UFC on ESPN 10 rookie report: Grading the newcomers in Las Vegas

Fighters from around the globe dream of the day they’ll step into the octagon the first time. How did the five newcomers perform Saturday?

Anthony Ivy

Division: Welterweight
Result: Christian Aguilera def. Anthony Ivy via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:59
Record: 8-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC
Grade: D

Anthony Ivy arrived in Vegas with high hopes of a big win to kick off his UFC career but in a nightmare debut, he ended up being put away early by Christian Aguilera in a fight where he barely got started.

Ivy looked to establish his range with leg kicks early on but got hurt by Aguilera’s powerful punches as he was finished in just 59 seconds.

In such a short debut appearance, it’s hard to offer a fair assessment of Ivy’s talents when he was clipped so early in the fight. Without doubt there’s much more for Ivy to show us inside the octagon, and “Aquaman” and his team may well treat his defeat at UFC on ESPN 10 simply as a false start, with his “real” debut coming in his next fight.

It wasn’t the way he would have wanted to start his octagon career but, given his body of work prior to signing for the UFC, it’s definitely way too early to rule out Ivy’s abilities in the octagon.

Next up: Kickboxer gets chin-checked on his octagon debut