Jay Primetown gives his thoughts on each of the fighters who competed at UFC Fight Night 93 in Hamburg, Germany. Jay gives his letter grades for each fighter on TheMMA-Analysis podcast which can be found on MMAOddsbreaker.com Rustam Khabilov vs. Leandro Silva Khabilov: This fight was a lot closer than it should have been. Khabilov was very tentative on the feet and his unwillingness to throw strikes nearly cost him the fight. Timely takedowns were the difference. Despite the win, Khabilov continues to disappoint. Downgraded from B to C+ Silva: His hand speed was a major factor as he caught his Russian opponent a few times in this fight. His inability to prevent takedowns late in fights is worrisome and it was a major reason he lost on three judges’ scorecards. Grade remains C- Scott Askham vs. Jack Hermansson Askham: He was aggressive with heel hooks in grappling situations. That was where he was the biggest threat. On the feet, he didn’t do much to threaten his opponent. He was worn out due to his opponent’s high work rate. Downgraded from C- to D+ Hermansson: Solid performance in his UFC debut. After a close first round, he did an excellent job working in strikes to the body to slow down his opponent. Hermansson peppered Askham in the final two rounds outlanding him 72 to 26 in the final 10 minutes of the bout. Hermansson is an interesting fighter to watch in the middleweight division because of his high work rate. Grade remains C- Christian Colombo vs. Jarjis Danho Colombo: After a poor opening round, he was able to take advantage of his opponent’s poor conditioning. He landed the better strikes and controlled the action in rounds two and three. If not for a point deduction due to an illegal knee, he would have gotten the win instead he settled for a draw. Still, given how badly Danho gassed, this is a fight Colombo should have finished. Grade remains F Danho: His striking is clumsy and lacking any sense of accuracy. Combined with some of the worst endurance in the UFC, Danho looks like a fighter who doesn’t belong in the promotion. The point deduction saved him from a second straight loss in the cage. Downgraded from F to F- Leandro Issa vs. Taylor Lapilus Issa: He tried to get Lapilus to the mat, but was unable to hold him down. On the feet, he offered nothing for his opponent. His volume was too low and he allowed Lapilus to keep him against the cage. He appeared overmatched in this bout. Grade remains D+ Lapilus: He continues to show improvements in his overall ability. He varied his striking well and did excellent in stuffing the takedown attempts. He’s ready again for an increase in competition. Upgraded from C- to C Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Veronica Macedo Evans-Smith: It took her a few minutes to figure out Macedo’s striking, but once she was able to do so, she forced the fight to the cage and beat her up with her superior size and strength. It wasn’t a pretty performance, but it was workman-like. Grade remains C Macedo: Her kicking game is pretty advanced and caused Evans-Smith problems early on, but she’s simply too small for this division. She was pushed around and had no answers for Evans-Smith’s heavy top control on the ground. Tough to see her winning a fight in the UFC if she continues to fight at bantamweight. Grade remains D Nicolas Dalby vs. Peter Sobotta Dalby: Another lackluster performance from Dalby inside the cage. His boxing simply isn’t good enough for the UFC. He attempts to land leg strikes, but his attempts tend to be caught by his opponent which puts him in poor positions. On the ground, when he’s put down he really struggles to get back to his feet. Dalby has now lost his last two bouts in the UFC. He’s a likely candidate to be cut from the roster. Downgraded from C- to D+ Sobotta: Perhaps his best performance inside the Octagon. He landed a knockdown early in round one and nearly put Dalby away. He secured takedowns throughout the fight and showed a solid all-around game plan to getting a dominant decision win. Upgraded from D+ to C- Jessin Ayari vs. Jim Wallhead Ayari: Competitive fight where he landed some nice leg kicks and fought well late in the fight to seal the result. Tough to gauge his prospects in this division with this result. Debut grade is D Wallhead: Decent boxing and his aggressive approach to cutting off the cage are positive aspects of his UFC debut. His conditioning is a concern and he is hittable in a weight class with younger, longer fighters. Debut grade is D Tae Hyun Bang vs. Nick Hein Bang: He was competitive against Hein on the feet, but was unable to pressure his opponent to land the big shot to change the complexion of the fight. The way Bang fights it is an all or nothing proposition. Grade remains D Hein: He mixed in solid boxing with some timely takedowns. He put himself in a couple of tough spots because his striking defense let him down at times. This was a fight he was supposed to win on home turf and he did what he needed to do. Grade remains D+ Ryan Bader vs. Ilir Latifi Bader: He had issues implementing his power wrestling attack against one of the strongest fighters in the division. Instead he found an opening in Latifi’s defense to land leg kicks. He had success with leg kicks throughout the fight and ultimately landed a flush knee to knock out the Swedish light heavyweight. Good win over a dangerous opponent for Bader. Grade remains B+ Latifi: His powerful strikes are a danger for most fighters in the division. He had some opportunities in this bout, but his susceptibility is becoming a real issue and is limiting his ability to move up in this division. That said he showed he’s capable of competing against one of the better fighters in the division. Upgraded from C to C+ Jan Blachowicz vs. Alexander Gustafsson Blachowicz: He did much better than expected in the striking exchanges with Gustafsson. His long jab landed at times in this bout. It was his inability to prevent the takedown attempts which was the difference in this bout. Good performance from him overall in a bout he was outmatched on paper. Upgraded from C- to C Gustafsson: Blachowicz’s aggressive stand up approach caught Gustafsson off guard. To limit potential damage, Gustafsson went to his backup plan and secured takedowns with relative ease in the second half of the fight to earn an easy win on the scorecards. Grade remains A Andrei Arlovski vs. Josh Barnett Arlovski: His hands certainly troubled Barnett at points in this fight. His quickness had Barnett on the back foot at times, but wrestling was the key to this fight. Arlovski lost the scrambles and was taken down a couple of times in this bout. On the ground he was at a massive disadvantage and had no answers. Downgraded from B to B- Barnett: His chin is nowhere near where it used to be. He had moments of vulnerability in this bout, but went back to his bread and butter of clinch fighting and grappling to get the finish and a big win for him. Grade remains B
Updated Fighter Grades: Post-UFC Fight Night 93
