The best and worst from UFC Fight Night 161: Jedrzejczyk vs. Waterson

#2 Worst: Jiu-Jitsu aces struggle to step up

Mackenzie Dern struggled to get anything going against Amanda Ribas

Last night’s card featured two of the more credentialed grapplers on the UFC roster in action, as Kron Gracie and Mackenzie Dern stepped back into the Octagon. Unfortunately for big fans of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, both fighters were beaten – Dern in comprehensive fashion – and the truth is that they’ll need a lot more seasoning if they want to make it to the top of the UFC ladder.

Gracie didn’t fight badly by any means; faced with a far more experienced opponent in Cub Swanson, the son of the legendary Rickson Gracie was unable to get the fight to the ground for the majority of the three rounds, and while he hung in during the striking battle, even catching Swanson with some clean punches, it was clear who the more polished striker was.

Swanson’s footwork, angles and his work to the body, in particular, won him this fight, and it wasn’t as close as it looked on first glance either in my opinion, even though the action was fantastic. Gracie isn’t a stiff striker like his relatives Rolles and Roger were, but to really get to the top at 145lbs, both his takedowns and kickboxing will need a lot of work.

As for Dern? She simply couldn’t get her game going, as opponent Amanda Ribas stuffed her takedowns and easily outstruck her on the feet. It’d be easy to say that she came back from becoming a mother too quickly, but then her striking and takedowns didn’t look great in her previous UFC outings either. A world-class grappler, she still has potential, but needs a lot of work.

Basically, while both fights were solid – Gracie/Swanson provided some tremendous action – they also showed that specialists just won’t thrive in the modern-day UFC without rounding out their skills fully.