Jay Primetown gives his thoughts on each of the fighters who competed at UFC Fight Night 130 in Liverpool, England. Jay gives his letter grades for each fighter on TheMMA-Analysis podcast which can be found on MMAOddsbreaker.com.
Trevor Smith vs. Elias Theodorou Smith: He was more competitive in this bout than I thought he would be. If he had been able to keep Theodorou matted he had a chance to win this bout, but he was unable to do so. Grade remains C- Theodorou: He struggled to keep this fight at range, but it didn’t matter as he outworked Smith to win a clear decision. Grade remains C Molly McCann vs. Gillian Robertson McCann: She struggled to defend takedowns and had no answers once taken to the mat. Combined with missing weight, she looked out of place in this fight. Debut grade is F Robertson: A dominant performance on the mat where she was able to advance positions and force her will on her opponent. Upgraded from D to D+ Carlo Pedersoli vs. Brad Scott Pedersoli: He was the more active fighter showing a wide variety of striking in this bout. He imposed a much higher volume attack and that was the difference in this bout. Debut grade is D+ Scott: He had Pedersoli in trouble late in round one, but for the remainder of the fight he was second to act and just couldn’t keep up with Pedersoli’s volume. Downgraded from D+ to D Lina Lansberg vs. Gina Mazany Lansberg: She did an excellent job of forcing the clinch and controlling her opponent there. It wasn’t pretty, but it was effective. Grade remains D+ Mazany: When she was able to create some space she had some success, but she was forced to the cage far too often and that was the difference in the fight. Grade remains D Tom Breese vs. Daniel Kelly Breese: He looked strong in his middleweight debut overpowering Dan Kelly to a first round stoppage victory. Upgraded from C- to C Kelly: He was much smaller, less powerful, and didn’t have the athleticism as his opponent. This was a bad matchup for Kelly with the result unsurprising. Grade remains C- Eric Spicely vs. Darren Stewart
Spicely: He showed some improvements in his striking, but he’s simply not built for a prolonged striking contest. Spicely’s success in MMA is reliant on getting his opponent to the mat and working for submissions. His inability to secure takedowns was his undoing in this fight. Grade remains D
Stewart: Having dropped his last three bouts in the UFC, he was in desperate need of a win to keep himself in the UFC. Not only did Stewart get a win, but he earned himself a performance of the night in doing so with a knockout win. He’s certainly bought himself some time with this victory. Grade remains D
Claudio Silva vs. Nordine Taleb
Silva: After a near four-year layoff, Silva shocked everybody securing a submission over a solid fighter in Nordine Taleb. Big way to rejuvenate his career. Upgraded from D+ to C-
Taleb: He looked comfortable enough in the opening couple of minutes in this fight, but as soon as it hit the mat he was at a disadvantage and was eventually choked out. Downgraded from C to C-
Makwan Amirkhani vs. Jason Knight
Amirkhani: He showed a lot of resiliency after being dropped twice in the first round to control this battle so well in the final ten minutes to earn a hard fought win. Amirkhani has proven that he’s capable of having a long career in the UFC. Grade remains C-
Knight: He had some chances in this fight, but his inability to stop takedowns and get off his back in the final two rounds was the difference in this fight. Knight has now lost three fights in a row and will likely be cut if he loses his next bout in the UFC. Grade remains C-
Arnold Allen vs. Mads Burnell
Allen: The highly touted prospect fought for the first time in over one year and came from behind to earn himself a beautiful third round submission. It’s not always easy, but the key to moving up to bigger and better fights is to continue to win. That is what Allen did in this bout. Grade remains C
Burnell: He fought well in this fight limiting Allen’s opportunities in the first two rounds, but unfortunately this was a three round fight and he was finished in the final minutes. A tough loss for Burnell. Upgraded from D+ to C-
Neil Magny vs. Craig White
Magny: This was a late replacement bout and Magny did what he was supposed to do: win and do so quickly. The victory sets up for Magny to get a top 10 opponent in his next bout. Upgraded from B- to B
White: He took this fight on short notice, but was unable to muster much in a first round loss. Dana White has already stated he’ll get another opportunity in the UFC, but if he doesn’t fare well in that bout it will be his last chance in the UFC. Debut grade is D-
Darren Till vs. Stephen Thompson
Till: In a tactical matchup, Till was competitive with the former title challenger and landed the most decisive punch of the fight dropping Thompson in the fifth round. He showed in this bout that he could compete with top five fighters earning himself a huge result with the victory. Upgraded from B to A-
Thompson: Another venue, another set of judges and Thompson likely goes away with the victory in this main event bout. However, Thompson did not show enough aggression late in the fight to really put his stamp on rounds to force the judges’ hands. Downgraded from A to A-
