Jay Primetown gives his thoughts on each of the fighters who competed at UFC 190 in the home of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Jay gives his letter grades for each fighter on TheMMA-Analysis podcast which can be found on MMAOddsbreaker.com Guido Cannetti vs. Hugo Viana Cannetti: Important win for the Argentinian in a fight many thought he had little shot at winning. He staggered Viana early on and then got the better of the clinch and wrestling game late in the fight to get the win. Upgraded from F to D Viana: Shocking performance from the Brazilian fighter who didn’t show much in this fight at all. His inability to land on the feet really stood out. At almost 33 years old, his skill set is certainly diminishing. Downgraded from C- to D Clint Hester vs. Vitor Miranda Hester: Showed more wrestling chops than in previous fights, but when put on his back he looks really out of his depth and opponents are capable of punishing him easily. He’s now been knocked out in his last two fights. Downgraded from C- to D+ Miranda: At 36 years old, Miranda is having a bit of a renaissance in the UFC. After opponents have had success against him in the early moments of fights, Miranda has done well to come back and finish opponents. He’s got good fight IQ and is someone I’d be curious to see against better competition. Grade remains C- Iuri Alcantara vs. Leandro Issa Alcantara: He’s been a tough fighter to get a read on over the last couple years with flat performances and conditioning issues, but this was one of his more complete performances in the octagon nearly finishing the fight late in the third round. Grade remains C+ Issa: When forced into a prolonged stand up exchange with Alcantara, he had no answers. Issa did well when he had top control in the first round, but it was one way traffic after that. Downgraded from C- to D+ Warlley Alves vs. Nordine Taleb Alves: Strong, contained performance from the Brazilian. His athleticism is the main thing that jumps out as he’s able to push opponents around the octagon. His guillotine may very well be one of the best in the sport. Combine those things and the ceiling is very high for him. Need to see him against better competition, before I’m ready to believe he’s a future top 10 fighter. Grade remains C+ Taleb: Slow is not something one can be in a matchup with Warlley Alves. Taleb had a few good moments when Alves back was against the cage and he could time a few punches. The remainder of the fight he was easily taken to the ground or roughed up in the middle of the cage. Grade remains D+ Rafael Cavalcante vs. Patrick Cummins Cavalcante: Did some damage to Cummings, but inability to stop the takedown was a real issue. Noticeable difference after being busted for use of PED’s. Downgraded from C+ to C Cummins: Continues to show that his wrestling is right near the top of the division. Being able to finish “Feijao” was an eye opener and should get him a top 8 opponent in his next fight. Needs to beat that kind of opponent to move up in the rankings. Grade remains B- Neil Magny vs. Demian Maia Magny: He has shown that he belongs in the UFC, but this was the worst type of matchup for him. He has struggled in the past with high level submission grappler. Those weaknesses were exposed again in this fight. Downgraded from B- to C+ Maia: His game has held steady over the course of time. His offensive wrestling is sneaky good and combined with some of the best jiu jitsu in the sport, Maia is perhaps the best gatekeeper in the sport today. Grade remains B Jessica Aguilar vs. Claudia Gadelha Aguilar: Very disappointing debut from Aguilar who really struggled against the stronger Gadelha. Aguilar was taken down relatively easily by the Brazilian and beaten up on the feet. Aguilar is one of the older fighters in the division and a prolonged layoff certainly didn’t help. Downgraded from A- to B+ Gadelha: If anyone had any doubts about Claudia Gadelha, she answered all those questions with a complete performance against Aguilar. Her performances prove that she is one of the top two fighters in the weight class. Whether she can be the champion is something we will find out in a few months. Grade remains A Soa Palelei vs. Antonio Silva Palelei: The secret is now out on Palelei. When he’s able to get top control, he’s very dangerous and capable of finishing. On the feet, his striking is poor and he’s unable to inflict much damage. Grade remains D Silva: This was his best performance in some time. He faced a bit of trouble towards the end of the first round, but came on strong early in round two finishing Palelei with relative ease. Upgraded from D to C- Antonio “Minotauro” Noguiera vs. Stefan Struve Noguiera: He can still take a punch, but athleticism and speed have gone completely out the window. There’s nothing left in the sport for him to accomplish. This may be the last time we see him. Downgraded from C+ to C- Struve: Still think that there are long term effects to his continued fighting in MMA. He has many physical advantages, but inability to move and defend punches is a real issue as he gets older. He is very young for this division, but it’s hard him having a lengthy career. Grade remains C Dileno Lopes vs. Reginaldo Vieira Lopes: While I think Lopes is the more talented fighter, this was a difficult matchup for him as he doesn’t have a great offensive output which allowed Vieira to outpoint him. I think he’ll fare much better in a different kind of matchup. Grade remains D+ Vieira: He may not be the most talented fighter, but he has an excellent work rate and is able to mix things up well. He’s a fighter that will outperform his talent level and the UFC can count on to put out entertaining performances. Upgraded from D to D+ Fernando Bruno vs. Glaico Franca Bruno: Better than I thought he’d be. He’s a biger lightweight than I thought with a real solid grappling game. Competitive fight up until the third round when Franca’s grappling chops really shined. Upgraded from D to D+ Franca: Can mix things up well with effective leg kicks. His submission game is very good. His ability to work to back control and work for a choke is really high level. Given his age and skill level, he’s one to keep an eye on Upgraded from D+ to C- Antonio Rogerio Noguiera vs. Mauricio Rua Noguiera: He had Shogun in trouble in the first round, but outside of that wasn’t able to muster enough offense to get a decision. It was a pretty close fight, but the judges got this one right. Downgraded from C+ to C Rua: He survived being clipped in the first round to take a clear decision. His leg kicks were on point and even mixed in a couple takedowns. He’s certainly not the fighter he was at one point, but he’s still a top 15 light heavyweight. Grade remains C+ Bethe Correia vs. Ronda Rousey Correia: A squash match when it was announced and a squash match on fight night. Didn’t learn much about Correia as she went down the same the others have gone down against Rousey. Grade remains B- Rousey: Seemed to start with more aggression and emotion than previous fights. While I think she was a bit careless on the feet, the result was the same as almost all of her recent fights: first round finish. Rousey has shown that she is the most dominant champion in the UFC and it’s not close. Grade remains A++
