Jay Primetown gives his thoughts on each of the fighters who competed at UFC Fight Night 133 in Boise, Idaho. Jay gives his letter grades for each fighter on TheMMA-Analysis podcast which can be found on MMAOddsbreaker.com
Jessica Aguilar vs. Jodie Esquibel Aguilar: She was able to counter decently on the feet, but her inability to secure takedowns made this fight closer than it should have been. Downgraded from C- to D+ Esquibel: She had a poor strategy in this fight attempting to throw punches from too far away from her opponent struggling to land with any consistency. She doesn’t appear to be UFC material. Grade remains D Mark De La Rosa vs. Elias Garcia De La Rosa: Good all around performance as he landed on the feet and showed to be a couple of levels ahead on the ground. Upgraded from D+ to C- Garcia: He showed excitement in his debut and was dangerous with unorthodox submissions, he eventually succumbed to a craftier fighter. Debut grade is D+ Liz Carmouche vs. Jennifer Maia Carmouche: She was the physically stronger fighter and it showed as she was able to secure takedowns in all three rounds to win a decision. Grade remains B- Maia: She was too tentative on the feet and all of the scramble situations resulted in her being put on her back. Not a good debut for the Brazilian fighter. Debut grade is C Raoni Barcelos vs. Kurt Holobaugh Barcelos: It took him a few minutes, but he started to land the more effective strikes in the second round and eventually earned a finish in the third round. Debut grade is C- Holobaugh: He was too hittable on the feet and it cost him in this bout. He put in the work, but he simply doesn’t have the power of most UFC featherweights. Grade remains D+ Said Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Scoggins Nurmagomedov: Surprisingly he was more comfortable on the feet and did not attempt much to get the fight to the floor. He snuck out this fight, but it wasn’t a stand out performance. Debut grade is C- Scoggins: He had his moments in this fight hurting Nurmagomedov on the feet, but his mentality continues to be an issue. He fought like a fighter two rounds ahead in the third round and it cost him the fight. Downgraded from C to C- Darren Elkins vs. Alex Volkanovski Elkins: His long winning streak finally came to an end. He had worked his way well within the featherweight top ten, but it was a wrestler who could keep it up the pace for 15 minutes who was finally able to beat him. Downgraded from B+ to B- Volkanovski: He did what many others before him weren’t able to do and that is get his hand raised after 15 minutes with Darren Elkins. I would have liked to see him finish this fight given the damage he inflicted, but getting the win is impressive enough. Upgraded from B- to B+ Alejandro Perez vs. Eddie Wineland Perez: He landed the better punches on the feet opening up Wineland, but this fight was as close as it was because he was too willing to fight off his back foot. Grade remains C Wineland: He pressed forward in this bout, but his inability to land any fight altering shots made the judges side with his opponent. Grade remains C Marion Reneau vs. Cat Zingano Reneau: A disappointing performance from the California teacher. She couldn’t keep the fight standing and was unable to muster any submissions off her back to threaten Zingano. This loss likely sees Reneau drop out of the division’s top ten. Downgraded from C+ to C Zingano: She focused on her wrestling in this bout and was able to take Reneau down with regularity to earn a blowout decision win. Zingano has put herself back in the conversation for big fights at bantamweight and featherweight in her next bout. Upgraded from B- to B Myles Jury vs. Chad Mendes Jury: Fought too tentatively and once he got caught on the feet there was no way out. Since his loss to Charles Oliveira, he’s regressed significantly. Downgraded from B- to C Mendes: With a two year layoff, it’s hard to know what to expect. However, he returned to the cage impressively earning a first round finish. So far, so good, but let’s see what happens when he faces the new wave of featherweights at the top of the division. Grade remains A- Randy Brown vs. Niko Price Brown: He had Price hurt towards the end of round one, but was unable to put him down. In the second round he got Price to the mat, but ended up in an awkward position against the cage and was knocked out. Brown continues to show a solid striking game, but he really struggles in the grappling exchanges. Grade remains D+ Price: He earned one of the most unique knockouts I’ve ever seen in MMA. Hammer fist knockout off his back with his off hand. Great finish as Price continues to show to be a solid fighter that always puts on entertaining bouts. Grade remains C- Dennis Bermudez vs. Rick Glenn Bermudez: He has regressed significantly since his decision victory against Rony Jason in 2016. Bermudez has struggled to keep up the pace in bouts and tends to struggle late in fights. He has now lost three in a row and needs a victory to truly rite the ship. Downgraded from C+ to C Glenn: His combination work and volume heavy approach puts him in fights. This was a close fight and he was fortunate to get his hand raised, but he showed he’s on par with the current iteration of Bermudez. Upgraded from C- to C Sage Northcutt vs. Zak Ottow Northcutt: For the first time, Sage Northcutt has won three consecutive fights in the UFC. He overcame some early adversity to really turn it on in the second round and earn a finish. This was perhaps Northcutt’s most impressive win in the UFC. He should get a step up in competition in his next bout. Grade remains D+ Ottow: He hurt Northcutt, but his inability to finish the fight eventually wore him out. In the second round, Ottow did not have much left and was eventually finished by the young Texan. It’s a tough loss for Ottow who has now been knocked out in two of his last three bouts. Downgraded from D+ to D- Junior Dos Santos vs. Blagoy Ivanov Dos Santos: After a layoff of over a year, dos Santos looked sharp in his bout with Blagoy Ivanov. He was able to cutoff the cage and land strikes from distance to earn an easy decision victory. Dos Santos was able to use his size advantage in this fight. It will be interesting to see how he does when he faces a bigger, more powerful fighter. Grade remains B Ivanov: He did land and cut open his opponent in this bout, but he doesn’t have the punching power of the top heavyweights, so unless he can increase his volume he’ll struggle to win fights against the top ten of the division. Grade remains C+
