Jay Primetown gives his thoughts on each of the fighters who competed at The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale in Las Vegas, Nevada and updates his letter grades on each. Jay gives his letter grades for each fighter on TheMMA-Analysis podcast which can be found on MMAOddsbreaker.com. Willie Gates vs. Darrell Montague Gates: A huge flyweight with speed good and strong striking. He’s one to watch in this division as he gets him seasoning. Upgraded from C- to C+ Montague: On the verge of being cut from the UFC. Simply doesn’t have the chin to take any punishment. About as disappointing a UFC stint as anyone ever in this division. Downgraded from C+ to C- George Sullivan vs. Dominic Waters Sullivan: Aging fast. Still a decent grinder, but conditioning a major concern for him. Will struggle against anyone who can push the pace on the feet. Grade remains C- Waters: Took the fight on short notice and conditioning issues stood out. Has good size for the division, but not sure even with a full camp it will make a difference. Downgraded from D+ to D Dan Miller vs. Trevor Smith Miller: Coming off a 2 year plus layoff and it showed. He physically can’t compete with the size and athleticism of the fighters in the middleweight division. I think this is the last time he ever fights in the UFC. Downgraded from D to D- Smith: Did what he had to do, but nothing he was able to do to Smith makes me believe he’s on an upward trajectory. Should simply be used as a gatekeeper for UFC debutants. Grade remains C- Russell Doane vs. Jerrod Sanders Doane: Terrible decision to grapple with a guy with whom he had a huge striking advantage over. One of the more head scratching game plans by a fighter in some time. Downgraded from C+ to C- Sanders: Gets hurt easily on the feet, but his wrestling is above average and can win fights if it’s mainly a ground battle. Upgraded from D to D+ Caio Magalhaes vs. Josh Samman Magalhaes: Huge power, but limited gas tank and can get caught defensively. Downgraded from C to C- Samman: Great athlete for this weight class. Good footwork combined with great fight IQ. He’s a confident fighter that has real potential in this division. Upgraded from C- to C+ Maximo Blanco vs. Mike De La Torre Blanco: Looked sharp early in this bout and was able to clip his opponent to get the stoppage win. Grade remains C De La Torre: Stoppage looked early, but even still he was clipped badly in under twenty seconds in this fight. Not a good sign. Grade remains D+ Angela Magana vs. Michelle Waterson Magana: Had a decent opening round, but was completely gassed afterwards and completely flat footed in the standup. Simply not a UFC caliber fighter. Downgraded from D to D- Waterson: Sure Waterson dominated the fight, but it isn’t difficult beating a scarecrow. Will struggle with someone with decent conditioning. Grade remains C+ Cezar Ferreira vs. Jorge Masvidal Ferreira: It doesn’t matter how good his technical skills. He’s unable to take a punch. Every time he gets hit, he goes down. Downgraded from C to D- Masvidal: Going to struggle with the physicality of fighters at welterweight. Simply encountered a fighter in this fight who is unable to take a punch. Downgraded from B- to C+ Michael Graves vs. Vincente Luque Graves: Excellent performance against a bigger fighter. Aggression combined with quality wrestling. He’s an interesting prospect and could do some damage in this division. Debuts at C Luque: Had no answer for Graves wrestling and aggression. Was unable to muster any offense until Graves gassed in the third round. Debuts at D Hayder Hassan vs. Kamaru Usman Hassan: Simply undersized for this weightclass. Hits hard, but struggles with opponents with a grappling heavy approach. Should be placed against striking heavy fighters in action preliminary fights. Debuts at D+ Usman: Simply relentless in the takedown attempts. Great athlete and physique for the division which allows him to impose his will on his opponents. He’s a nightmare matchup for many in the division. Debuts at C+ Jake Ellenberger vs. Stephen Thompson Ellenberger: Gun shy on the feet and wrestling nowhere near where it used to be. It’s clear the wars have caught up to him. Downgraded from B to C Thompson: Striking is difficult to deal with given his unique style. Has made improvements to his ground game as well. Should be ranked in this week’s UFC Top 15 welteweights. Upgraded from B- to B
