This article is part of our Fight Stat Wrap series.
The UFC returned to London for the first time in thirteen months, and Jimi Manuwa sent the local fans home happy. The British fighter was able to finish Corey Anderson with a brutal first-round knockout. 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.
Jimi Manuwa knocks Corey Anderson out cold
Manuwa did not even appear to break a sweat against Anderson. It was clear that Anderson wanted to move around on the outside before working for a takedown. He had no success in that department, as he failed on all three of his takedowns. Manuwa was very patient as he only attempted 13 significant strikes in the fight. He landed six, but the final blow was all it took as he knocked Anderson out cold. In his last two fights, Manuwa has landed a knockdown for every 19 landed significant strikes.
In terms of DraftKings, Manuwa earned players 103 points for the first-round finish. That score was tied for the highest of the night with Marc Diakiese. After the fight, Manuwa called out the winner of the upcoming title fight between Daniel Cormier and Anthony Johnson as well as boxer David Haye. In reality his next opponent will probably be someone else, but Manuwa has earned the right to enter that fight a betting favorite.
Gunnar Nelson shows off ground-skill advantage over Alan Jouban
When Nelson has a grappling advantage, he almost always takes care of business. In the first round, he scored a takedown and earned five passes on the ground. In the second round, he locked on a tight guillotine-choke submission and finished the fight.
From a DFS perspective, Nelson is an interesting case. He is never going to be a volume striker. However, he routinely finishes opponents when he is the better grappler, and averages nearly three passes (three points each) per fight. On this card, he earned players 94 points, which was the third highest score of the night.
Marlon Vera sends Brad Pickett into retirement
Vera took this bout on late notice, but he was still the favorite for good reason. Pickett is mostly a known commodity at this point. He is an above average wrestler who can brawl with lesser strikers. Vera showed that he was the more polished striker, as he outlanded Pickett 67 to 51 in terms of significant strikes and finished the fight in the third round. This was Vera's first knockout in the UFC and oddly enough, only the second time he outlanded an opponent in five UFC fights.
Following the bout, Pickett, as expected, announced his retirement from MMA. "One Punch" was a pioneer for both British MMA and the sub-lightweight divisions. However, when people look back on his career record, the one thing that will standout is his 2010 victory over current UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson at WEC 48. Despite being outlanded on significant strikes 47 to 25, Pickett was able to dominate the grappling exchanges. He landed 10 takedowns and 11 passes on the ground on his way to a decision victory. Both of those numbers are are career highs for his UFC/WEC career.
Arnold Allen survives early onslaught against Makwan Amirkhani
The same thing that makes Amirkhani interesting to DFS players got him in trouble here. Going into this fight, "Mr. Finland" had scored sub-two-minute finishes in two of his his three UFC fights. However, in this fight, Allen was able to defend Amirkhani's early hard shots and submission attempts. After that, Allen appeared to take over. In the final two rounds, Allen outlanded Amirkhani 24 to 11 in terms of significant strikes. He also stopped seven of Amirkhani's nine takedown attempts
