MMA Gradebook: Rating Every Fight From UFC Fight Night 147

If you’re like us and watch an absurd amount of mixed martial arts each week, you probably wish there were some sort of rating system so you’re not forced to sit through a boring fight waiting for something to happen. In order to help, we at Sherdog rate the fights on major cards for your convenience. If you happen to miss an event, check back here for ratings so you can pick and choose which bouts to watch and which to skip.

Fights are ranked on the scale shown here, based on competitiveness, the skill and technique on display, excitement, and the story and drama of the contest. However, just because a fight is one-sided doesn't mean it receives a bad rating. Max Holloway vs. Brian Ortega, for example, would have scored high for Holloway’s showcase of technique and the overall drama despite it being a one-sided domination. With that out of the way, let's get into this week’s bouts.

Mike Grundy vs. Nad Narimani

What a comeback from Grundy to start off the night. Just seconds before Grundy’s TKO win, Narimani dropped him with a clean right hand but Grundy came back and hurt him with a lead hook and swarmed him with punches for the finish. Great back-and-forth fight and the comeback from Grundy gets this one three stars.

Molly McCann vs. Priscila Cachoeira

Fantastic back-and-forth fight that saw “Meatball” Molly win a unanimous decision. McCann won the first two rounds easily, outclassing the Brazilian on the feet as well as on the ground. Early in the third, however, McCann ate a clean right hook that instantly, completely closed her left eye. Cachoeira capitalized, winning the round, but it wasn’t enough to outweigh the first two, and McCann became the first Englishwoman to win a fight in the UFC. This is my highest rated female fight of the year so far and the history-making win just made it all the better. [3.0]

Danny Henry vs. Dan Ige

In the words of Paul Felder, holy smokes. Ige landed a beautiful lead hook in the opening seconds of the fight, dropping Henry. Ige pounced and came close to finishing the fight via ground strikes, but ended up taking Henry’s back and locking up a rear-naked choke for the victory. Ige is now 3-1 in the UFC and has a very bright future at featherweight. [3.0]

Saparbeg Safarov vs. Nicolae Negumereanu

Fantastic performance from Safarov, but he should have been disqualified in the first round for repeatedly grabbing the fence and throwing a cheap elbow after the referee paused the fight. Nonetheless, Safarov destroyed the debuting Romanian on the ground for all three rounds and took home a unanimous decision victory. [2.0]

Marc Diakiese vs. Joe Duffy

Great performance from Diakiese, who came in on a three-fight losing streak and was almost certainly fighting for his job. Diakese ended up sweeping all three rounds for an easy decision. He did slow down a lot in the second half of the fight, but was the sharper striker and better wrestler throughout, and his dominant first round was enough for him to keep the momentum throughout the fight. [2.0]

Arnold Allen vs. Jordan Rinaldi

If you don’t know Arnold Allen, get to know him because he will be fighting for a title in the next few years. Allen is only 25 years old, is now a perfect 5-0 in the UFC featherweight division and already looks like one of the more well-rounded fighters at 145. I would have liked to see him throw more aggressively throughout the fight rather than just the last few seconds of each round, but overall this was one of the best performances of the night. [2.5]

Jack Marshman vs. John Phillips

If the whole fight had the same action as the first round this would have been the fight of the night but Marshman was intelligent enough to pace himself in the later rounds and take home a split decision victory. Marshman, who apparently went AWOL from his full-time job as a British paratrooper to fight last weekend, is now an even 3-3 in the UFC after losing his previous two fights. [2.5]

Claudio Silva vs. Danny Roberts

Silva continues to find a way to submit opponents despite being in trouble many times throughout the fight. Roberts seemed completely unafraid to challenge Silva in his world, even taking Silva’s back and looking for a rear-naked choke in the opening round. For over two rounds it worked out for him, but midway through the third round, Silva locked up an armbar and Roberts seemingly verbally submitted. Silva is now 4-0 in the UFC with his last two wins coming by submission. [3.5]

Nathaniel Wood vs. Jose Alberto Quinonez

Great showing by Wood, who is now 3-0 in the UFC with all three wins coming by submission. Wood is as well rounded as anybody in the bantamweight division and so far he is living up to his nickname, “The Prospect.” Although he is unranked, I would like to see the UFC give him someone in the top 15 next to test his skills. [2.75]

Volkan Oezdemir vs. Dominick Reyes

I’m sure everybody expected more action out of this fight but both men played it patient. Reyes ended up narrowly outstriking Oezdemir, taking home the split decision victory despite many believing it should have gone to Oezdemir. Not a bad fight, but underwhelming for the hype it had behind it so this gets two stars.

Leon Edwards vs. Gunnar Nelson

Despite the split decision, Leon Edwards dominated this fight and outstruck Nelson by a margin of 31 significant strikes to nine, while landing two takedowns to Gunnar’s three. Even when Nelson had Edwards on the ground in a compromising position, he did nothing with it and didn’t land a single ground strike. I didn’t expect Edwards to be this patient but this was still a good fight overall. [2.75]

Darren Till vs. Jorge Masvidal

Nothing is more satisfying as a fan than when the main event ends up being the best fight of the night. Till took control early, landing clean one-twos and left hooks down the middle but Masvidal never seemed flustered and kept coming forward. Masvidal feinted beautifully and came forward throwing in short bursts to throw off Till’s range and timing before finally coming forward with a shuffling left hook that knocked Till dead. Great comeback from Masvidal and the shocking knockout gets this a high 3.75 rating. [3.75]

Jorge Masvidal vs. Leon Edwards

Quick fight but Masvidal definitely got the better of him with a beautiful lead hook, right straight, lead hook combo. Hopefully, they run this one back in a cage sometime but this was still a great fight. [2.5]