This article is part of our Fight Stat Wrap series.
The UFC returned to Boston with a rare Friday night card. In the main event, Dominick Reyes took another step towards a light heavyweight title fight with a first-round stoppage of former middleweight champion Chris Weidman. Also on the card there were several Boston area fighters who ignited the home crowd. 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 UFCStats.com.
Dominick Reyes outclasses Chris Weidman on the feet
Even during his recent skid, Weidman has been able to score takedowns. However, he has not been able to implement any meaningful offense from the top position. Against Reyes, he scored an early takedown, but he only landed one significant ground strike in the fight. In the standing portion of the fight, Reyes was going to have a big edge. He took full advantage. Reyes needed only two significant distance strikes to drop Weidman and then finish on the floor. He now has first-round finishes in three of his five UFC fights.
Reyes finished with 104 points on DraftKings. The quick finish would normally be a high score, but on this night it was only the seventh-highest score.
Yair Rodriguez rides strong Rounds 1 and 2 to a decision over Jeremy Stephens
The first two rounds of this fight were vintage volume striking from Rodriguez. He outlanded Stephens 80 to 22 on significant strikes and nearly finished the bout on the ground. In the final round, Stephens made a hard charge and outlanded Rodriguez 28 to 16 on significant strikes. However, it was not enough after dropping the first two rounds. Rodriguez did a good job mixing up his targets in the fight. He landed the majority of his significant strikes to the head (65), but he also landed 14 to the body and 17 to the legs.
Greg Hardy's fight against Ben Sosoli will be remembered for the inhaler
It is hard to quantify how much the inhaler helped Hardy avoid pure exhaustion in the final round. He attempted 39 significant strikes in the first, 31 in the second and 35 in the third. At the very least, he was able to main consistent volume. While he attempted only eight more significant strikes than Sosoli (105 to 97), he was much more active overall. Per motion tracking, Hardy traveled 2,937 feet during the fight, while Sosoli only traveled 2,087.
Since neither fighter won this bout, both were a disappointment on DraftKings. Hardy finished with 27 points and Sosoli only had 13. Normally heavyweight fighters are prime candidates to finish, but that was not the case here.
Joe Lauzon turns back the clock against Jonathan Pearce
Going into this matchup, Lauzon had been outlanded in five-straight fights. During the span, he was outlanded 364 to 169. This fight was a major departure from that trend. He got off to a hot start, scored a takedown and then finished on the floor. For the fight, he outlanded Pearce 25 to 8, including 15 significant ground strikes.
Not only did Lauzon score a quick finish, but he also piled up some stats beforehand. He finished with the third-highest score of the night on DraftKings with 113.5 points, based on his 25 significant strikes, two passes and one takedown.
Maycee Barber makes quick work of Gillian Robertson
After three UFC fights, Barber has three finishes. This was her quickest finish to date as she needed only 3:04 to stop Robertson. It was also her highest significant strikes landed per minute rate. She landed 34 significant strikes, which equates to 11.09 per minute. Her first two UFC fights came in at 6.86 and 9.69 per minute reflexively.
Barber finished with the sixth-highest score of the night on DraftKings. She finished with 107 points based on the first-round finish and her significant strike total.
Darren Stewart withstands the wrestling of Deron Winn
Winn tried to control and take this fight with his wrestling. However, he had trouble keeping the fight on the floor and landed only 11 significant ground strikes. He did come through by landing six of his 15 takedown attempts, but he finished with only one pass. Stewart continually got back to his feet. At distance, Stewart clearly had the edge. He outlanded Winn 31 to 11 on significant strikes. He also got it done in the clinch, where he had the edge 14 to seven.
Winn's wrestling did keep Stewart's volume relatively low. He landed only 57 significant strikes in the fight and finished with only 63.5 points on DraftKings. It was the lowest total for a winning fighter on the night.
