Jay Primetown gives his thoughts on each of the fighters who competed at UFC Fight Night 73 in Nashville, Tennessee and updates his letter grades on each. Jay gives his letter grades for each fighter on TheMMA-Analysis podcast which can be found on MMAOddsbreaker.com Anthony Christodoulou vs. Scott Holtzman Christodoulou: A repeat of his first performance in the UFC. Offered nothing on the feet and allowed himself to become a punching bag. This should be his last appearance inside the Octagon. Downgraded from F to F– Holtzman: Did what he was supposed to do against Christodoulou. Lack of striking power I think will be what limits his ceiling. Downgraded from C to C- Roman Salazar vs. Marlon Vera Salazar: Poor performance from Salazar in a fight he had a clear wrestling advantage. Likely his last fight inside the Octagon. Grade remains F Vera: Limited striking game, but showed decent jiu jitsu in the victory. Grade remains D- Chris Dempsey vs. Jonathan Wilson Dempsey: Blitzed early on Wilson and was finished quickly and easily by the UFC debutant. This is the second time Dempsey has been easily knocked by an opponent in the UFC’s light heavyweight division on short notice; a worrying sign. Downgraded from D to D- Wilson: Great debut making quick work of Chris Dempsey. Hard to read much into such a quick finish. Debut grade is C- Sirwan Kakai vs. Frankie Saenz Kakai: Surprised me how successful he was in the grappling exchanges in this fight, but really disappointed in the standup. Upgraded from D+ to C- Saenz: Striking appeared much improved in this bout as he succeeded well in landing strikes in combination. Could struggle with the bigger, more physical fighters in the division. Grade remains C Willie Gates vs. Dustin Ortiz Gates: Gates’ stock had risen nicely since his debut in the UFC, but Saturday night was a perfect example to show that Gates will never be a consistent top 10 fighter. His ability to defend a takedown simply isn’t there and when taken down struggles to scramble to his feet. Grade remains C+ Ortiz: Impressive performance from start to finish as he rag dolled his opponent to a late stoppage win. This win solidified his case as a top 10 fighter. He’s a tough out for all but the very best in the division. Grade remains B Chris Camozzi vs. Tom Watson Camozzi: Not a good performance, but did enough to earn the victory. Shocking that what won him the fight on the judges’ scorecards were takedowns as opposed to his stand up. Upgraded from D+ to C- Watson: His pace really slowed as the fight dragged on. His ability to defend takedowns was horrendous. Downgraded from D+ to D Oluwale Bamgbose vs. Uriah Hall Bamgbose: Expected more from Bamgbose, but once he got hit by Hall he turtled up pretty quickly. Downgraded from C- to D Hall: Best performance in quite some time as he easily disposed of Bamgbose. That seems to be Hall’s MO now; quick finish or struggle to win a decision. Grade remains C Ray Borg vs. Geanne Herrera Borg: A real pleasure to watch as his combination athleticism and grappling is breathtaking to watch. At barely 22 years of age, he will be a long time top 10 fighter who should challenge for the title within the next couple of years. Upgraded from B to B+ Herrera: Defended submissions well against an excellent prospect. Need to see him against lower level opposition to see where his ceiling is. Debut grade is C- Sara McMann vs. Amanda Nunes McMann: At 34 years of age, she just may not be able to compete with the best athletes in the division. Three straight losses in the division. One has to wonder if she receives another opportunity. Downgraded from B to B- Nunes: The top performance of the night and a career defining win for the Brazilian as she dropped McMann on the feet and submitted her easily on the ground. Jumps right into title contention with the win. Upgraded from B to B+ Tim Johnson vs. Jared Rosholt Johnson: Against Rosholt one needs to defend takedowns in order to win. His inability to do that was the difference in this fight despite nearly knocking out Rosholt deep in the third round. Grade remains D+ Rosholt: He might be the most boring fighter in the heavyweight division, but his wrestling is near the top of the division. At 5-1 in the UFC, Rosholt has gone completely under the radar. Upgraded from D+ to C- Sam Alvey vs. Derek Brunson Alvey: Exposed in this fight by a fighter with an aggressive, high-output game plan. That’s kryptonite for Alvey, who is typically a slow starter. Grade remains C- Brunson: At 5-1 in the UFC, Brunson has shown enough athleticism and wrestling ability to earn himself a place in the top 15 of the division. It’s his striking that will determine just how high he can rise. Saturday night’s performance was a great start. Grade remains B- Beneil Dariush vs. Michael Johnson Dariush: While he struggled to score takedowns against the Blackzilian lightweight, his unorthodox striking technique gave Johnson some problems. He definitely showed that he’s on equal terms with Johnson and I think that surprised most people. Upgraded from B to B+ Johnson: Had a significant speed advantage at times against his opponent, but struggled with output at times in this fight. This should have been a showcase fight for him, but instead he lost a controversial decision. Grade remains B+ Ovine Saint Preux vs. Glover Teixeira Saint Preux: Had his chance in the first round to finish Teixeira on the feet, but did not capitalize. After that, conditioning took its toll and Teixeira took advantage of it putting Saint Preux on his back repeatedly. This fight truly showed Saint Preux’s ceiling in the division; one step below title contention. Grade remains B Teixeira: Good comeback fight from the Brazilian where he fought through trouble early to show a great game plan and end up dominating in the late second round and into the third stanza to get an important submission win over OSP. Teixeira has shown he can beat the also rans, all that’s left is the division’s elite. Upgraded from B to B+
