UFC 138 Results: Grades for Main Card Fighters

The UFC has wrapped up yet another event for the year of 2011 as English fans got to witness UFC 138 in Birmingham, England on Nov. 5.

Leading up to the fight, there was speculation that Leben vs. Munoz could very well be the worst fight card of the entire year.

And, despite it being free of cost, expectations weren't very high leading up to the event.

However, that all changed when UFC 138 surprised most fans by providing them with four submissions, two knockouts and a close split decision.

While each fighter will look to move forward in his mixed martial arts career, they all need to be critiqued by their performance in the United Kingdom.

So, the following slides display report card grades for every main card fighter of UFC 138.

Let's take a look.

Terry Etim

After being off for over 18 months, Terry Etim made his return to the Octagon to take on fellow lightweight fighter Eddie Faaloloto.

It didn't take long for Etim to shed off any Octagon rust as he attacked Faaloloto early. Then, just seconds into Round 1, Etim connected on a tight guillotine choke that eventually led to his first victory since November of 2009.

Grade: A-

Eddie Faaloloto

Eddie Faaloloto entered UFC 138 on the verge of being cut by the UFC as he lost two consecutive fights by knockout.

Faaloloto didn't do too much to help his case when action began in Birmingham, England.

Before he or anyone else knew it, Faaloloto found himself in an extremely tight guillotine choke. Faaloloto couldn't escape as he was submitted just 17 seconds into Round 1.

Grade: F

Cyrille Diabaté

When action began, it was Diabate who overwhelmed his opponent with his lengthy reach advantage by landing combination after combination.

Diabate also displayed an effective takedown defense by stuffing Anthony Perosh on several occasions.

However, Perosh eventually gained control of Diabate from the ground and caught his back. Despite fighting off one submission attempt, Diabate's was forced to tap at 3:09 of the second frame.

Grade: C-

Anthony Perosh

Anthony Perosh entered the Octagon at UFC 138 looking to gain just the second win of his UFC career.

However, it was Diabate who controlled the bout early as he cut Perosh through a combination of strikes.

Perosh pushed forward for the takedown, but was stuffed several times as Diabate continued to land strikes to nearly every part of Perosh's body.

Perosh eventually was successful in taking Diabate down and finished the fight when he had to. At 3:09 of Round 2, Perosh connected on a rear-naked choke that led him to his second UFC victory.

Grade: B

Thiago Alves

While there were many question regarding Thiago Alves' commitment to the UFC leading up to his bout with Papy Abedi at UFC 138, Alves put all questions aside when he dominated action early.

After being pushed up against the cage on two different occasions in the first round, Alves bounced back with a huge right followed by a left to drop the UFC newcomer.

Alves pounced on Abedi and finished him from there via rear-naked choke just past the midpoint of Round 1.

Grade: B+

Papy Abedi

There were a lot of expectations leading up to Papy Abedi's UFC debut with Thiago Alves at UFC 138.

Abedi had never lost in his mixed martial arts career, but found himself in a frenzy as he was dropped by Alves mid way through the first round.

Abedi showed his inexperienced as Alves captured his back, placing in an extremely tight rear-naked choke. The UFC newcomer couldn't escape as he was submitted at 3:32 of the very first round.

Grade: C-

Brad Pickett

Brad Pickett entered the Octagon in England to take on one of the most dangerous bantamweights in the world in Renan Barao.

To the fans surprise, both fighters came out swinging for the fences as it appeared neither fighter got the best of one another early.

Barao gained control and began to unload on Pickett in the stand-up, throwing a combination of knees and strikes that sent him to the floor.

Pickett survived the ground strikes for a while, but couldn't recover as he was submitted via rear-naked choke with just under a minute remaining in Round 1.

Grade: C

Renan Barão

Renan Barao entered the Octagon on Nov. 5 not having lost in 27 straight fights.

Barao proved to the world he is a legitimate contender in the bantamweight division as he exchanged strikes with Pickett early.

After a spinning back fist, Barao followed up with a knee that led to a huge right, dropping Pickett to the ground.

It was all Barao from there as he began slugging away and eventually capturing the back of Pickett, leading to a rear-naked choke submission victory.

Grade: A

Chris Leben

Chris Leben was on the best stretch of his UFC career, having won four of his last five bouts leading up to UFC 138.

When action began it was Leben who found himself on his back just seconds into the first round.

Leben eventually returned to his feet and began exchanging strikes with the heavy-hitting Mark Munoz before scoring a takedown of his own.

However, Leben proved once again his mediocre take down defense as Munoz continued to put Leben on the ground. "The Crippler" attempted a guillotine choke, but failed as action continued.

As expected, Leben ended the first frame showing his true heart by swinging away at Munoz.

When the second round began, Munoz was taken down once more, but showed his ability to shed off the ground attack by standing to his feet.

Munoz ended Round 1 by landing punches on Leben, but it was Leben's corner and the doctors who called the fight at the end of the second frame, declaring Munoz the victor.

Grade: C+

Mark Munoz

Mark Munoz also entered UFC 138 on the best stretch of his career, having won six of his last seven bouts.

Throughout the evening Munoz demonstrated an overwhelming takedown attack that had Leben on his back on several occasions throughout the first round. However, Munoz wasn't effective in keeping Leben in the ground game as he returned to his feet on several occasions.

Nevertheless, Munoz was in control despite an occasional army of punches from Leben.

After damaging the left eye of Leben, the fight was called declaring Munoz victorious via technical knockout at the end of Round 2.

Grade: B+