Weili Zhang vs Yan Xionan C-
Not much to say about this fight, this is the main card's smoke break. Yes there's a title involved, maybe I should care more, it's just not very interesting and doesn't belong on this card, but we all know why it's there. The website I'm looking at has it as the main event as it stands, I imagine it will not be by the time the final fight is announced... I would hope so anyway.
Justin Gaetjhe vs Max Holloway B+
I like this fight a lot. Would be A+ if it was the invincible Max of a few years ago, but still very interesting. Probably the best fight on the card.
Jiri Prochazka vs Aleksander Rakic C
This fight is kinda meh for me. Yes Jiri is pretty exciting, but Rakic is not. Could turn out to be a banger, but in terms of interest I would say it's kinda average for a top 10 LHW fight.
Charles Oliveira vs Arman Tsarukyan B+
Another excellent fight, winner should get a shot at Islam next. Fresh new matchup with high stakes and two very exciting fighters... considered giving at an A, but considering Islam already has a win over both it does take a little bit off the intrigue.
Calvin Kattar vs Aljamain Sterling C+
I mean, why? Ok, I don't hate it but it doesn't really do it for me. Kattar is kind of a fringe contender, great boxing, not really champ material. Aljo was a champ, but not a very convincing one, looked like shit vs O'Malley. Interesting striker vs grappler matchup I suppose, I'll watch for sure but not all that excited for this one if I'm honest.
Bo Nickal vs Cody Brundage D+
Meh, not really interested in Nickal vs anyone outside the top 10 at this point. I know it's meant to be more of a showcase fight to hype him up to the fans some more, but for the fan who follows it pretty closely, Brundage has been submitted, knocked out and decisioned in his last 5 fights, and his competition was pretty weak. Not much intrigue because the fight will almost certainly be a squash match. On the bright side it's most likely gonna be a finish.
Deiveison Figureido vs Cody Garbrandt B
This is a pretty good matchup, necktats kinda fell of a cliff for a while and while I'm not entirely convinced by a two fight win streak vs a couple of jobbers, he's still a live dog that can shut your lights out in a fire fight. What makes this a good fight is that Figureido will certainly oblige, and this one shuld be a lot of fun while it lasts.
Bobby Green vs Jim Miller C
Not gonna hate on Jim Miller, the man put his time in and deserves to be on this card. The fight itself should be competitive and Bobby is rougly around his level so not easy to pick a winner here, at least while they're standing. The fact that both guys should call it quits takes some luster off the fight obviously, but not bad.
Holly Holm vs Kayla Harrison D
Didn't even know Holm was still fighting, nothing against her I'll always be grateful she ended Ronda, but come on... Don't know much about Kayla Harrison at all, I admit I don't follow WMMA much, especially if it's not forcod on me like on a UFC card, but I just quickly checked her record and see she has a recent loss vs that Larissa Pacheco girl who couldn't hack it in the UFC and got cut after just two fights. No disrespect, just no interest whatsoever.
Sodiq Yusuff vs Diego Lopes C
Decent prelim fight, Diego Lopes is pretty aggresive, could turn out to be a better fight than I give it credit for, but neither guy is ranked that high to warrant a higher grade imo.
Jessica Andrade vs Marina Rodriguez C-
Another meh WMMA fight. Andrade has been around forever, and has been losing a lot lately. Rodriguez is 1-2 in her last 3. That said, both girls can be exciting at times and it could be a finish, but not a lot of interest.
OVERALL GRADE - C+
Not hating, just my opinion. A blockbuster main event could easily bump the overall grade to B, I see no way for it to turn into an A card unless a few of these weak matchups are scratched and replaced with more intriguing fights.
