Jay Primetown gives his thoughts on each of the fighters who competed at UFC Fight Night 123 in Fresno, California. Jay gives his letter grades for each fighter on TheMMA-Analysis podcast which can be found on MMAOddsbreaker.com
Trevin Giles vs. Antonio Braga Neto
Giles: He’s a good athlete with a nice jab and solid fundamentals. I’d like to see him against better competition before increasing his grade. Grade remains C-
Neto: His submission game is very good and he’s absolutely dangerous on the ground, but on the feet he’s flat footed and offered nothing to danger Giles. Coming back from a long layoff is never easy, but he didn’t look like he belonged in this bout. Downgraded from D+ to D
Chris Gruetzemacher vs. Davi Ramos
Gruetzemacher: He’s a solid competitor that always presses forward, but his lack of big power hurt him in this bout. His opponent was slowing down, but he didn’t land any strikes that were close to fight ending. Grade remains D
Ramos: He throws heavy punches which did slow him down as the fight wore on. However, he was able to show off his jiu-jitsu ability securing a choke in the third round. He’s one of the best on the mat in the UFC that no one knows about. Grade remains C-
Iuri Alcantara vs. Alejandro Perez
Alcantara: At this 37 years of age, he simply is not the same fighter he once was. He was tentative on the feet and was unable to land much offense. It was that lack of activity that cost him the bout. Downgraded from C to D+
Perez: He was a bit tentative on the feet as well, but provided more variety than his opponent. He won the fight, but it was by no means a great performance. Grade remains D+
Merab Dvalishvili vs. Frankie Saenz
Dvalishvili: His striking leaves a lot to be desired, but his wrestling game is relentless. He had a lot of success taking down a solid wrestler in Saenz. For this weight class, he’s physically imposing. If he was able to muster any offense on the feet, he would have won this bout. Debut grade is C-
Saenz: He surprisingly struggled defending takedowns in this bout, but did a decent job getting back to his feet and out landing his opponent in a grueling fight. He squeaked out a win, but overall not a great performance from him. Downgraded from C to C-
Alex Perez vs. Carls John de Tomas
Perez: He had little problems in his debut. He showed off his ground game and made it look rather easy against an over matched opponent. Debut grade is D+
Tomas: He was completely overmatched in this bout. He’s now 0-2 in the UFC and likely will be cut with this loss. Downgraded from D- to F
Luke Sanders vs. Andre Soukhamthath
Sanders: This is the second straight he was dominating and then was abruptly finished in the second round. He needs to go back to the drawing board to make sure he doesn’t make mistakes that cost him fights. Downgraded from C+ to C-
Soukhamthath: He was getting beat up in this fight and then one punch changed everything. On this night he had Sanders number. Grade remains D+
Liz Carmouche vs. Alexis Davis
Carmouche: She was much better in the stand up, but allowed herself to be put in compromising positions on the mat throughout the fight. A more cautious approach would have given her the victory. Grade remains B-
Davis: She seems to cut open in nearly every fight she is in. She fights through adversity and is very dangerous on the mat. In a thin flyweight division, she’s a top contender. Grade remains B-
Benito Lopez vs. Albert Morales
Lopez: He’s very crafty on his feet. He showed an excellent left legged kick that he was able to land high multiple times in this bout. He needs to work on his grappling and add in some strength work to round into form, but he has the makings of a solid prospect. Grade remains C-
Morales: He has really good chin and continues to be aggressive in fights even when he’s get hitting with solid strikes. He’s the type of fighter that can stick around in the UFC as he’ll always put on entertaining fights. Grade remains D+
Eryk Anders vs. Markus Perez
Anders: It wasn’t the finish he was hoping for, but it was another dominant win for the former Alabama football linebacker. He’s surging up in the middleweight rankings and is probably a win away from being in the division’s top 15. Grade remains C+
Perez: He showed some flash on the feet, but the short notice caught up to him. He showed a great chin and it was an accomplishment just to make it to the final bell. Debut grade is D+
Scott Holztman vs. Darrell Horcher
Holtzman: The one thing Holtzman showed in this bout was a more consistent pace. In past fights, he struggled with cardio. Here it wasn’t an issue, so a nice development from the American. Grade remains D+
Horcher: He just couldn’t stop Holtzman’s takedown attempts in this bout and that was the difference. Grade remains D
Marlon Moraes vs. Aljamain Sterling
Moraes: A stunning knockout of Aljamain Sterling gave Moraes the biggest win of his career. He’s now beaten Jon Dodson and Sterling back to back putting him in title contention. Upgraded from A- to A
Sterling: This was the first time he was finished in his career. He’s been highly competitive against top 10 fighters before, but he was steamrolled in this bout. I think that says more about his opponent than him though. With that said, it was a rough knockout and Sterling likely won’t return to the cage for quite some time. Downgraded from B+ to B
Gabriel Benitez vs. Jason Knight
Benitez: Easily his best performance in the UFC. He beat up a solid performance and outclassed him in all of aspects of the bout. Upgraded from D+ to C-
Knight: He completely no showed this bout getting beat up throughout the fight. For a fighter ranked in the featherweight division, this was a total head scratching performance. Downgraded from C+ to C-
Brian Ortega vs. Cub Swanson
Ortega: His striking continues to improve, but he’s not at the same level of most of the featherweights in the UFC Top 10. However, his submission grappling ability is right near the top of the sport. He’s a threat to find a choke in every single fight he is in whether in the standup or on the mat. That makes him an absolute threat even against Max Holloway. Upgraded from B+ to A-
Swanson: His gameplan was solid and he was really starting to take it to Ortega in the second round. However, he got caught in a guillotine and was unable to find a way out. The last four fights that Swanson has lost have been by submission and it has become his kryptonite. Grade remains B+
