Jay Primetown gives his thoughts on each of the fighters who competed at UFC on Fox 27 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Jay gives his letter grades for each fighter on TheMMA-Analysis podcast which can be found on MMAOddsbreaker.com.
Austin Arnett vs. Cory Sandhagen Arnett: He has decent length and can land when he pushes forward, but he’s very hittable and doesn’t have the power to hurt opponents. He took too many shots to the body and was finished in the second round. Grade remains D- Sandhagen: A very impressive debut. He combined strikes well, threw with volume, and showed beautiful technique landing to the body to get the finish. I like what I saw and curious to see how he fares against better competition. Upgraded from D to D+ Niko Price vs. George Sullivan Price: He had some struggles in this fight, but the end result is what matters most. He earned a finish and can move on to better competition. Downgraded from C to C- Sullivan: Returning from a two year layoff is never easy. He had some success landing a straight right hand in round one as well as a takedown in round two. He was fatigued halfway through the bout and ultimately played a part in him getting finished. Grade remains D Vinc Pichel vs. Joaquim Silva Pichel: Despite being pushed backward most of the fight, he stayed more active than Silva and combined it with a couple of takedowns to win a close decision. Grade remains C- Silva: He landed the bigger strikes throughout the fight, but his volume of activity is what prevented him from getting the victory in a very close bout. Grade remains C- Ji Yeon Kim vs. Justine Kish Kim: She did a nice job landing her right hand really piling on the damage in the third round to win a decision. The rest of her game is rather rudimentary, but she does have good hands. Upgraded from D to D+ Kish: She focused too much on little strikes as opposed to attempting to land any big punches and it cost her on the scorecards. Downgraded from C- to D+ Juliana Lima vs. Randa Markos Lima: Her worst performance in the cage. She offered little attack on the feet and was dominated in the grappling exchanges. She’s had success with her grappling in the past, but now 35 and without the same strength she’s not the same fighter. Downgraded from C+ to C- Markos: She fought a smart bout tiring out her opponent and getting her to the mat. She won 30-27 across the board and should get a ranked opponent in her next bout. Grade remains C+ Mara Romero Borella vs. Katlyn Chookagian Borella: She struggled to earn takedowns and her volume let her down in this bout. This could serve as a real learning experience for Borella. Downgraded from C+ to C Chookagian: She kept busy despite not landing a lot of punches. She started to find her groove towards the end of the fight and it was enough to get her the nod. Moving forward, she needs a higher striking accuracy if successful. Grade remains C+ Mirsad Bektic vs. Godofredo Pepey Bektic: He started a bit slow in this bout, but landed a hellacious body shot that put his opponent away. It was a necessary victory for the highly touted prospect to return to victory after his first career defeat in his last bout. Grade remains B Pepey: He was the much bigger fighter in the cage, but it didn’t matter as he couldn’t handle the body punch by Bektic. Pepey has struggled with durability in previous bouts and it has become a real issue for his career. Grade remains C- Bobby Green vs. Erik Koch Green: A smart gameplan by Green to force Koch into close range and slow him down. The body work really paid dividends heading into round three where Green really shined. He’s in line for a fringe top 15 lightweight in his next bout. Grade remains C+ Koch: He showed off a nice left leg switch kick and a counter left. His problem continues to be conditioning and consistent volume. He really struggled once Green turned up the pace. Grade remains C- Frank Camacho vs. Drew Dober Camacho: He secured takedowns and landed heavy shots early on, but conditioning took its toll in the second round and he simply ran out of gas to get a result. He proved in this fight he belongs in the UFC, but he needs to work on fitness. Upgraded from D to D+ Dober: His movement and speed is really good, but he’s really undersized for welterweight. If he chooses to stay at this weight class, he will get bullied by strong grappler. Grade remains D+ Gregor Gillespie vs. Jordan Rinaldi Gillespie: He’s absolutely ruthless on the ground. He’s excellent at securing full mount and then unleashing ground and pound. Gillespie is surging in the lightweight division and will be a contender in the future. Grade remains B Rinaldi: He never stood much of a chance in this fight. His grappling prowess was just not in the realm of that of his opponent and he was beaten up due to that. Grade remains D+ Dennis Bermudez vs. Andre Fili Bermudez: He surprisingly was outgrappled in this bout, but he out struck his opponent by nearly two to one. He dropped a razor close decision in a fight he could have easily won if there were a different set of judges. He is getting older and it’s very concerning that he wasn’t able to dominate the grappling exchanges. Downgraded from B- to C+ Fili: He utilized his length well in this fight, but what stood out was both his offensive and defensive wrestling. He out wrestled the fighter with the most takedowns in the history of this division. This was the difference in a close fight and gives him confidence moving forward as he faces higher ranked fighters in the division. Upgraded from C to C+ Derek Brunson vs. Jacare Souza Brunson: He continues to be over aggressive on the feet and it cost him once again in a big spot. Brunson when he stays more reserved, is a really good fighter. However, he continues to make crucial mistakes in key fights and at this point hard to see him correcting it. Downgraded from B+ to B Souza: A big win for Jacare knocking out Derek Brunson in spectacular fashion. After a devastating loss to Robert Whittaker, it was imperative for him to get back on track. With the win, Souza is back in the title picture. Upgraded from B+ to A-
