Jay Primetown gives his thoughts on each of the fighters who competed at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia. Jay gives his letter grades for each fighter on TheMMA-Analysis podcast which can be found on MMAOddsbreaker.com. Ryan Benoit vs. Ben Nguyen Benoit: Got hit early on the feet and when it went to the ground he did a terrible job defending positions. Ultimately allowing his opponent easy access to his neck to work a choke. Grade remains D+ Nguyen: Fantastic performance from start to finish. His hands are underrated and on the ground, he advanced positions quickly without much resistance from his opponent. The quick win here should get him a significantly bigger challenge in his next fight. Upgraded from C- to C James Moontasri vs. Anton Zafir Moontasri: Flashy striker, but flaws stood out more to me than the nice finish. He struggles to get up when put on his back. Grade remains D Zafir: Struggles on the feet. On the ground, he’s scrappy but has a poor gas tank and is really not skilled enough to compete in the UFC. This should be his first and only fight in the UFC, but he’ll likely get another because he stepped up as a short notice replacement. Grade remains F Steve Kennedy vs. Richard Walsh Kennedy: Pathetic performance. Unwilling to engage on the feet and hoped that Walsh would jump on him on the ground so he could fight a ground fight. The way he fought, I wouldn’t expect to see him in the UFC ever again. Downgraded from F to F- Walsh: He had dominant moments in this fight, but being taken down and threatened with chokes does not look good against a fighter who doesn’t belong in the organization. The fact he was put in those positions is a head scratcher. Grade remains D+ Dan Kelly vs. Steve Montgomery Kelly: I like his pressure style, but his lack of pace is very concerning. His judoka is solid and was what earned him the win. He’s an aging fighter, who likely only fights in the organization a couple more times. Grade remains D- Montgomery: When he uses range on the feet, he can be effective. He has poor striking defense and his grappling game needs serious work. He’s a fighter who should be a lot better than he actually is. Grade remains D- Danny Martinez vs. Richie Vaculik Martinez: He scored well with his wrestling, otherwise it was just wild, aggressive striking. He put himself in some bad spots, but easily won a decision. Grade remains D+ Vaculik: For a guy who comes from a wrestling background, he looked like a novice in his bout with Martinez. Lacks power in his hands and with little ability to hurt opponents, he doesn’t have the tools to do well in the UFC. Downgraded from C- to D Anthony Perosh vs. Gian Villante Perosh: At 43 years old, it’s simply time for Perosh to hang up the gloves. He has very good jiu-jitsu with no way anymore to use it. Downgraded from D+ to D- Villante: Controlled this fight early and kept Perosh on the back foot until landing the knockout punch. Good win and time to continue his push into the upper half of the division. Upgraded from D+ to C- Kyle Noke vs. Peter Sobotta Noke: Looked good in his home country. Leg kicks were on point. He finished Sobotta with one of the best body kicks one will ever see. Grade remains C- Sobotta: Maybe it was just a bad night, but Sobotta really struggled with leg kicks in this bout. I think he’s better than this fight indicated. Certainly a performance for him to forget. Grade remains D+ Akbarh Arreola vs. Jake Matthews Arreola: Nearly stunned the Aussie crowd with a headkick knockout win, but once Matthews got him on his back, he had zero answers. Upgraded from D to D+ Matthews: His ground game continues to get better with vicious ground and pound. Where he can be exposed is on the feet. His striking defense really needs some work. If he moves camps and works on his defense, he could make some waves in the lightweight division. Grade remains C Jared Rosholt vs. Stefan Struve Rosholt: He got the biggest win of his career, but he certainly didn’t look good doing it. He offered nothing on the feet. His decision not to engage with Struve ended up being the right course of action. Grade remains C- Struve: Is he more talented than Rosholt? Yes. Did he win the fight? No. In a fight where very little happens, control wins. Struve needs to learn to be more aggressive in this type of bout. He’s still young, but he’s running out of chances. Grade remains C- Uriah Hall vs. Robert Whittaker Hall: He certainly belongs in the top 15 of the division, but where Hall struggles is that he’s looking for the perfect strike as opposed to firing away at will. Lack of volume is what’s holding him back. Grade remains B- Whittaker: Terrific performance by the rising middleweight. His aggressive pressure style made it difficult for Hall to uncork strikes. He also provided glimpses of an improved ground game. Whittaker isn’t a title contender yet, but he’s risen to the point that he deserves to face one of the division’s elite. Upgraded from C+ to B Mark Hunt vs. Antonio Silva Hunt: This fight went exactly as expected. Hunt was cautious until he found the opening. Once he found the opening, he easily put Bigfoot Silva away. What stood out was that Hunt was in the best shape of his UFC career. Perhaps he can work his way back into the title picture. Grade remains B+ Silva: Without a TRT exemption, Silva is simply too slow and too hittable to compete with the better fighters in this division. It’s time for Silva to hang up the gloves, but will he? Grade remains C- Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Valerie Letourneau Jedrzejczyk: Perhaps nerves played a part, but this was not her best performance inside the Octagon. The striking difference was not as big as I thought it would be. That said, she showed she’s capable of going five rounds at a good pace and punished her opponent more in the later rounds. The rematch with Claudia Gadelha is fascinating. Grade remains A Letourneau: She certainly surprised me. Her striking technique is very capable. This matchup allowed her to show her striking. She may struggle with grapplers, but this performance made me believe she’s deserving a top 10 ranking. Upgraded from C to B- Holly Holm vs. Ronda Rousey Holm: An all-time great performance from the new champion. She showed off her fantastic counterstriking ability. Rousey’s continued pressure played right into Holm’s strengths. She landed with regularity causing Rousey all sorts of problems. Her head kick knock out will be remembered as one of the great moments in MMA history. Upgraded from A- to A+ Rousey: Her overaggressive style in this fight lacked technique and quite frankly, was surprising. It appeared she didn’t come into this bout in the best of shape either. Perhaps there were outside influences, but overall, she was simply outclassed. A rematch is surely to be scheduled and we’ll see just how he she adjusts at that point. Downgraded from A++ to A+
