Jay Primetown gives his thoughts on each of the fighters who competed at UFC Fight Night 119 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Jay gives his letter grades for each fighter on TheMMA-Analysis podcast which can be found on MMAOddsbreaker.com
Christian Colombo vs. Marcelo Golm Colombo: He was never in this fight as he fought off his back foot against a much stronger fighter. When he was taken to the mat, he had no answers for his opponent and was quickly finished. Downgraded from F- to F– Golm: An impressive debut by the young Brazilian. He started strong showing good hands in the striking exchanges, but where he really shined was on the ground. He mauled his opponent on the mat to secure a quick win. The level of opposition was poor, but still one has to be impressed with this debut. Upgraded from F to D Jarred Brooks vs. Deiveson Figueiredo Brooks: He did well to secure takedowns in all three rounds. His stand up game still isn’t much of a threat. He needs to develop more in the stand up to really have a chance against the division’s top 10. His wrestling, however, is good enough to beat a lot of fighters in the division. Upgraded from C- to C Figueiredo: He showed some diversity in this bout landing some good punches on the feet. He did struggle to defend takedowns, but being able to get back to his feet regularly was instrumental in getting his hand raised in this bout. Upgraded from C- to C Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Max Griffin Dos Santos: This is the second straight flat out brawl he’s been in. He continues to show a varied striking game and an ability to turn it on late in fights. He’s on a four-fight winning streak and a fighter that has gone under the radar. Grade remains C- Griffin: He definitely acquitted himself well in this fight. It was stunning that he was able to survive the damage he took in the first round. He lost this fight, but gained a lot of respect in the process. Upgraded from D to D+ Hacran Dias vs. Jared Gordon Dias: He landed some good punches in this bout, but just couldn’t deal with the constant pressure from his opponent. Once Dias was taken to the mat, he was exhausted and struggled to defend strikes. Grade remains C- Gordon: His work rate is one the best I’ve seen in MMA. He is always pushing forward and making his opponents work. He’s a fighter few opponents will want to face. Upgraded from C- to C Antonio Carlos Jr. vs. Jack Marshman Carlos Jr.: The confidence he had in his striking in this fight was a significant improvement. He landed a few clean shots on Jack Marshman. In the end, he went back to his bread and butter and secured a submission win. At some point in 2018, I expect him to be a top 15 middleweight. Upgraded from C- to C Marshman: He was completely out of his depth in this fight. On the ground, he showed very little to convince me that he can compete in the grappling exchanges at the UFC level. Grade remains D+ Vicente Luque vs. Niko Price Luque: Excellent performance from Luque. He combined strikes well in combination and kept his opponent guessing. Once he got Price to the mat, he was able to secure a choke and get the win. He fought with a sense of confidence that makes me believe that he has a pretty high ceiling. Upgraded from C- to C+ Price: He never got going in this fight. He was pushed back by the leg kicks and was too comfortable trading one punch attacks against a combination striker that was throwing three or four punches together. It will tell a lot how Price comes back from his first ever loss. Downgraded from C to C- John Lineker vs. Marlon Vera Lineker: He came out more tentative in this bout than he has in recent bouts, but ultimately he began to find his rhythm and earned another win in the UFC. He wasn’t as dominant as he had been which is something to keep an eye on in his next couple of fights. Downgraded from A- to B+ Vera: Against a very dangerous opponent, Marlon Vera did just fine. He was able to handle Lineker’s power and did well to land his own strikes. He’s a much better fighter now than he was when he entered the UFC. Upgraded from C- to C Jack Hermansson vs. Thiago Santos Hermansson: A first round loss was not what Hermansson was hoping for in this fight. He’s now fought twice in Brazil and both times came away with poor performances. Grade remains C- Santos: He may not be the most well-rounded fighter in the division, but he’s proven to be as scary of a striker as there is in the division. He hits hard and he finishes opponents. Santos is looking at a top 15 opponent in his next bout as he continues to push towards contendership. Grade remains C+ Jim Miller vs. Francisco Trinaldo Miller: He was able to earn a takedown in round one, but was unable to find success in the later rounds. Miller absorbed a significant amount of body shots which slowed him down late in the bout making a chance to win the bout minimal at best. Downgraded from C+ to C Trinaldo: What stood out in this bout was the pace he fought at. He really turned up the action in round two and Miller simply couldn’t keep up. Rarely are fighters his age still trending upwards like Trinaldo is. He’s a point of his career where he should be challenged against the division’s top 15 talent. Upgraded from C+ to B- Rob Font vs. Pedro Munhoz Font: He was having a lot of success in the opening round with his jab. Once he started to get hit by Munhoz, he dove in for a takedown and was quickly submitted by his opponent. This was a big fight for Font and he was unable to get a result. Downgraded from B- to C+ Munhoz: He’s certainly hittable on the feet, but he has an excellent guillotine choke and is able to put opponents away with it. He’s a dangerous opponent even when down on the scorecards. Grade remains B- Colby Covington vs. Demian Maia Covington: He really took it to Demian Maia in the final 10 minutes of this bout. It’s his pace, in addition to his wrestling prowess, that has him in the mix for the welterweight title. Grade remains A- Maia: This was a difficult matchup for him and he ended up taking a lot of damage. At nearly 40 years of age, this is the type of defeat that could see Maia leave the sport sooner rather than later. Downgraded from A- to B+ Derek Brunson vs. Lyoto Machida Brunson: In a bout against an opponent with a unique skill set, Brunson found his rhythm early to land a big left hand to knockout Lyoto Machida for the biggest win of his MMA career. Upgraded from B to B+ Machida: Coming off a multiyear layoff is very difficult especially in a sport like mixed martial arts. Given that Machida’s ability to succeed are dependent on speed and movement, this was always going to be a difficult fight for him. It’s hard to say where Machida goes from here, but he’s definitely nearing the end of his MMA career. Downgraded from B to B-
