MMA Gradebook: Rating Every Fight From UFC Fight Night 155

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 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 below, based on competitiveness, the skill and technique on display, excitement, and the story and drama of the contest. Wherever possible, the fights are described without spoiling the outcomes. Here's the MMA Gradebook for UFC Fight Night 155: De Randamie vs. Ladd.

Vince Morales vs. Benito Lopez

Team Alpha Male bantamweight prospect Lopez takes on fellow prospect Morales in the opening bout of the night. Great first round but after both fighters were stunned, things slowed down in the second. The action picked back up in the third round, but not enough to give this better than an average rating. Some people were upset with the decision, but overall it was a decent fight to kick off the card. [2.0]

Brianna Van Buren vs. Livinha Souza

Next up, a strawweight bout, as “The Brazilian Gangster” Souza stakes her four-fight winning streak against the five-fight streak of “Tha Bull.” Notably, Van Buren is only two months removed from winning three fights in the same evening -- two of them by stoppage -- in Invicta FC’s “Phoenix Rising” one-night tournament. An average first round, but Van Buren slowly started to gain confidence as the fight went on and started to force exchanges in the pocket. This garnered some good action on the feet for the remainder of the fight but it wasn’t a close affair. [2.5]

Jonathan Martinez vs. Pingyuan Liu

Martinez, who made his UFC debut on ultra-short notice last October, has made good on that opportunity, following up a loss to Andre Soukhamthath in his debut with a solid win over Wuliji Buren in February to even out his UFC ledger at 1-1. Martinez takes on another Team Alpha Male prospect in Liu, who hasn’t lost a fight since 2013. The fight started off slow but in the final minute of the first round, both men started throwing wildly looking for the finish. The finish wouldn’t come until much later in the fight, but it’s worth the wait. [3.0]

Ryan Hall vs. Darren Elkins

In a severe exception to the UFC’s usual policy of booking winners against winners, the promotion decided to match up Hall, who is on a six-fight winning streak (the last three in the UFC), against Elkins, who is looking to halt a two-fight skid, albeit against much tougher competition in Ricardo Lamas and Alexander Volkanovski. There were some good moments in this fight, particularly a spinning heel kick by Hall, but this was the worst fight of the night overall. Elkins was coming forward sloppily but refused to engage on the ground while Hall, was circling around the cage looking for the heel hook and not much else. [1.0]

Julianna Pena vs. Nicco Montano

“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 18 winner Pena returns to the Octagon for the first time in over two years to take on former flyweight champion Montano, who has had an equally long layoff. For both women, but especially for Montano, who moves back up to bantamweight after perhaps the most dismal reign of any champ in UFC history, the pressure was on to demonstrate that they are still potential contenders. I didn't expect much from this fight between two women coming off long layoffs, but was somehow still disappointed. There were some nice exchanges on the ground and it was rather close, but there wasn't enough action to rate this fight anything above average. [2.0]

Andre Fili vs. Sheymon Moraes

“Touchy” Fili steps inside the Octagon for the 13th time to take on former World Series of Fighting contender Moraes, who has had a rough 2-2 start in the UFC. After a bad start to the card, with only one fight receiving a higher than average rating, Fili and Moraes changed the tone of the night with a spectacular finish. [3.75]

John Allan Arte vs. Mike Rodriguez

In a matchup of Dana White's Contender Series veterans -- an increasingly common thing these days -- Rodriguez looks to improve on his 1-1 UFC record while welcoming Allen, who got the call up to the big league despite losing his fight on the Brazilian edition of the show. This wasn't the most technical fight but after a slow start to the card, we desperately needed some action in this one, and the light heavyweights delivered. I would have liked to see both men be more active on the ground but this was still one of the better fights of the night. [3.0]

Cezar Ferreira vs. Marvin Vettori

To kick off the main card, “The Italian Dream” Vettori, in his first fight back after giving Israel Adesanya arguably his toughest test to date, followed by a year-long USADA suspension, faces off with former “The Ultimate Fighter Brazil” winner Ferreira. This fight wasn't very close, but both men were aggressive from the start and put on a great show. The winner looked better than ever and if he can learn to be a bit more urgent he will be a problem for anyone in the division. [3.0]

Wellington Turman vs. Karl Roberson

Contender Series alum Roberson returns to the Octagon for the second time this year to take on debuting submission specialist Turman. You guessed it, another average fight. I was tempted to rate this higher because I was very impressed with the loser's performance, but it simply wasn't a very exciting fight. I also thought the decision was a complete robbery, but the loser did a lot for his stock in the future. [2.0]

Josh Emmett vs. Mirsad Bektic

Emmett, who continues to impress despite always being the underdog, takes on Bektic, who continues to disappoint despite always being the favorite. For two fighters hovering right below the Top 10 of a very unforgiving featherweight division, the stakes were high. Most will probably disagree with this score, but I didn't think this fight was very great and the finish was anticlimactic. A finish is a finish, though, so this still gets a slightly above average rating. [2.5]

Urijah Faber vs. Ricky Simon

“The California Kid” returns to the Octagon for the first time in almost three years to take on promising contender Ricky Simon. To put Faber’s long hiatus into perspective, Simon was 15-1 going into this fight, with eight of those fights -- fully half his career, and all wins, by the way -- taking place since Faber’s retirement in December 2016. Would the 40-year-old Faber show that he can still be a force in the bantamweight division, or would the red-hot Simon show him just how badly the game had passed him by? Quick fight with one of the best finishes of the night and Faber’s historic return earn this one 4 stars.

Germaine de Randamie vs. Aspen Ladd

Former featherweight champion de Randamie takes on the undefeated Ladd, one of the fastest rising contenders in the division, in the main event. The style matchup was intriguing: the decorated Dutch kickboxer and classic sprawl n’ brawler against the aggressive American ground-and-pound artist. The contrast in personas was compelling: the 35-year-old part-time fighter who coolly dropped her UFC belt to go back to being a police officer, taking on the 24-year-old future of the division, who seems to eat, sleep and breathe nothing but fighting. In addition, the winner would most likely be next in line for a shot at Amanda Nunes’ bantamweight title, so this was arguably the most important fight of both women's careers -- certainly the biggest of Ladd’s. Finally, Ladd looked horrible on the scale Friday, stripped to the skin and visibly shaking while assistants held a curtain around her. While it was not the first time Ladd had looked bad at weigh-ins, it was certainly the worst she has looked, and conversation centered on whether the miserable weight cut would compromise the Californian’s expected athletic advantages.

Unfortunately, all the anticipation, all the narratives, the intriguing questions and the elevated stakes fizzled out in seconds. A horrible stoppage and horrible ending to an already horrible event. I suggest skipping the entire main card beside the co-main event. [1.0]