Jay Primetown gives his thoughts on each of the fighters who competed at UFC Fight Night 104 in Houston, Texas. Jay gives his letter grades for each fighter on TheMMA-Analysis podcast which can be found on MMAOddsbreaker.com Daniel Jolly vs Khalil Rountree Jolly: He was hesitant on the feet and shot for takedown but was unable to secure it. He took a knee flush to the face in the process and dropped to the mat. At 32 years of age and a 0-2 record in the UFC, it’s unlikely he will get another chance to fight in the promotion. Grade remains F Rountree: He made an effort to come into this fight with less muscle, but more speed. The fight didn’t last long, but he defended a takedown and landed a quick, powerful knee that put his opponent. It was an impressive finish in a fight in which he took no damage. He can turn around and fight quickly if desired. Upgraded from D- to D Alex Morono vs. Niko Price Morono: He had a very good first 7 minutes of this fight by moving well and landing in combination. He started to slow down and the fight shifted to the point where he was knocked out at the end of the second round. He was unable to move as the bell sounded and the ref was forced to stop it. Morono can beat some of the lower level guys in the division, but this is about his ceiling in the UFC. Grade remains D+ Price: He started slow in this bout when he looked to strike as the aggressor. In the second round, he changed his strategy looking to counterstrike and had much better results. Once he had Morono on the back foot, he got more aggressive and started doing damage. He saw blood at the very end of round two and was able to finish the job. He’s now a got dominant submission win and a knockout to his name in the UFC. It’s a win that sees him move up in the division. Upgraded from D+ to C- Bec Rawlings vs. Tecia Torres Rawlings: She looked like she was striking in quick sand compared to Tecia Torres. Rawlings has decent striking technique, but speed and movement were a major issue in this fight as she was picked apart on the feet. With two straight losses, she’s possibly on the cut line after this performance. Downgraded from C- to D+ Torres: She had fought Rawlings before so she knew what she was in for in this fight. She had the right game plan and dominated this fight from start to finish with speed, technique, and movement. Torres is one of the top strikers in the weight class and certainly is working on her ground game to compete with the division’s elite. Grade remains B+ Ricardo Ramos vs. Michinori Tanaka Ramos: He fought terrific in the first round nearly finishing Tanaka with punches. He showed improvements to his overall striking game. He slowed down in the second half of the fight nearly giving away the fight and that’s a real concern for his prospects in the bantamweight division. Downgraded from C t C- Tanaka: He recovered well from nearly being knocked out in the first round to make this a competitive fight. Lack of striking power is going to hold him back as his grappling game is good but not overwhelming. Grade remains D+ Chris Gruetzemacher vs. Chas Skelly Gruetzemacher: He was completely outclassed in this fight. He was not able to land anything of significance on the feet and was dominated on the ground. He looked slow in this bout and never got his footing as he was submitted midway through the second round. Downgraded from C- to D+ Skelly: Training with Henri Hooft has paid major dividends as Skelly’s striking has never looked so crisp. He landed with variety on the feet and then went to his bread and butter with a grinding grappling approach to eventually lock in a submission. Skelly has had a nice run in the UFC and is on the verge of the top 15 of the featherweight division. Upgraded from C to C+ Curtis Blaydes vs. Adam Milstead Blaydes: An absolute wrestling clinic by the Illinois native. He rag dolled a much smaller heavyweight and made it look easy. Outside of Francis Ngannou, Blaydes is the best prospect in the division. Upgraded from C- to C Milstead: He was taken down early and often in this fight and ended up hurting his knee in the process. Once he hurt his knee, it was the beginning of the end for him. Hopefully it’s a knee dislocation and not a torn ACL for the Pennsylvania based heavyweight. If it’s a torn ACL, it’s possible Milstead doesn’t return to the sport. Downgraded from D to D- Jessica Andrade vs. Angela Hill Andrade: She’s turned herself into the female version of John Lineker. She is very aggressive walking down her opponent throwing with conviction. She certainly leaves herself open to counters, but has proven herself to be one of the top fighters in the weight class. Grade remains A- Hill: She took a good amount of punishment in this fight, but showed fairly given the circumstance of fighting one of the best fighters in the division. She had her moments in this bout and was able to cut open Andrade in defeat. Upgraded from C+ to B- Marcel Fortuna vs. Anthony Hamilton Fortuna: He was a fighter that had never knocked out an opponent in his career, but in Houston landed a couple strikes that ultimately floored his opponent that had a 50 pound weight advantage. It’s a win that will certainly get him a couple more fights in the UFC. Upgraded from F to D- Hamilton: He was knocked out badly by a natural light heavyweight. Hamilton was near the bottom of the division prior to this fight, but this is a result he’ll have a difficult time forgetting. Grade remains D- Volkan Oezdemir vs. Ovince St. Preux Oezdemir: He was able to stand with St. Preux and made this a close fight by outworking his opponent for the majority of this bout. He took a very close decision against a top 10 ranked opponent. Nice work especially in a debut fight. Upgraded from D- to D+ St. Preux: St. Preux had a lot of momentum in the light heavyweight giving Jon Jones a decent fight before being knocked out by Jimi Manuwa in October 2016. It was always going to be difficult to get excited for facing a UFC newcomer in this bout and that showed in this fight. St. Preux came out flat in this bout. He didn’t turn it on until the third round and by that point it was too late to win a decision. With three losses in a row and four losses in his last five bouts, St. Preux’s career is on the brink. Downgraded from B- to C Abel Trujillo vs. James Vick Trujillo: He struggled with Vick’s length in this fight never getting within range to land a big overhand to knockout his opponent. He started to slow down in the second round and once the fight got to the ground, he was outclassed by a better grappler. Downgraded from C to C- Vick: He wasn’t active as I thought he’d be on the feet, but once he started to connect he really put everything together. He had Trujillo in trouble on the ground as his submission game gave Trujillo all sorts of problems. After his flying knee wobbled Trujillo early in the third round, it was the beginning of the end. This was Vick’s most complete performance inside the Octagon. Grade remains C Alexa Grasso vs. Felice Herrig Grasso: She came out way too tentative in this fight and was unable to get her striking going until the third round of this fight. Too little, too late for Grasso. This is the type of fight she needed to lose to ultimately further develop her skill set. Downgraded from B- to C Herrig: A veteran performance from Herrig. She got the better of standing exchanges for the majority of the fight and combined that with timely takedowns to earn her the biggest win of her career. Upgraded from C- to C Dennis Bermudez vs. Chan Sung Jung Bermudez: He was tasked to a fight an opponent who hadn’t fought in over three years. He should have been able to overwhelm an opponent with that much ring rust, but instead he struggled with range and was knocked out by an uppercut in the first round. Bermudez has been unable to get over the hump when tasked to fight quality opposition. Downgraded from B to B- Jung: It took a couple minutes for him to get into the fight, but once he did he started to connect. From there it was the beginning of the end as he was able to connect on an uppercut that floored Bermudez. It was a big win for the Korean Zombie and puts him back into contention in a competitive featherweight division. Upgraded from B- to B+
