(‘No, you let go!’ Photo courtesy of MMA Weekly)

Who’s up and who’s down on this Thursday morning?  Only The Potato Index knows.  Gather ‘round and listen closely as it whispers the answers to you via its arbitrary numerical ratings system.  Shhh, it’s starting…

Martin Kampmann +91

The Dane justified every positive thing that’s been said about him in the past week.  He proved to be well-rounded, resilient, and effective, even if he looked a little gassed in the final round.  If he improves his wrestling skills he could be a contender at 170 pounds.  You can argue the decision if you want, but the only judge who didn’t score it in his favor was Cecil Peoples.  What does that tell you?

Carlos Condit -34

No one wants to debut in the UFC with a loss, but it’s not like he got trampled by some nobody.  Condit acquitted himself well even in defeat, and once he gets a little more comfortable in the UFC he might prove to be a real threat.  He’s going to have to start near the bottom, though.

Ryan Bader + 48

He outwrestled a good wrestler, which is exactly what we were expecting.  It wasn’t thrilling, but it was a win and that’s a good place to start.  Just ask Rashad Evans.  Now Bader has to hope his knee doesn’t sideline him for too long.

Carmelo Marrero -42

The UFC didn’t bring him in to face a TUF winner with an all-around better skill set because they expected him to shock the world.  He proved to be tough, though far from spectacular.  Seems like there’s a lot of that going around lately.

Cole Miller +78

He reinvented himself as a hothead trash-talker for this fight, but he got the job done and made submitting Junie Browning look a lot easier than Efrain Escudero did.  What’s up with yelling in a guy’s face afterwards, Cole?  Beating Junie and still looking like the classless one isn’t the best possible outcome.

Junie Browning -60

He’s got a long way to go to prove that he belongs in the UFC.  Attention-getting antics might be enough to land him a temporary spot, but they won’t keep him there for long.  His next fight is when we find out whether Junie becomes a redemption story or a cautionary tale.

Tyson Griffin +53

Another victory via unanimous decision.  Weird.  Griffin showed a willingness to do something other than wrestle, which is encouraging even if the end result was the same.  Now how about stringing together a combo or two rather than winging one right hand at a time and hoping the guy falls down?

Rafael Dos Anjos -49

After threatening ever so briefly to pull off the upset, he dropped his second straight UFC fight and failed to do anything to make us think the UFC should keep him around.  I wouldn’t run out and spend that bonus money if I were you.

Brock Larson +40

Welcome back to the UFC, now get ready to fight someone who wasn’t put in there to lose.  We’re looking forward to it.

Jesse Sanders – 23

It’s one thing to punk guys in Extreme Challenge, but quite another in the UFC.  I’ll bet somebody’s wishing he’d tried out to beat up some limey’s on “The Ultimate Fighter” instead.  

Tim Credeur +29

Another win, and over a credible opponent.  Maybe next time he’ll even get on TV.

Nick Catone -22

Ah, the first blemish on an undefeated record.  Don’t take it too hard, kid.  There’ll be plenty more.

“Mask” Tributes + 131

The UFC remembers a friend to the sport and keeps it classy and understated.  Well done.