UFC 252 rookie report: Grading the newcomers in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – AUGUST 15: (L-R) Kai Kamaka punches Tony Kelley in their featherweight bout during the UFC 252 event at UFC APEX on August 15, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Division: Featherweight
Result: Kai Kamaka III def. Tony Kelley via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Record: (8-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC)
Grade: B-

Kai Kamaka delivered a performance full of energy as he outstruck and outwrestled fellow debutant Tony Kelley to claim his first win as a UFC athlete.

Kamaka started well and managed to enjoy success with his strikes, particularly on the counter, and a couple of takedowns, in a solid first round.

The second stanza saw Kamaka showcase his counter-striking skills as he superbly moved away from Kelley’s winging right hand and answered beautifully with slick, solid counter lefts.

Despite Kelley’s attempts to load up, Kamaka was happy to stay in the pocket and pop out his jab, while looking to counter his opposite number’s heavy shots.

Kamaka’s striking was impressively clean and crisp, and he mixed up his shots from the head to the body. But while he seemed confident and comfortable to stand in front of his man, he did end up taking some shots he needn’t have as Kelley had some success with punches and elbows at close quarters. Toward the end of the round, Kamaka’s pace started to drop and he secured a late takedown, but he wasn’t able to keep his man on the mat.

After fighting at breakneck pace through the first two rounds, Kamaka looked noticeably snower in the final round and found himself facing adversity as Kelley poured on the pressure in search of a third-round finish. Kamaka smartly looked to take Kelley off his feet with takedowns, but was unable to make them stick as he lost the final round.

All in all, it was a highly-entertaining performance from Kamaka, who showed a ton of promise. But he’ll have to work on his pacing to ensure he doesn’t let fights against more seasoned opposition get away from him in the later rounds.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – AUGUST 15: (R-L) Tony Kelley punches Kai Kamaka in their featherweight bout during the UFC 252 event at UFC APEX on August 15, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Division: Featherweight
Result: Kai Kamaka III def. Tony Kelley via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Record: (5-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC)
Grade: C+

Tony Kelley may have ended up on the losing side of the judges’ verdict, but the featherweight debutant more than proved he belonged on the big stage as he bit down on his mouthpiece and went toe to toe with Kai Kamaka for three excellent rounds at the UFC Apex.

Kelley threw with heat from the very start and found himself getting countered frequently by the slicker Kamaka, but he took his opponent’s shots well as he backed his striking – and his chin – in a series of frantic striking exchanges.

Kelley found himself taken down on a few occasions, but never looked overly troubled on the mat as he scrambled effectively to his feet and returned to his striking with renewed vigor.

After being outstruck in the first round and for much of the second, Kelley started to claw himself back into contention toward the end of the middle stanza as Kamaka struggled to maintain the bout’s blistering early pace.

It gave Kelley the chance to push the pace, and his conditioning saw him take the upper hand for the remainder of the fight. Unfortunately for Kelley, the momentum shift came a little too late in the second round for him to completely turn things around and he ended up losing 29-28 on all three scorecards.

But, after an all-action performance on his octagon debut, Kelley will be confident that he won’t have to wait too long before he registers his first UFC win.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – AUGUST 15: (L-R) Chris Daukaus punches Parker Porter in their heavyweight bout during the UFC 252 event at UFC APEX on August 15, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Division: Heavyweight
Result: Chris Daukaus def. Parker Porter via TKO (punches and knee) – Round 1, 4:28
Record: (9-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC)
Grade: B

Chris Daukaus showed his willingness to mix things up in the clinch as he scored an impressive first-round finish of fellow debutant Parker Porter.

After an early feeling-out process, the pair clinched up in the center of the octagon, where it quickly became apparent that Daukaus had the upper hand in the clinch. A series of short elbows to the head, plus some solid body work, saw Porter look to disengage, but Daukaus moved his man to the cage and landed some more punishment before separating and returning to the middle of the cage.

After narrowly avoiding a front kick to the face from Porter, Daukaus answered with a rapid-fire four-punch combination that dropped his man to the canvas.

Porter rallied and found his way back to his feet, but Daukaus regrouped and, after some heavy-handed exchanges, hit the jackpot with another multi-punch combination, this time finishing with a big knee, to score the TKO victory.

It was an impressive debut showing for Daukaus, whose willingness to have a tear-up should see him involved in a host of exciting matchups as he looks to make an impression on the UFC’s heavyweight division.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – AUGUST 15: (L-R) Parker Porter punches Chris Daukaus in their heavyweight bout during the UFC 252 event at UFC APEX on August 15, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Division: Heavyweight
Result: Chris Daukaus def. Parker Porter via TKO (punches and knee) – Round 1, 4:28
Record: (10-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC)
Grade: D-

Parker Porter stepped into the octagon looking to make his power pay, but ended up being outgunned against fellow debutant Chris Daukaus.

Porter enjoyed some success early on as he found his range and connected with some solid leg kicks, then stepped in and landed with punches. But when he initiated the clinch in the center of the cage, he found Daukaus to be too strong as he shipped some nasty-looking punishment in the form of elbows to the head and knees to the body.

Despite that barrage from close quarters, Porter kept on pushing forward, looking to find a home for his punches, and nearly connected with an Anderson Silva-esque front kick, which whistled millimeters shy of Daukaus’ face.

Unfortunately for Porter, that kick was answered with a combination that dropped him to the mat and, even though he managed to battle back to his feet and fire back with shots of his own, it wasn’t long before Daukaus unloaded another combination, punctuated by a knee, that ended the 35-year-old’s night.

Porter proved that he’s as game as they come, but he ultimately came up short against a slicker heavyweight who exposed his defensive shortcomings and finished him in impressive fashion.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – AUGUST 15: (L-R) Danny Chavez punches TJ Brown in their featherweight bout during the UFC 252 event at UFC APEX on August 15, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Division: Featherweight
Result: Danny Chavez def. TJ Brown via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Record: (9-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC)
Grade: C

Danny Chavez looked anything but a UFC newcomer as he delivered a solid debut performance to claim a hard-earned unanimous decision on his octagon debut.

Chavez started out the aggressor as he took the center of the octagon and looked to impose himself on Brown. Connected with some solid low kicks while looking to time Brown with his punches.

Chavez showed excellent speed as he set about his work with the sort of relaxed calmness you’d expect to see from a 10-fight UFC veteran. His shots landed with power, especially his calf kicks, which repeatedly sent Brown to the canvas in an excellent first round as a UFC fighter.

The second round saw Chavez forced onto the back foot a little more as Brown pushed forward more aggressively, but he kept his cool and eventually dropped his man with a big right hand, then tried to finish the fight with ground strikes. But his opponent did well to recover.

It meant Chavez’s gas tank was given a further test as the bout went into the final round. The action was much closer in the final frame, with Brown edging the action, but Chavez’s good early work in the first two rounds proved crucial as he claimed a solid debut victory.