UFC 320 fight grades: A really good main card saves an otherwise mediocre slate

The hype coming into UFC 320 was surrounded by questions about whether Alex Pereira’s best days were behind him, as the Magomed Ankalaev era appeared to be dawning. Some also wondered if Merab Dvalishvili could truly be challenged by Cory Sandhagen.

The main card also featured a sure-to-be banger between Khalil Rountree Jr. and Jiří Procházka, but the prelim slate was a flop. It was truly a tale of two fight cards.

While the undercard underwhelmed, the five-fight pay-per-view portion delivered. Pereira got his revenge against Ankalaev, who took the light heavyweight championship away from Pereira back in March. Dvalishvili put on an extraordinary exhibition of his incredible skillset. Rountree and Prochazka gave the fans a wicked light heavyweight brawl. And two fighters on the rise secured stellar finishes.

After each pay-per-view, we break down and assess the quality of each fight and the fight card itself based on skill displayed, competitiveness and what is at stake.

Light heavyweight: Magomed Ankalaev vs. Alex Pereira

Result: Pereira defeats Ankalaev by first-round TKO
Grade: A

Normally, when a fighter gives an excuse to justify why they lost a fight, it’s hard to digest, but when Pereira said he wasn’t himself when he lost to Ankalaev in March, he shouldn’t have been doubted. “Poatan” dropped jaws as he easily wiped out a champion who had never before been knocked out. He pursued Ankalaev from the opening bell and clobbered him with a right hand that sent him to the canvas. A violent barrage of elbows and punches followed that ended the bout in just 80 seconds. No, this wasn’t competitive but it was ultra-violent and a reminder why Pereira is one of the best and most exciting fighters in the world today.

Light heavyweight: Jiří Procházka vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.

Result: Procházka defeats Rountree by third-round KO
Grade: A-

Something special was going to happen once these two gave into the Octagon together — it was just a matter of when. Rountree threw everything he had with bad intentions for the first two rounds and broke through with several hard punches and strikes that occasionally stung the former champion. Procházka absorbed the punishment but occasionally looked out of sorts with his striking. But if there was anybody who could pull out a victory from the clutches of defeat, it’s “BJP.” Sensing he was behind on the scorecards, Procházka transformed into an offensive machine in the third round, putting an absolute beating on Rountree before knocking him out cold with a short left hook. Procházka is a diabolical agent of chaos, and this fight was must-see TV.

Men’s bantamweight: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen

play

Merab Dvalishvili defeats Cory Sandhagen to retain bantamweight title

Merab Dvalishvili wins by unanimous decision over Cory Sandhagen to retain his UFC bantamweight championship.

Result: Dvalishvili defeats Sandhagen by unanimous decision
Grade: B+

Dvalishvili doesn’t seem to be human and is beginning to enter not only the conversation for greatest-ever bantamweight but also for the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. It’s become clear that the only way to beat Dvalishvili is to knock him out, and Sandhagen found that out the hard way. He was thoroughly outworked by the unrelenting cardio machine that is Dvalishvili, who has also improved his striking. It initially seemed like a bad idea for Dvalishvili to strike with the challenger, but he nearly stopped Sandhagen in the second round and put on a breathtaking display of relentless pressure, wrestling and striking throughout the five rounds. The only thing that prevented this fight from getting an A is that Sandhagen, albeit resilient, simply wasn’t competitive enough in the later rounds. A fight shouldn’t be this much fun for Dvalishvili, but it is.

Middleweight: Abus Magomedov vs. Joe Pyfer

Result: Pyfer defeats Magomedov by second-round submission
Grade: B

After a first round in which the heavy-handed Pyfer had everyone wondering what he was doing grappling with Magomedov, “Bodybagz” showcased his strategy in Round 2 by scoring a surprising submission. Pyfer came into the second round with full force and punished Magomedov with a pair of right hands that put him on the canvas. Once again, Pyfer went to his grappling and chased Magomedov to the mat. But this time he made it all work as he deftly shifted from an arm triangle to a rear-naked choke to get the job done. Say what you want about Pyfer’s boisterous personality, but he sure is fun to watch.

Featherweight: Josh Emmett vs. Youssef Zalal

Result: Zalal defeats Emmett by first-round submission
Grade: B

This was about as sublime as a submission win gets. What was supposed to be an all-out matchup between the bull (Emmett) and the matador (Zalal) became a quick masterclass in wrestling and grappling, as “The Moroccan Devil” swiftly put an end to the fight. A slick takedown helped Zalal quickly transition to an armbar and force Emmett to verbally tap. It’s hard to believe that this Zalal was the same guy who the UFC ousted after he went winless in four fights from 2020 to 2022. Since his return, Zalal is 5-0 with four submission wins. And this win over Emmett was easily the most impressive of the bunch.

Catch weight: Daniel Santos vs. JooSang Yoo

play

Daniel Santos drops JooSang Yoo to win by KO

Daniel Santos hits a JooSang Yoo with a flithy left hand that drops Yoo, then Santos pounds him until the official calls it.

