fight. This was a strong debut, and he could make some noise in the welterweight division. Upgraded from C to C+ Mein: Ring rust a real issue for Mein, who slowed down tremendously after the first round and wasn’t able to mount much offense. Disappointing return for the Canadian. Downgraded from C+ to C Kelvin Gastelum vs. Tim Kennedy Gastelum: Perhaps the best performance of his career. After being controlled in the grappling for the first few minutes of the fight, he began to land with regularity and beat up a very durable opponent finishing him late in the third. After the fight, Gastelum said he plans to move back down to welterweight, where he’s a Top 10 fighter. Welterweight grade remains B+ Kennedy: Returned to the UFC after a lengthy layoff and absolutely struggled with his opponent’s speed and movement. I don’t see a future for Kennedy in the UFC and think it’s time for him to hang up the gloves. Downgraded from B+ to B- Doo Ho Choi vs. Cub Swanson Choi: Fought toe-to-toe with a very experienced fighter. He was hurt several times in this fight but used a heck of a chin and his resilience to make it to the final bell. This will be a great learning experience for him, as I expect him to rise up the rankings in the coming years. Upgraded from B- to B Swanson: A thrilling performance by the veteran featherweight. He pulled out all the tricks in his arsenal to try to finish Choi. But ultimately, he needed the judges to earn the win. This was a big win for him and has people excited about him again. Upgraded from B- to B+ Matt Brown vs. Donald Cerrone Brown: Despite taking a lot of damage, he had Cerrone hurt a couple of times in round two. For Brown, it was the kicks that were his undoing. A person can only take so many before going down. Great fight, but it wasn’t meant to be for “The Immortal.” Grade remains B- Cerrone: He knew Brown was going to attack, but he was able to weather the pressure. His range striking was excellent and his kicks were on throughout the fight. He was able to finish the fight in the third round with a flush left high kick. Cerrone is now clearly a Top 10 welterweight and likely a win away from being in title contention. Upgraded from B to B+ Max Holloway vs. Anthony Pettis Holloway: A complete masterclass performance by Holloway. So much variety on the feet and even mixed in a couple takedowns. He appeared on a completely different level in giving Pettis the worst loss of his career. The Jose Aldo vs. Holloway unification bout will be fascinating. Upgraded from A to A++ Pettis: Weight cut definitely affected his output, but he really didn’t have much of a chance in this fight. He simply doesn’t have the power in his hands to scare Holloway. Without a method to get the fight to the ground, he was forced to fight a losing battle on the feet. Pettis announced after the fight that he’s planning to return to lightweight in 2017. Lightweight grade is A-
Updated Fighter Grades: Post-UFC 206
