Jay Primetown gives his thoughts on each of the fighters who competed at UFC Fight Night 134 in Hamburg, Germany. Jay gives his letter grades for each fighter on TheMMA-Analysis podcast which can be found on MMAOddsbreaker.com.
Liu Pingyuan vs. Damian Stasiak Pingyuan: He showed his physicality in this bout and landed some good strikes on the feet. He needs to make real improvements in his takedown defense if he’s going to be able to stick around long term in the UFC. Debut grade is D+ Stasiak: He struggled with the physicality of his opponent and was unable to maintain positions on the mat as the fight wore on. He’s now lost three fights in a row and is in danger of being dropped from the roster. Downgraded from C- to D Jeremy Kimball vs. Darko Stosic Kimball: He was doing decently early getting the better of the striking, but he lost position going for a takedown and once on his back he had no answers. This isn’t the first time he’s covered up with the referee having to call the fight. Downgraded from D- to F Stosic: He had a poor start, but finished well once in dominant position on the mat. It’s difficult to learn much from this performance. Debut grade is D Manny Bermudez vs. Davey Grant Bermudez: Another beautiful submission victory for Bermudez. He’s finished yet another fighter with a triangle choke and continues he’s excellent run to start his career. Upgraded from C- to C Grant: He’s now been submitted in three of his last four fights and it’s difficult to see he him moving up any higher in the bantamweight division. Downgraded from D to D- Justin Ledet vs. Alexsandar Rakic Ledet: He’s made no secret of his boxing background and how he can beat people on the feet, but he didn’t show in this fight that he can be successful on the mat as he was beat up for the better part of 15 minutes. Grade remains D Rakic: He utilized an excellent game plan putting Ledet on his back and dominating the mat. A really nice performance from Rakic who improves to 2-0 in the UFC. Upgraded from D+ to C- Nad Narimani vs. Khalid Taha Narimani: He took some damage on the feet, but really controlled this fight on the mat for all three rounds. Debut grade is C- Taha: Landed some nice strikes on the feet and inflicted visible damage, but defensive wrestling not up to snuff. Debut grade is D Bartosz Fabinski vs. Emil Meek Fabinski: He didn’t offer much on the feet, but his ability to continue to push for takedowns cannot be underrated as he had success grounding his opponent throughout the fight. Grade remains D+ Meek: In a standup fight, he is above average, but any time he faces a grappling focused opponent he has been dominated. Bad loss for Meek. Downgraded from C to D+ Damir Hadzovic vs. Nick Hein Hadzovic: His jab landed effectively in this fight as he got the better of the striking exchanges to improve to 2-2 in the UFC. Grade remains D+ Hein: On the feet, he simply couldn’t land much at a size disadvantage to Hadzovic. It’s a head scratcher why he didn’t attempt any takedowns. It ultimately cost him the fight. Grade remains D+ Marc Diakiese vs. Nasrat Haqparast Diakiese: He’s at his best when given space to throw or deliver strikes. However, he wasn’t given that opportunity in this fight and was forced to strike at close range. This is the second time in the UFC that Diakiese has been pressured like this and he struggled. The blueprint to beat him is out there now. Grade remains D+ Haqparast: A really nice game plan forcing Diakiese to fight in small spaces and not allowing the striker space where he is at his best. His combination work is good and if he can keep fights on the feet, he’ll have a long career in the UFC. Upgraded from D+ to C- Danny Roberts vs. David Zawada Roberts: Despite running out of energy after round one, Roberts was able to turn it around in round three to edge out a win. It wasn’t a good performance, but ultimately he got his hand raised. Grade remains D+ Zawada: He had some real good moments in this fight. He threatened with submissions on the ground and landed good punches at different points in the fight. He was too aggressive in transition situations and it cost him a chance at a win. Debut grade is D+ Stefan Struve vs. Marcin Tybura Struve: He had Tybura hurt in round two with a face kick, but his inability to prevent the takedown limited his one opportunity to win. Struve appears to be stuck in quicksand in this division. Downgraded from C- to D+ Tybura: He doesn’t have the power to put heavyweights away, but his wrestling is effective and that can go a long way at heavyweight. Grade remains C+ Abu Azaitar vs. Vitor Miranda Azaitar: He was good on the feet landing to both the body and in combination. He did enough to win, but it’s worrying just how much he was taken down in this fight. Debut grade is D Miranda: At 40 years old, his striking ability has regressed and he just doesn’t have a way to hurt opponents anymore. Miranda has lost three fights in a row and will likely be dropped from the UFC roster. Downgraded from D to D- Corey Anderson vs. Glover Teixeira Anderson: The most comprehensive performance of his career. Anderson showed great pace as he was able to land on the feet and secure takedowns over the course of 15 minutes. This is the win that vaults him up the division rankings. Upgraded from C+ to B Teixiera: This isn’t the first time he’s been dominated by a wrestler. He’s aging and it’s likely that he’s regressing as fighter. A difficult loss for Teixeira and one that puts him out of the title picture. Downgraded from B to B- Mauricio Rua vs. Anthony Smith Rua: He reportedly came into this fight injured and it was apparent once the cage closed that he wasn’t going to win this fight. He was hit early by the bigger fighter and never recovered as he was finished on the feet. Rua can still beat lower tier fighters, but his speed has regressed significantly as has his durability. Downgraded from C- to D+ Smith: It’s tough to assess just how good he is as he has beaten up fighters that are well past their best days. That said, how quickly and how easily he beat Rashad Evans and now Shogun has been impressive. Smith is definitely a fighter to watch in a weight class in desperate need of entertaining fighters. Upgraded from C- to C
