Jay Primetown gives his thoughts on each of the fighters who competed at UFC on ESPN+ 4 in Wichita, Kansas. Jay gives his letter grades for each fighter on TheMMA-Analysis podcast which can be found on MMAOddsbreaker.com.
Dan Moret vs. Alex White
Moret: Did well in the opening round, but couldn’t land much in the final two rounds and it cost him the fight. Grade remains D
White: After taking a significant elbow early in the fight, he recovered well and defended takedowns wonderfully. White earned a deserved win here and continues to show he can beat fighters in the lower part of the lightweight division. Grade remains C-
Alex Morono vs. Zak Ottow
Morono: This was a great opportunity to pick up a win and he did so rather easily getting the finish in the opening round. Grade remains D+
Ottow: Losing this bout wasn’t a surprise, but having to verbally submit in the opening round was. Ottow has now lost every fight he has been in since 2014. Grade remains D
Matt Schnell vs. Louis Smolka
Schnell: In perhaps his best performance in the UFC, Schnell hurt Smolka on the feet and dominated on the mat to earn a first round submission. Upgraded from D to D+
Smolka: A poor all around performance from Smolka as he beat in every aspect of this fight. He’s a bit outgunned at bantamweight. Grade remains D
Maurice Greene vs. Jeff Hughes
Greene: He did good enough on the feet and it was impressive he was able to beat a fighter he had previously lost to. He doesn’t have much power in his hands and that will be a major hinderance in the heavyweight division. Grade remains D-
Hughes: He fights at a decent pace, but like his opponent doesn’t have major power. He doesn’t have the ability to change the fight with one punch. It’s tough to see him advancing much in this division. Debut grade is D-
Grant Dawson vs. Julian Erosa
Dawson: Unofficially, he secured six takedowns in this bout and his pace caused Erosa difficult throughout. He was a bit aggressive on the feet and his sloppiness at times made situations more difficult than they needed to be for him. He certainly has talent, but he’ still rather green. Grade remains C-
Erosa: On the mat, he got Dawson in some tricky positions as he threatened for submission off his back. The problem was he got hit too easily on the feet and was taken to the mat way too easily. He was out classed in this bout. Grade remains D-
Yana Kunitskaya vs. Marion Reneau
Kunitskaya: She put on a high pace the first two rounds and even despite breaking her nose in the third round, did more than enough for the decision. She’s big for the bantamweight division and should sit in the division’s top 10 for some time. Grade remains C+
Reneau: She struggled early in this bout. She did well in round three to land the bigger punches and cause some damage, but it was too late to affect the scorecards. Grade remains C
Tony Martin vs. Sergio Moraes
Martin: He utilized a lot of leg kicks and frustrated Moraes throughout the bout. He was rarely in danger against a fighter who is a real threat on the mat. A very good win for Martin who has found a home in the welterweight division. Upgraded from C- to C
Moraes: When he’s not able to finish, he can truly struggle in fights. He was really frustrated in this bout as he couldn’t get inside and land any punches of value against Martin. This was a bad loss for Moraes as he lost each round of this fight. Grade remains C-
Omari Akhmedov vs. Tim Boetsch
Akhmedov: It wasn’t a complete blow out, but he beat up Boetsch and landed quite a bit more head shots to runaway with the fight over the veteran. He’s now unbeaten in his last four and is closing in on the top 15 of the division. Upgraded from D+ to C-
Boetsch: At 38 years old, he’s clearly slowing down and was beat up by the Russian fighter. He broke his nose early in the bout and struggled afterwards. Downgraded from C to D+
Beneil Dariush vs. Drew Dober
Dariush: His chin is becoming a concern as he was in trouble multiple times in this bout. However, he’s a veteran and was able to get Dober to the mat in the second round and was able to dominate there to earn the finish. Downgraded from B- to C+
Dober: His movement and striking aggression had Dariush on skates at times in round one, but as soon as the fight went to the mat he was a full level behind. Downgraded from C to C-
Blagoy Ivanov vs. Ben Rothwell
Ivanov: In a close fight, he did well to out land Rothwell in the first two rounds, but the result wasn’t known until the scorecards were read. A good win for Ivanov as he looks to establish himself in this division. Grade remains C+
Rothwell: He spent a lot of time out of the cage and perhaps a bit of ring rust was there as it took him the better part of two rounds to settle in. He did very well in the third round, but it was too little, too late to affect the scoreline. Downgraded from B- to C+
Tim Means vs. Niko Price
Means: He had Niko Price in big trouble and right where he wanted. One counterpunch later and Means was on the canvas. It was a stunning turn of events in a fight Means was likely just seconds away from victory himself. With a broken ankle he got from being dropped, he’ll be out of action for a while as well. Grade remains C-
Price: A beautiful counterpunch saw Price completely turnaround a fight he was seconds away from losing. It was a big win for him as he has steadied himself in the welterweight divison. Grade remains C-
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Curtis Millender
Dos Santos: He utilized a tremendous game plan to focus on getting Millender to the ground and dominating him there. He made this fight look easy. Grade remains C+
Millender: In a big opportunity for the American, he fell flat as a major hole in his game was exposed. Downgraded from C to C-
Junior dos Santos vs. Lewis
Dos Santos: He appeared in control throughout the fight and didn’t fall for Lewis’ possum antics at times. A solid performance and a strong finish to put dos Santos in title contention. Upgraded from B to B+
Lewis: He was a threat early on with his athleticism and power, but once dos Santos settled in he was completely out classed. After he was hit with a body shot, he never seemed to recover. Grade remains B-
