This article is part of our Fight Stat Wrap series.
The UFC returned to Toronto for the second half of a two-event weekend. In the main event, Max Holloway secured the Interim UFC Featherweight Title with a third-round stoppage over former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis. The following is a by-the-numbers recap that highlights the stats and milestones that stood out on the main card, with stats courtesy of FightMetric.com.
Max Holloway stops Anthony Pettis for the first time
One of the main stylistic questions going into this fight was this: how is Pettis going to deal with Holloway's volume striking? The answer turned out to be, not very well. Holloway landed 94 significant strikes in a little less than 15 minutes. The Hawaiian is now riding an 11-fight winning streak including five knockouts.
Prior to this fight, Pettis had never been stopped in his career. Early in his UFC career, Pettis showed off impressive defense and avoided a great deal of strikes. Over his last five fights, however, he has eaten 340 significant strikes. For the first time in his career, he has a negative striking differential (significant strikes landed per minute minus significant strikes absorbed per minute).
Donald Cerrone picks up third-straight knockout against Matt Brown
After a strong second round, Brown was actually ahead in terms of significant strikes, 68 to 59, heading into the third and final round. The tide turned 34 seconds into that round, however, as Cerrone landed a devastating head kick that finished the fight. There's little doubt "Cowboy" has been able to keep his power despite moving up in weight. After scoring a submission in his welterweight debut, Cerrone has won three straight fights via knockout. In those fights, he is scoring a knockout for about every 60 landed significant strikes.
Cub Swanson pulls out victory over Doo Ho Choi
Both fighters landed early and often in this fight. Neither fighter seem especially interested in defense, and Swanson came out the winner. In the process, he set a new career high with 7.4 significant strikes landed per minute. His previous best was 5.83 against George Roop back in 2012. Choi fought to a decision for the first time in his UFC career. Overall, he had not reached the judges scorecards since 2011. His high striking output (5.13 significant strikes per minutes) shows that he is a solid DFS points scorer even when he is not scoring quick finishes.
Kelvin Gastelum rides striking accuracy to come-from-behind win over Tim Kennedy
In the opening frame, Kennedy was able to implement his game plan. He landed a pair of takedowns and landed some hard knees in the clinch. He finished the round with 27 landed significant strikes, and Gastelum landed only 12. Then Gastelum took over, and he was incrediblly accurate. In rounds two and three, the TUF winner landed 60 percent of his significant strike attempts and ultimately finished the fight.
Emil Meek proves that he belongs against Jordan Mein
Meek made his named with an upset over Rousimar Palhares early this year. With that victory, he moved up 205 Fight Matrix ranking points and found himself in the system's top ten. Against Mein, he had the chance to show that he was not a one-hit wonder, and he did just that. After a close first round, Meek took over the fight in the next two frames. In rounds two and three, Meek landed 32 significant strikes and absorbed only 12.
