Jay Primetown gives his thoughts on each of the fighters who competed at UFC Fight Night 128 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Jay gives his letter grades for each fighter on TheMMA-Analysis podcast which can be found on MMAOddsbreaker.com.
Tony Martin vs. Keita Nakamura Martin: It wasn’t his best performance, but it was a clean win for Martin who was the superior all around fighter across 15 minutes. Martin remains C- Nakamura: His lack of volume cost him in this fight as he was unable to hurt Martin on the feet. Grade remains D+ Corey Anderson vs. Patrick Cummins Anderson: His hands looked great in this fight, but was most impressive in this bout was the ease in which he was able to secure takedowns against a former NCAA All-American wrestler. Good win for Anderson. Grade remains C+ Cummins: He was cut early in this fight and fatigued quickly once he started to accrue damage. Disappointing was the ease in which he allowed takedowns to happen. Downgraded from C- to D+ Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Luan Chagas Bahadurzada: After a poor first round, Bahadurzada’s striking picked up in round two as he was able to land a heavy body kick in round two which sent Chagas to the mat forcing the referre to step in and stop the bout. Bahadurzada remains D+ Chagas: He struggled with the striking acumen of his opponent and eventually was stopped in the second round. Chagas drops from D+ to D Merab Dvalishivli vs. Ricky Simon Dvalishvili: His energy is incredible as he puts on a tremendous pace in his fights. He was first to engage with Simon and had built a lead in this fight until he was put in a position to defend a choke for over 30 seconds. He was milliseconds away from a decision win in one of the craziest endings ever to a fight. Grade remains C- Simon: He struggled with his opponent’s pace and aggression in this fight, but started to have his moments late in the bout. The choke he secured in the final minute of the fight was excellent and it led to him getting the come from behind win. This was a big moment for Simon who should be even better in his next bout. Debut grade is C- Alex Garcia vs. Ryan LaFlare Garcia: He’s a bit undersized for the weight class and when he can be kept at distance he really struggles. Disappointing performance for Garcia who continues to have let down performances in the UFC. Downgraded from C to C- LaFlare: He did enough to get the victory in this bout, but I was disappointed that he was taken to the mat as many times as he was. LaFlare is now 34 years old and appears to be on the downswing of his career. Downgraded from C+ to C Dan Hooker vs. Jim Miller Hooker: He’s really finding his own in the UFC as he continues to move up the ladder in the UFC’s deepest divison. Hooker has three straight finishes and is a win away from the top 15 of the lightweight division. Upgraded from C- to C Miller: He really had no answers for the length that Hooker provided in this fight. Miller was always second to engage and eventually was unable to absorb a knee from Hooker that sent him to a canvas. He’s now fought 29 times in the UFC. From my vantage point, I’d like to see him fight once more in the UFC before he calls it a career. Downgraded from C to C- Brett Johns vs. Aljamain Sterling Johns: He took a step up in competition in this bout and was out classed by a savvier fighter. He had no answers on the feet and then was out grappled on the mat. Back to the drawing board for the Welshman. Downgraded from C+ to C Sterling: A really good all-around performance from the Funkmaster. His movement was the key in this fight as he absorbed very little damage. He really took over this bout in the second round and showed he was a couple levels above his opponent. Grade remains B David Branch vs. Thiago Santos Branch: A huge win for the New York native. Booked against one of the scariest strikers in the division, Branch not only beat Santos, but he knocked him out on the feet. Expect him to face a top ten opponent in his next outing. Upgraded from B- to B Santos: When he’s able to bully opponents, he wins convincingly. However, when he’s tasked to fight more tactical fighters he tends to struggle. Downgraded from B- to C+ Chase Sherman vs. Justin Willis Sherman: He recovered well from being dropped in the opening round, but simply didn’t have the answers on the feet to change the course of the bout. Grade remains D- Willis: He was never in trouble in this bout, but I would have liked to see him finish his opponent. He did slowdown in the final round which makes me wonder how things would turn out against a better opponent. Grade remains C- Frankie Edgar vs. Cub Swanson Edgar: He was unable to secure any takedowns in this bout, but his striking was crisp and it allowed him to out strike Swanson throughout the fight to win a decision. Grade remains A Swanson: He just couldn’t match Edgar’s quickness and output. He had his moments particularly in the third round, but they were to infrequent to earn himself the nod in this fight. Grade remains B+ Edson Barboza vs. Kevin Lee Barboza: He had his opportunity to finish the fight in the third round, but was unable to do so. Otherwise, he was taken down throughout the fight and had no answers when matted. Barboza is an excellent striker, but struggles mightily against the division’s top grapplers. Downgraded from B+ to B Lee: This was a dominant performance from the American as he secured takedowns throughout the fight. On the mat, he was able to maintain positions and land heavy punches and elbows. He did have a moment of worry when he was wobbled in the third round, but he survived that and cruised to a victory after that. Grade remains B+
