This article is part of our Fight Stat Wrap series.
The UFC hosted their first show to take place entirely on ESPN+. In the main event, bantamweight contender Marlon Moraes made his case for a title shot with a first-round victory over Raphael Assuncao. Also on the card, former featherweight champion Jose Aldo continued his late career resurgence with a knockout victory. 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.
Marlon Moraes continues hot streak against Raphael Assuncao
In his last three fights, Moraes has landed 24 significant strikes, four knockdowns and three first round finishes. He dropped Assuncao in the second half of the first and then jumped on him for the submission victory. Coming into this fight, Assuncao had only been stopped twice in his 18-fight UFC/WEC career. The last time he was finished prior to this fight was against Erik Koch in 2011.
Moraes did not really have very much time to build a big score on DraftKings. However, his effort was still good for 111 points, which was the second highest score of the night. His ability to score both knockdowns and quick finishes has made him a consistent point scorer in DFS.
Jose Aldo continues style transition against Renato Moicano
Aldo has always been a technical master when it comes to striking. He was very hard to hit, and he outpointed some of the best fighters in the history of the featherweight division. However, in the twilight of his career, he has rebranded himself as a grizzled power striking veteran. Like his victory over Jeremy Stephens, Aldo was not really separating himself from Moicano in the first round. In the next round, he came out firing. In the frame, he outlanded Moicano 16 to four on significant strikes. He landed 69 percent of his attempts and stopped the fight.
Aldo was not particularly active in the first round, and that dropped his DraftKings score a bit. He finished with 83 points on the night, which was the ninth-highest score of the night. He did come in as an underdog, so he still rewarded players who took a risk with the former featherweight champion.
Demian Maia styles on Lyman Good without striking
At this point, it is safe to say that Maia is one of the best submission grapplers in MMA history. In this fight, he accomplished something new. He stopped his opponent without landing a single significant strike. He previously defeated both Carlos Condit and Dong Hyun Kim while landing only one significant strike, but he had never won with a goose egg. Maia came into this fight after failing on his last 49 takedown attempts, but he landed two of his four attempts against Good. Good started his MMA career in 2005, and he had never been stopped before this fight.
Even though Maia managed to win without landing a single significant strike, he still put up the fifth highest DraftKings score of the night. He earned players 103 points mostly due to the first round finish bonus, but he still put up some points with his grappling as he is known to do.
Charles Oliveira comes back against David Teymur
For most of his MMA career, Oliveira has been a frontrunner. When he is ahead in a fight, he looks great. When he faces adversity, he can really struggle. However, in this fight, he came back after a tough first round. Teymur landed two hard eye pokes and a knockdown early. In the first round, Teymur outlanded Oliveira 22 to 15 on significant strikes. The second was a different story. Oliveira outlanded Teymur 13 to four and locked on the fight-ending anaconda choke. In the process, he became only the second fighter in UFC fighter to score two anaconda choke victories, joining Phil Davis.
Oliveira overcame adversity in this fight and finished with a respectable score on DraftKings. His final mark was 92 points, which was the seventh highest score of the card. At this stage in his career, Oliveira has retained his finishing ability, but he has shown improved durability, which makes him a safer play in DFS.
Johnny Walker shows off against Justin Ledet
Walker had perhaps the best night of anyone on this card. He landed seven of his eight significant strike attempts, plus a knockdown, and finished the fight in only 15 seconds. The only strike he missed was a potentially illegal strike to a downed opponent. In his two UFC appearances, Walker has landed 17 significant strikes, two knockdowns and two first-round finishes. The light heavyweight division is desperate for a young star, and Walker might be that guy.
Not only did Walker basically steal the show, but he also broke the 100-point barrier for the second time in his UFC career. He earned players 103.5 points. With his power, it seems hard to find ways to win without him in the lineup.
Livinha Souza edges overweight Sarah Frota
The biggest story coming into this fight was the fact that Frota missed weight by a whopping seven pounds. She clearly had a size advantage in the fight, but it did not turn out to be enough. The striking battle was mostly even until the third round, but Souza dominated the first two rounds with her wrestling. She score a takedown, a pass and two submission attempts in the first round. In the next round, she landed three of her four takedown attempts, a pass and another submission attempt. That was enough to take the decision.
Souza had the second lowest score for a winning fighter. Outside of the 30 point decision bonus, she only scored 37.5 points.
