Jay Primetown gives his thoughts on each of the fighters who competed at UFC Fight Night 86 in Zagreb, Croatia. Jay gives his letter grades for each fighter on TheMMA-Analysis podcast which can be found on MMAOddsbreaker.com Alessio Di Chirico vs. Bojan Velickovic Di Chirico: Showed improvement footwork and movement. He was very competitive on the feet against a seasoned fighter. I’d like to see him utilize his wrestling more as it’s one of the best aspects of his game. Despite the loss, I came away impressed with him. Upgraded from D+ to C- Velickovic: He fought at a real nice pace and even picked up the intensity in the third round. The sweep submission attempt he pulled off at the end of the second round was advanced level grappling. Lack of big power in his hands could be what limits him moving forward in this division. Upgraded from D+ to C- Cyril Asker vs. Jared Cannonier Asker: He had lots of issues with Cannonier’s speed and movement. It wasn’t long before his opponent found his chin and put him away. Asker just doesn’t appear to be a fighter that is going to be able to compete in the UFC. Grade remains F Cannonier: Did what he needed to do against Asker. Cannonier did well to avoid being taken down and that gave him confidence to turn it on in the fight leading to the finish. Cannonier discussed the possibility of cutting to light heavyweight, so it will be interesting to see what happens next to him. Grade remains D Lucas Martins vs. Robert Whiteford Martins: He fought much more composed in this fight than his previous bouts in the UFC. Perhaps it was a sign of maturity from the Brazilian featherweight. He fought on the counter early, but really controlled the cage in the second half of the fight to get the win. Grade remains C Whiteford: Inability to muster only one takedown (and a brief one) was his undoing in this fight. The Scottish featherweight was undersized in this bout and little answer on the feet for the more athletic and creative striker. It seems that Whiteford has reached his plateau in the octagon. Grade remains C- Filip Pejic vs. Damian Stasiak Pejic: Inability to defend takedowns really stood out in film. It played out the same way in this fight as well. Stasiak was easily able to work in takedowns. Pejic defended on the ground poorly as well and was quickly submitted. Pejic looked well over matched in this one and it’s hard to see him getting a victory in this UFC stint. Downgraded from F to F- Stasiak: In addition to having success with takedowns, he maneuvered well on the mat working in transitions to combinations to set up his submission attempts. This was a much better performance than his UFC debut on short notice. Upgraded from D- to D Damir Hadzovic vs. Mairbek Taisumov Hadzovic: He had a couple moments in this fight backing up Taisumov, but ultimately this was too big a step up for him. He allowed his opponent to get inside and nullify the reach advantage and was eventually put away late in the first round. He should be put against a less credentialed opponent next to show that he can compete in the organization. Grade remains C- Taisumov: The hype behind the Grozny born Taisumov continues to grow. In a bout against a much bigger opponent, he used a lot of creativity in his striking to get inside and land one of the best upper cuts one will ever see to score a walk off knockout. It’s time to give him a real step up in competition. Upgraded from C+ to B- Ian Entwistle vs. Alejandro Perez Entwistle: He’s going to live by the leg locks; win or loss. He had some chances early, but once Perez was able to work out of the submission and gain top control, he had zero answers and defended strikes poorly. Entwistle is a one trick pony in an era where that has failed miserably. Downgraded from D+ to D Perez: Had some tricky situations early, but took over once he started landing some strikes. Not much to learn from this bout as he was bound to win by finish or lose by submission, but important for him to get back in the win column. Grade remains D Nicolas Dalby vs. Zak Cummings Cummings: Fought a really clean fight bell to bell. Outstruck a decent all-around striker in Dalby on the feet. He countered well and battered his opponent pretty good. This was a solid win for him and he’s deserving of an upgrade in competition. Grade remains C Dalby: The Danish fighter was exposed by Cummings in this fight. He’s too reliant on the kicking game and he doesn’t move that well making him a relatively easy target on the feet. He’s a tough guy to put away, but few will be intimidated to face him in this bout. Grade remains C- Maryna Moroz vs. Cristina Stanciu Moroz: Her striking wasn’t nearly as powerful or creative as her opponent, so she went to grappling to get the job done. Moroz did well to secure takedowns and threatened with submissions every time she got the fight to the ground. Needed to get a finish to show me she’s ready for a real step up in competition. Grade remains C Stanciu: She had her moments on the feet, but conditioning was a major problem for her. Once she was taken down she was dominated on the mat. Has talent, but needs to improve her ground game. Downgraded from C- to D+ Jan Blachowicz vs. Igor Pokrajac Blachowicz: Despite the crowd against him, Blachowicz kept his composure fighting smart late in the fight to secure the victory. A major issue for him continues to be that he has no answers when put on his back. He’s way too comfortable there and giving up rounds. Grade remains C- Pokrajac: He did his best work when Blachowicz made a mistake on the ground allowing Pokrajac top control. Overall, the Croatian fighter did better than expected having some success on the feet, but in the end it wasn’t enough to get the result. Upgraded from F to D- Timothy Johnson vs. Marcin Tybura Johnson: For a man his size, he is a surprisingly decent athlete. He needs to improve his outside striking game to further move up in the division. Otherwise, his wrestling is decent and I like his work against the cage. He’s certainly exceeded my expectations for him thus far in the Octagon. Grade remains D+ Tybura: He certainly showed he can compete in the UFC, but lack of one punch KO power at heavyweight puts a serious dent in his future prospects. Furthermore, he gives up 15 to 20 pounds to the bigger fighters in the division. It will be difficult for him to get secure takedowns and work in submissions which is his bread and butter. Grade remains D+ Curtis Blaydes vs. Francis Ngannou Blaydes: His offensive striking does seem improved, but he didn’t have the success I thought he’d have in the grappling exchanges. He showed real heart in this match-up by fighting through significant eye damage. I’m curious to see how does against a less strong opponent. Downgraded from C to C- Ngannou: Excellent performance by the Cameroonian heavyweight. His striking is imposing and he certainly hits about as hard as anyone in the division. He combines that with top level athleticism and solid takedown defense. I needed to see him defend takedowns before I anointed him, but this was enough for me to believe he’s already a top 15 heavyweight in the world. Upgraded from D+ to C+ Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Derrick Lewis Gonzaga: He did well to get fight to ground early in first round, but inability to latch in a submission was his undoing. On the feet, he was always and trouble. His chin simply isn’t good enough to handle the heat that Lewis was throwing. Downgraded from C to C- Lewis: The Black Beast needed to show that he can beat a veteran gatekeeper to get entry into the heavyweight rankings. Lewis was able to scramble out of the early scare on the ground and went on to demolish Gonzaga to get the biggest win of his career. It looks like Roy Nelson will be the next fighter on his way up the ladder. Upgraded from C- to C Junior dos Santos vs. Ben Rothwell Dos Santos: He fought with an excellent gameplan keeping Rothwell at distance and utilizing body shots throughout the fight to keep Rothwell at bay. His movement was excellent and was never in too much trouble in this bout. Upgraded from B+ to A- Rothwell: Speed was a real issue in this fight as dos Santos was able to spin out of the way of much of Rothwell’s attacks. He wasn’t able to work in any takedowns and was forced to fight Cigano’s fight. In a fight that Rothwell needed to win to get a chance at the championship, he lost decisively on the cards. It’s tough seeing Rothwell get this close to the title again. Downgraded from B+ to B
Updated UFC Fight Night 86 Fighter Grades
