This article is part of our Fight Stat Wrap series.
On Saturday, the UFC made their debut in Chile. In the main event, welterweight contender Kamaru Usman picked up his biggest victory to date over former title challenger Demian Maia. Also on the main card, TUF winner Tatiana Suarez positioned herself as a potential future challenger for the strawweight title. 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.
Kamaru Usman gives Demian Maia déjà vu
For the third-straight fight, Maia faced off against a skilled wrestler, and for the third-straight fight, he failed to drag his opponent to the ground. Against Usman, he failed on 15 takedown attempts, which means that he has gone zero for his last 49 takedown attempts. Without a takedown, the bout basically turned into a kickboxing contest. Usman had the advantage and outlanded Maia 55 to 25 on significant strikes at distance. The former Division II wrestler reportedly broke both of his hands in the bout, so it might be some time before he steps back in the cage. At the very least, he kept his spot in the welterweight pecking order with this victory.
Usman came into this fight as a huge betting favorite. While he was never really in danger of losing the bout, his cautious striking approach kept him from a high DraftKings score. He finished with 73 points, which was the 10th highest score on the night. Usman is normally a lock to score major points with his takedowns and top work. However, in this fight, he was not interested in going to the ground against the grappling ace.
Tatiana Suarez grounds and submits Alexa Grasso
There are very few female wrestlers in MMA with the skills, talent and experience of Suarez. Grasso is not the best wrestler, but she has been able to live off her scrambling ability so far in her MMA career. While that worked for her early in this fight, Suarez eventually got the back mount and finished the fight. So far in her UFC career, Suarez has landed 6.29 takedowns per 15 minutes, and she has allowed her opponents to land only 20 significant strikes against her in three fights.
Suarez finished with 113 DraftKings points, which was good enough for the second-best score of the night. Her ability to score points with takedowns and finish fights makes her a legitimate points threat against most fighters in the strawweight division.
Dominick Reyes continues finish streak against Jared Cannonier
Reyes has now had three fights in the UFC, and he has finished all three of those fights in the first round. Against Cannonier, he scored the knockout with 20 significant strikes. Through his three UFC bouts, Reyes has only absorbed 11 significant strikes. There really isn't a better way to start a career in the world's biggest promotion.
Reyes picked up his third-straight over-100 DraftKings score. He finished with 110 points, which raised his UFC average to 108.5. If he can keep this pace up, they will have to raise the prices on him in future games.
Guido Cannetti spoils homecoming for Diego Rivas in lackluster fight
The prevailing aspect of this fight, and it comes across clearly in the stats, is that lack of activity. Cannetti and Rivas combined to land 47 significant strikes in a 15-minute fight. It really took Rivas a long time to get going. Despite having the home crowd behind him, he had landed only six significant strikes going into the third round. He outlanded Cannetti 16 to eight in the final frame, but it was too little too late. Some of the fighters from "The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America" have developed into UFC caliber fighters. These two seem to have been left in the dust.
A long and uneventful fight usually means a weak DraftKings score, and that was certainly the case in this fight. Cannetti finished with 64.5 points for this performance. The score was the second lowest for a winner on the night. The only winner with a lower score was Claudio Puelles, who had to pull out a third-round submission in a fight he was desperately losing.
Andrea Lee takes care of business against Veronica Macedo
As expected, Lee was able to pick up a one-sided decision in her UFC debut. She outlanded Macedo 56 to 24 on significant strikes, scored three takedowns and actually did some solid work on the ground. For the sake of nitpicking, Lee did have some issues striking at distance. Despite coming from a kickboxing background, Lee allowed Macedo to land 19 significant strikes at distance, while she landed only 15. It is not a drastic disparity by any means, but she at least has something to work on before her next fight in the UFC.
Lee finished with 97 DraftKings points, which is a respectable score. However, it was only the eighth-best score on a night full of finishes and dominant performances. She scored points through a variety of ways including 56 significant strikes, eight passes on the ground and three takedowns.
Vicente Luque stops Chad Laprise in the first round
Laprise needed to get to the clinch, work for takedowns and do work from the top position. He got to the clinch early in the fight, but he was unable to secure the takedown. Statistically, Laprise was only outlanded by one strike by Luque (10-9). However, it was clear from the start that Luque had the technique and power advantage. In the end, it only took one strike from Luque to finish the fight.
Luque did not have a lot of time to score points, but thanks mostly to the 90-point first-round finish bonus, he ended up earning players 107 DraftKings points.
