MMA Gradebook: Rating Every Fight From UFC Fight Night 146

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.

Alex White vs. Dan Moret

A lot of this fight took place against the cage but both men were throwing heat when they separated with White just edging him out. I wish we could have seen more striking from the two but this was still a decent fight. Let this fight also be a lesson that you can’t just hang on someone’s legs against the cage for three rounds and expect to win a decision. [2.0]

Alex Morono vs. Zak Ottow

After a feeling-out process in the first few minutes of the fight, Morono landed a beautiful spinning back kick to the liver that hurt Ottow, who then shot for a takedown. Morono ended up on top and landed some nasty elbows for the verbal submission win. [3.0]

Matt Schnell vs. Louis Smolka

Great first-round submission victory for Schnell who is now on three-fight winning streak after losing his first two fights in the UFC. Tough loss for Smolka but I’m excited to see what he can do at bantamweight in the future. Quick finish and good exchanges on the feet get this one three stars.

Grant Dawson vs Julian Erosa

Good action on the feet and on the ground but Dawson easily won the fight despite the weird scorecards. Dawson threw 57 more strikes than Erosa but they ended up with similar significant strikes landed numbers and Dawson’s control on the ground was what won him the fight. [2.5]

Yana Kunitskaya vs. Marion Reneau

Despite getting a badly busted nose in the late going, Kunitskaya handled Reneau for most of the fight and won a righteous unanimous decision. Not a great fight but not a bad fight so this gets an average rating. [2.0]

Sergio Moraes vs. Anthony Martin

This was supposed to be one of the most exciting fights of the night but it ended up underwhelming. Martin took home an easy unanimous decision victory and landed a bunch of calf kicks that hurt Moraes early but overall it was just an average fight. [2.0]

Tim Boetsch vs. Omari Akhmedov

Boetsch is on his way out and Akhmedov hadn’t fought in over a year so I didn’t have high expectations for this one. Both men were very hesitant, even getting warnings to engage at times but Akhmedov out-landed him and won a unanimous decision. [1.5]

Beneil Dariush vs Drew Dober

Dober put on a great performance on the feet in the first round and nearly finished the fight but Dariush’s chin held up and he survived the round. Dariush wasted no time taking the fight to the ground in the second round and submitted Dober with an armbar after landing some ground-and-pound. Great fight overall, and Dariush’s comeback earns this fight three stars.

Ben Rothwell vs. Blagoy Ivanov

Rothwell put on an incredible performance after being out for nearly three years but Ivanov ended up taking home a controversial unanimous decision. Decent back-and-forth action on the feet but nothing special enough to earn this anything above an average rating. [2.0]

Tim Means vs. Niko Price

Tim Means started the fight landing nearly every one-two he threw and Price seemed to be fading. But Means got overzealous and stepped in the pocket with his chin high and hands low and Price caught him with a beautiful right hook that ended the fight. Amazing comeback from Price earns this a 3.75.

Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Curtis Millender

I have to say I was dead wrong on this one. I thought both men would choose to strike but instead Zaleski took the fight to the ground and won via rear naked choke in the first round. I really wanted to see how things played out on the feet, but this was a great performance from Zaleski nonetheless. [2.75]

Junior dos Santos vs Derrick Lewis

What a weird fight. Lewis might be the only man I have ever seen recover from a perfect shot to the liver, but “Cigano” was picking him apart all fight, was never really in trouble and won the fight via TKO just two minutes into the second round. This fight is worth watching for the very awkward “Happy Birthday” song at the end and the actual fight was great so this gets a 3.5 to top off the event.