UFC 183 Results: What We Learned from Tim Boetsch vs. Thales Leites

UFC 183's second main card bout was an interesting matchup between a resurgent Thales Leites and a middling Tim Boetsch. The American's combination of heavy hands and wrestling makes him a tough out for anybody in the division, but Leites' established Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills and budding striking had many favoring him against the Maine native.

Early on, Boetsch looked to play everyone for fools as he out-landed Leites in a big way, nailing him with power punches and almost scoring a knockout. However, Leites worked his formidable top game in the second and sunk in an impressive arm-triangle submission to steal the win.

So what did we learn from Saturday's fight?

Thales Leites Has Power but Little Else Standing

Many younger fans don't remember the Leites of 2008: the man who seemed content in losing to Anderson Silva and won his way into that fight by getting repeatedly fouled by Nate Marquardt. But trust me when I say that anybody who saw Leites back then is still struggling to wrap their head around the fact that he scored back-to-back knockouts in the UFC.

That said, the well of power he tapped into did not contain any technique. While we occasionally see fighters have an overnight epiphany that makes them a well-rounded, formidable striker (a la Michael Johnson's suddenly great kickboxing in his fight with Joe Lauzon), this was not that. Leites has power, sure, but his defense, footwork and counterstriking were lacking.

Boetsch is nothing resembling a formidable striker either, but his standard-issue hard-punching wrestling game was more than enough to rearrange Leites' face. While this is a big win for the Brazilian, his striking game still leaves much to be desired.

Tim Boetsch Is Still Pretty Formidable

While Boetsch may be a standard-issue hard-punching wrestler, that's enough to win a lot of fights. He looked excellent in the first round, shaking off Leites and getting the better of him in almost every exchange.

Boetsch is utterly unremarkable, but his chin, power and takedown defense will keep him in the UFC for a good long while. In all likelihood, he won't come as close to a title shot as he did in 2012 when he upset Yushin Okami and Hector Lombard in back-to-back fights...but his job is likely safe, despite being 2-4 over his last six.

It's a Night for Comebacks

Yup. 

Boetsch was getting the better of Leites in a big way in Round 1. So was Sara McMann against Miesha Tate. So was Jordan Mein against Thiago Alves. So was Ian McCall against John Lineker.

We have seen many, many fighters gut their way to victory Saturday night, and that has made UFC 183 a particularly strong event thus far. Let's hope that trend continues as the night goes on.

Leites Isn't Quite Elite-Level Yet

While Leites now has a five-fight winning streak in the UFC and Boetsch is one of the UFC's foremost gatekeepers, the Brazilian just does not measure up to most of the division's best. Granted, that largely stems from the middleweight division being incredibly talent-rich compared to when Leites made his first title run, but that holds little weight when mulling over whom he could defeat in the Top 10 of the middleweight division.

Leites would most likely be easy pickings for Chris Weidman, Vitor Belfort, Luke Rockhold, Lyoto Machida, Ronaldo Souza and Gegard Mousasi. He might be able to compete with Yoel Romero or Tim Kennedy, but the only Top 10 names he could conceivably beat would be Michael Bisping and CB Dollaway, neither of which is even remotely close to a title shot.

Where Leites goes from here will depend on how much better he can get. If he manages to polish his striking and strengthen his offensive wrestling, he could continue climbing the rankings. If not, he will likely remain a fringe Top 10 name.