Result: Santos defeats Yoo by second-round TKO
Grade: B

The energy was palpable between these two, as Santos fired off flashy strikes while Yoo played to the fans with his engaging charisma. But Santos proved that charisma doesn’t win fights — punching people in the face does. After an entertaining first round in which Yoo mocked every strike Santos missed, the Brazilian made sure “Zombie Jr.” would have nothing to make fun of in Round 2 by drilling Yoo with a left hand. Yoo was unable to escape as “Willycat” pounded his fallen opponent to a finish. An all-around entertaining affair.

Middleweight: Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Andre Muniz

play

Edmen Shahbazyan gets the KO with two seconds left in first round

Edmen Shahbazyan drops Andre Muniz with an uppercut, then hits him on the ground until the match was called.

Result: Shahbazyan defeats Muniz by first-round TKO
Grade: B

The time when Shahbazyan was considered a hot prospect in the UFC feels like an eternity ago, but “The Golden Boy” might be finding his stride with his win on Saturday. Muniz appeared to be gaining momentum in the opening round, as he broke through with an uppercut. But he got a little too careless and was rocked during an exchange that he started and Shahbazyan finished with a counter left hook as the round headed to its conclusion. With under 10 seconds remaining, Shahbazyan rammed a series of elbows into Muniz’s head until he couldn’t defend himself, and the fight was halted with 2 seconds left in the round. It’s hard to believe that Shahbazyan is still only 27 years old, but this performance may see him finally get close to the high expectations he had when he entered the UFC in 2018.

Middleweight: Ateba Gautier vs. Tre’ston Vines

play

Ateba Gautier finishes Tre’ston Vines in the first round

Ateba Gautier uses elbows that drop Tre’ston Vines, then Gautier hits him with two punches to end the fight.

Result:Gautier defeats Vines by first-round TKO
Grade: C+

This was a grotesque mismatch that only happened because Vines stepped in for Ozzy Diaz on less than a week’s notice to keep the powerful Gautier on the card. The result was a one-sided squash match in which Vines looked helpless in his Octagon debut. He ate a knee early during an ill-fated takedown attempt and was later punched into defeat. If you like knockouts, this is for you. If you like competitive fights, don’t waste your time.

Welterweight: Ramiz Brahimaj vs. Austin Vanderford

play

Ramiz Brahimaj submits Austin Vanderford

Ramiz Brahimaj locks in a guillotine chokehold on Austin Vanderford and he taps out.

Result: Brahimaj defeats Vanderford by second-round submission
Grade: C

Brahimaj woke everyone up after a slow first round with a vicious second-round head kick that cut Vanderford over his left eye and led to the finishing sequence. Before the head kick there wasn’t much to talk about because Vanderford held Brahimaj down for the entirety of the first round with very little action. But the sound of Brahimaj’s head kick snapped everyone out of their slumber and left Vanderford scrambling for a takedown. Instead, he found himself on the wrong end of Brahimaj’s guillotine choke. You’ll have to endure over a round of nothingness to get to an entertaining conclusion.

Women’s flyweight: Veronica Hardy vs. Brogan Walker

Result: Hardy defeats Walker by unanimous decision
Grade: C-

Hardy had her way with Walker in the opening contest. After dominating her in all aspects of the fight in Round 1, including a near armbar finish, she easily relied on her striking to lump up Walker’s face in Round 2. That said, Walker hadn’t won since 2021 and was thoroughly overmatched in a one-way fight that lacked any notable moments but got Hardy back into the win column. .

Men’s bantamweight: Chris Gutierrez vs. Farid Basharat

Result: Basharat defeats Gutierrez by unanimous decision
Grade: C-

This fight was fine. Not good, not bad. It just kind of happened. Basharat kept his undefeated record with a workmanlike decision. He outwrestled Gutierrez in the opening round and hurt him with a right hand in Round 2, but had to overcome some adversity in the final round after Gutierrez swarmed him with punches. Basharat did everything he needed to do to win, but if you’re looking for a reason to go out of your way to watch this fight, you won’t find one.

Women’s bantamweight: Macy Chiasson vs. Yana Santos

Result: Santos defeats Chiasson by unanimous decision
Grade: D+

Outside of a last-minute charge by Chiasson in which she desperately sought to finish the fight with a rear-naked choke, this was a pretty average affair that went the distance, with Santos doing enough to pick up another win. For the first 13 minutes, there wasn’t anything exciting inside the Octagon, as Santos won the exchanges but never had Chiasson in any serious trouble. It was a serviceable fight that lacked entertaining moments.

Welterweight: Punahele Soriano vs. Nikolay Veretennikov

Result: Soriano defeats Veretennikov by unanimous decision
Grade: D+

If you are interested in a fight with a bunch of failed guillotine choke attempts, this is for you. The powerful Soriano spent the majority of the fight muscling around Verentennikov with his wrestling and ground-and-pound. Verentennikov had no real answer for the takedowns outside of guillotine choke attempts. None of them worked, and the fight slowed to a crawl in the final round, as Soriano won his third consecutive fight at welterweight. Usually, Soriano can entertain, but he fell short in that department, despite the win.

Men’s bantamweight: Patchy Mix vs. Jakub Wikłacz