UFC 188: Grades for All the Main Card Fighters
Mixed martial arts has a new heavyweight champion in Fabricio Werdum now that UFC 188 has ended. The Brazilian Jiu Jitsu ace stopped Cain Velasquez in with a textbook guillotine choke to become the undisputed champion.
MMA fans had the opportunity to see a bout between two of the best lightweights in the sport who built their legacies outside of the UFC in Eddie Alvarez and Gilbert Melendez. Yair Rodriguez burst onto the scene with his ultra-aggressive style against Charles Rosa. Kelvin Gastelum and Tecia Torres dominated their opponents in Nate Marquardt and Angela Hill, respectively.
As in grade school, everyone involved receives a grade at the end of the test. These are the ratings each winner and loser has earned.
Tecia Torres vs. Angela Hill
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Tecia Torres: C
Torres pushed her professional record to 6-0 with a win in this main card opener. The fact that she earned the win is the reason why she takes home this “average” grade. Earning the victory is one thing, but Torres was unable to reveal the complete athlete that she is.
Coming into their season of The Ultimate Fighter, Torres was the second seed. She was unable to put her skills on display, and her performance at UFC 188 was another instance in which she fell short in showing what she can do. Torres seemed content in landing takedowns, passing Hill’s guard and then staying in that position until time ran out.
While this strategy worked against the inexperienced Hill, Torres will struggle against the upper echelon of the weight class if she continues like this. It will be interesting to see how she performs in her next outing.
Angela Hill: D
Much of Hill’s struggles can be linked to the fact that she is still inexperienced in the sport. Both of her professional bouts have come in the Octagon. While this is great exposure, it is a dangerous situation for fighters who do not have a firm grasp on the full spectrum of MMA.
Hill has a technical striking game, and her opponents know how dangerous she is on her feet. With that in mind, Torres stuck to a game to keep Hill on her back. Once there, Hill was unable to really do anything that would help her get back to a vertical base or even force the ref to stand them up. This is a key area in which she will have to improve if she expects to be an eventual contender at this level.
Hill’s grade is based on the fact that she doesn’t have the full set of skills to compete in mixed martial arts. Still, there is ample time for her to improve and make an impact in her career.
Yair Rodriguez vs. Charles Rosa
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Yair Rodriguez: A–
Yair Rodriguez seemed intent on giving his countrymen and countrywomen a show. He threw caution to the wind and threw everything he had at Charles Rosa. Even as he slowed down in the third round, he was still aggressive until Rosa landed the takedown and positioning that earned him the round.
This is the exact type of fight that will benefit Rodriguez as a growing star in the sport. Fans cheered on his every move from the start of the bout, until his vomiting accident during the post-fight interview. Rodriguez was able to weather Rosa turning the tables in the third round, and even though this was a split on the scorecard, this was Rodriguez’s bout to lose.
The proof that this was the best fight of the evening comes in the fact that Rodriguez and Rosa earned Performance of the Night bonuses. It will be interesting to see what Rodriguez can do in the near future.
Charles Rosa: B
Even though Rosa was unable to get the victory, he stayed competitive in this fight. He was locked in a close triangle for most of the first round but used technical grappling to get back into a better position and survive.
That survival almost helped Rosa steal the fight in the end. During the third, he scored two takedowns and passed Rodriguez’s guard to establish a dominant position. He can find solace in the defeat by knowing he put on a strong showing in his main card debut.
This "B" is a solid score for Rosa. He is a fighter to watch going forward.
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Nate Marquardt
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Kelvin Gastelum: B+
Kelvin Gastelum did what he needed to do at UFC 188. He was forced to move up to middleweight after his prior struggles to remain at welterweight in past bouts. He responded well by going out and stopping Marquardt with a brutal beating. This bout could have ended earlier, but thankfully, Marquardt’s corner called it while their fighter was on the stool.
The real question for Gastelum is whether he will be able to convince the UFC that he’s handled his weight issues. UFC President Dana White talked about it during the post-fight press conference and said Gastelum isn’t going to move back down, but hopefully that will change in the near future. Gastelum is a talented fighter, and this event was yet another example of his abilities.
Nate Marquardt: D
Nate Marquardt is an elder statesman in the world of MMA. He looked the part in what was his 19th appearance in the Octagon. Gastelum battered Marquardt across the cage and forced his corner to stop the fight. This may be Marquardt’s last appearance in both the promotion and the sport as a whole.
This "D" grade comes from the idea that Marquardt was unable to return to his old form that helped him become a title challenger at middleweight. At 36 years of age, he is nearing the end of his career, and this fight will push that narrative forward.
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Eddie Alvarez vs. Gilbert Melendez
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Eddie Alvarez: A–
Eddie Alvarez had to come from behind to not only save the future of his UFC career, but to justify how well he performed outside of the Octagon as well. Alvarez was clearly hurt early in the bout, and the video of his eye swelling shut is one of the most graphic sights from MMA this year. Still, he was able to pull out a split-decision victory to earn his first UFC win.
What was interesting about this bout was the way in which Alvarez was able to turn the fight around by implementing a full MMA game from the second round to the finish. He started to pressure the former Strikeforce champion with wrestling and accurate striking. The Fight Metric report shows that Melendez was the more active of the two, but Alvarez was certainly more accurate in the later portions of the bout.
Gilbert Melendez: B+
Gilbert Melendez started this fight in spectacular fashion as he immediately hurt his opponent with strikes. He remained the more aggressive fighter of the two but landed fewer strikes than Alvarez. When Alvarez began to use more wrestling in his game, Melendez struggled to stop the takedown attempts, which may have helped sway the judges toward the former Bellator champion.
Melendez kept up the active pace in the later portions of the bout. What hurt his stance to take the victory was the fact that he was unable to stop Alvarez’s wrestling and keep the fight standing. Had he kept the bout standing, his argument for the win would have been much stronger.
This was an excellent fight that lived up to the hype, and even though he did not get the win, Melendez should not hang his head.
Fabricio Werdum vs. Cain Velasquez
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Fabricio Werdum: A+
Fabricio Werdum looked excellent in his bid to win the UFC heavyweight title. The new champion was able to move effectively and out-strike Velasquez in nearly every round.
What was interesting is that even though Velasquez was able to take Werdum down early in the bout, Werdum was able to stay out of true danger. In the past, when Velasquez has taken down his opponent, he has usually been on the receiving end of a massive amount of damage. Werdum never confronted that situation, and in the end, his ground abilities closed out the fight.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of this bout was the way Werdum was able to compete with Velasquez on the feet. According to Fight Metric, the totals were close, as Velasquez landed 117 of 201 strikes compared to 101 of 180 for Werdum. His ability to beat the champion at his own game was enough to show just how far Werdum has come in his development into a complete mixed martial artist.
Cain Velasquez: D
Cain Velasquez returned to the cage for the first time in nearly two years. While he looked effective to start the fight, he quickly slowed down to a pace that is well below the level of fitness he has become known for during his career. The high elevation of Mexico City and so much time away from the sport looked to play a clear part in his poor performance at UFC 188.
The desperation was clear when Velasquez dove in for his double-leg takedown that set up the guillotine choke. Even if this were the opening frame and both men were fresh, that is a dangerous position to take with a fighter like Werdum, who has such great grappling abilities.
It will be interesting to see how well Velasquez performs in his next outing. Multiple knee injuries and extended time away from the sport have left a huge question mark on the career of the former two-time champion.
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