Jay Primetown gives his thoughts on each of the fighters who competed at UFC on Fox 21 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Washington. Jay gives his letter grades for each fighter on TheMMA-Analysis podcast which can be found on MMAOddsbreaker.com. Jeremy Kennedy vs. Alex Ricci Kennedy: Despite being outsized and not having the power to hurt his opponent on the feet, he showed an outstanding work rate pushing his opponent against the cage and working for takedowns. He controlled this fight throughout not allowing his opponent an opportunity to score at all in the later portion of the fight. He will drop down to featherweight for his next fight. Debut grade is D+ at featherweight Ricci: Is a decently technical fighter when he can control the clinch, but is too willing to fight with his back against the cage. Making his UFC debut it was really disappointing to see him not push in the third round knowing he was likely down on the scorecards. At 34 years of age, it’s difficult to see him stick around the UFC for long. Debut grade is D- at lightweight Thibault Gouti vs. Chad Laprise Gouti: Barely made Laprise break a sweat in this one. His striking is serviceable, but his defense is poor and he has no grappling game to speak of. This is likely his last fight inside the Octagon. Downgraded from D- to F Laprise: His striking crisp and I really like how he fights strong at the very onset of fights. He landed an excellent counter to hurt Gouti and poured it on after he jumped on him to get the finish. He’s making the move to welterweight after this bout, but he’s going to be undersized in that division. Debut grade at welterweight is D+ Shane Campbell vs. Felipe Silva Campbell: Way too hittable on the feet and played right into Silva’s strengths allowing himself to be caught in Silva’s clinch. Downgraded from C- to D+ Silva: His striking game is very dangerous. Great length for the division, excellent in the clinch, and also works in strikes to the body. Hi ground game is a complete unknown, but this was a very strong debut fight. Upgraded from D+ to C- Alessio Di Chirico vs. Garreth McLellan Di Chirico: He’s a well-rounded fighter with solid boxing and decent wrestling chops. He needs to improve his striking defense as that was exposed a bit in this fight. Conditioning also appears to be a problem. With the earthquake in his native Italy earlier in the week, that could have been a distraction which threw him off a bit in this bout. Still, I think the hype train on Di Chirico has slowed down quite a bit after this performance. Downgraded from C- to D+ McLellan: A better showing for him in this bout than in previous bouts. He had some success when pushing forward and changing levels to land his upper cut. Still he’s way too hittable and too slow to contend with the better middleweights. Upgraded from F to D Enrique Barzola vs. Kyle Bochniak Barzola: He surprised Bochniak opting for a striking heavy kicking attack. He out landed Bochniak despite losing a controversial decision. I thought this performance showed good variety. Grade remains D+ Bochniak: His work rate was really good in this bout and he continued to press despite not being able to hurt Barzola in this bout. He had some positive moments and won a close decision on the cards. Grade remains D Sam Alvey vs. Kevin Casey Alvey: He’s certainly a slow starter looking to counter his opponent. Once he turns up the pace he’s got good power and is able to land to put opponents away. Upgraded from C- to C Casey: He looks competent for one round, but after five minutes he slows down significantly. Once his output decreased, he had little chance as he couldn’t block Alvey’s punches. The knockout was inevitable. Grade remains D+ Joe Lauzon vs. Jim Miller Lauzon: He was out landed on the feet, but had real advantages on the ground and controlled Miller for the majority of two rounds in this fight despite losing a decision. Grade remains C+ Miller: His striking looked a lot better in this fight. He connected to the body several times and hurt Lauzon a couple of times in this bout. His grappling continues to let him down. At one point wrestling was his strength, but now it’s a major weakness. Upgraded from C to C+ Bec Rawlings vs. Paige VanZant Rawlings: Had a decent first round keeping VanZant at distance and landing the better of the strikes. She was caught off guard by a flying kick and finished shortly thereafter. Tough result for Rawlings who looked up to the task early on. Grade remains C- VanZant: Struggled in the opening round finding her range. Perhaps it was a change in game plan more so than a poor start. Early in the second round she landed one of the best leg kicks of the year to finish her opponent. It was a rather lackluster performance up until that special moment, but that will all be forgotten due to the finish. Grade remains C+ Charles Oliveira vs. Anthony Pettis Oliveira: He really came to fight in this bout. At the end of round one, he looked like he had nothing left, but he continued to press forward and was able to take Pettis down repeatedly. His biggest problem was he was unable to hold position and lost a lot of scrambles. Oliveira showed he could compete with top fighters in this fight despite losing by submission in the third round. Upgraded from B+ to A- Pettis: His striking was much better in this fight. He threw with more volume and a lot of variety. Where he excelled was in the scramble situations. His ability to grapple with Do Bronx is as impressive as just about anything he’s ever done in this sport. Takedowns will continue to be what holds him back, but he’s never been finished in a fight and is unlikely to be finished anytime soon. That makes him dangerous. Grade remains A Carlos Condit vs. Demian Maia Condit: He was always going to have to contend with Maia’s grappling in this fight and defend takedowns. His inability to defend the early takedown proved inescapable. Difficult loss for Condit who had discussed retirement before and said it was possible after this bout. Downgraded from A to B+ Maia: Each and every fight his opponents know what his objective is, but they are unable to stop it. Being the first fighter to submit Carlos Condit this decade is a great accomplishment, but doing so in less than two months is unbelievable. That is the mark of a great fighter. Maia is deserving a title shot and should get one either in late 2016 or early 2017. Upgraded from B+ to A
Updated Fighter Grades: Post-UFC on Fox 21
