Jay Primetown gives his thoughts on each of the fighters who competed at UFC Fight Night 132 in Singapore. Jay gives his letter grades for each fighter on TheMMA-Analysis podcast which can be found on MMAOddsbreaker.com.
Melinda Fabian vs. Ji Yeon Kim Fabian: She was too willing to fight off her back foot and that put her at a disadvantage from the opening bell. She did have some success on the feet, but it was not often enough to get her hand raised. Debut grade is D- Kim: Really sharp jab with a power overhand, Kim showed a continually improving striking game. I liked her forward pressure in this bout as well. I think she’ll stick around in the UFC for a while. Grade remains D+ Jenel Lausa vs. Ulka Sasaki Lausa: His takedown defense just isn’t close to good enough to maintain a roster spot in the UFC. He was taken down repeatedly by his opponent and gave up positions with regularity. While he’s an admirable striker, his grappling is so subpar that he never has an opportunity to show it. Downgraded from D to F Sasaki: He knows what he’s good at and he does it well. Simple as that. Grade remains C- Naoki Inoue vs. Matt Schnell Inoue: He surprisingly didn’t attempt many takedowns in this bout. Inoue is a very good grappler, but was content to strike in this fight. It likely cost him the bout as Schnell was more than competent in the striking department. Grade remains D+ Schnell: He employed a counter heavy, combination striking attack and had success throughout the bout. He never truly hurt his opponent, but landed some good strikes and was consistent throughout the fight to earn the win. Grade remains D+ Viviane Pereira vs. Yan Xiaonan Pereira: At such a length disadvantage against opponents, she struggles with range and gets picked apart from the outside. Downgraded from C- to D+ Xiaonan: She fought a smart, tactical gameplan landing leg kicks from range and throwing punches without allowing her opponents into punching range. She’s a fighter on the rise. Upgraded from D+ to C- Shino Anzai vs. Jake Matthews Anzai: He didn’t have a chance to get into this fight as he was taken down and subbed rather quickly. Grade remains D- Matthews: Since moving to welterweight, he’s compiled three straight wins and seems to have really found himself. He’s a strong, physical fighter, but it’s hard to raise his grade until he faces better competition. Grade remains D+ Hector Aldana vs. Song Kenan Aldana: He was doing very well in this fight and was likely ahead on the scorecards prior to being clipped in the final minute of the second round. All things considered, a good performance from a fighter returning from a three year absence. Grade remains D Kenan: He put himself behind in this fight, but with fight ending power at any point in a bout, he’s always one punch away. Grade remains D Rolando Dy vs. Shane Young Dy: He put himself in a slugfest and it cost him in this bout as he was always on his back foot. He took a lot of damage, but what it took was a perfectly placed elbow in round two to put him away. Grade remains D- Young: His pressure was the key to this fight as he put Dy against the cage giving Young the advantage controlling the striking exchanges. Young may not be the most skilled fighter, but he throws the kitchen sink at opponents and that’s enough sometimes. He finished this fight in style with a beautiful elbow to setup the finish. Grade remains D Felipe Arantes vs. Song Yadong Arantes: He’s regressed significantly in his last few fights and was completely outclassed by a surging Chinese fighter. Downgraded from D+ to D Yadong: An excellent performance from the Chinese fighter. He maintained a great pace throughout the bout, landing sharp punches and closed it out with a tremendous elbow. A lot to be excited about with this fighter. Upgraded from D to C- Teruto Ishihara vs. Petr Yan Ishihara: He seemed to make some improvements, but he ran into a complete buzzsaw in this fight. The talent gap was significant. Upgraded from D to D+ Yan: An incredible debut by the Russian fighter. His accuracy in his punches and the variety he throws should put the bantamweight division on notice. He’ll be in the top 15 of the division sooner rather than later. Upgraded from C to B- Daichi Abe vs. Li Jingliang Abe: He was comfortable in the pocket, but he took way too many leg kicks and a good amount of power punches to have a chance in this fight. With that said, he showed he’s durable with an excellent chin. Grade remains D- Jingliang: He’s now 7-3 in the UFC and continues to show improvements to his approach. In this fight, he was much more refined and fought a consistent pace throughout the bout. He needs to show he can have this kind of performance against better competition before his grade increases. Grade remains D+ Jessica-Rose Clark vs. Jessica Eye Clark: She didn’t do a good enough job of defending the jab, but it was being taken down in the third round that was the nail in the coffin. Grade remains C- Eye: She fought well in this bout. I liked how her striking connected with a mix of leg kicks. It wasn’t dominant, but it was a victorious performance. Grade remains C- Tyson Pedro vs. Ovince St. Preux Pedro: He came out strong and was very close to finishing St. Preux. He showed his inexperience by clinching and going for a takedown. He lost position, ended up on bottom, and that’s the last place one wants to be against St. Preux. Grade remains C- St. Preux: He’s been hurt now in quite a few fights, but he came back here and was able to find a win against a game opponent. St. Preux has now become an entertaining fighter that finds himself in crazy bouts. Downgraded from C+ to C Donald Cerrone vs. Leon Edwards Cerrone: It took him some time to get going, but he made this a competitive fight over five rounds despite being sick the day leading up to the bout. He’s not the fighter he once was, but he still put in a solid performance. Grade remains C+ Edwards: His striking was on another level compared to that of Cerrone. He out struck the legendary fighter and battered him throughout the bout. It’s difficult to tell just how good Edwards’ performance was given that Cerrone was sick and was close to unable to compete on this fight card. Grade remains C+
