This article is part of our Fight Stat Wrap series.
The UFC returned to Moscow this past Saturday. The card lost its main event a few weeks before showtime, and the final product was nothing special. Many of the fights were slow and plodding, and there were only four finishes. 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.
Zabit Magomedsharipov outpaces Calvin Kattar on the way to a decision victory
Neither one of these fighters are afraid to throw with volume. Both fighters attempts over 200 significant strikes, but Magomedsharipov had the edge 250 to 213. He was also slightly more accurate, 38 percent compared to 37 percent, and therefore he outlanded Kattar 96 to 80 on significant strikes.
While it was an overall impressive performance from the Russian fighter, there are two things that he should be concerned about. First, he faded in the third round and allowed Kattar to outland him 44 to 30. Second, he landed only a single takedown. For his UFC career, he has averaged 5.22 per 15 minutes of fight time. Both of these could have made a bigger difference if the fight was scheduled for 25 minutes.
Magomedsharipov finished with 83 points on DraftKings. On a normal night that would not be considered a top score. However, on this card, only one fighter finished with over 100 points, and the average score was only 48.67 points.
Alexander Volkov outpoints Greg Hardy for three rounds
Many people were expecting Volkov to score a knockout in this fight. Hardy made it the distance, but he did look lost at times and was thoroughly outlanded. Volkov had the edge on significant strikes 86 to 46 overall. Hardy, who complained about a hand injury, landed less than 15 significant strikes in the first two rounds. Volkov was patient and did not really go for the finish, but he landed 56 percent of his attempts and dominated.
Volkov finished with 73 points on DraftKings, which was the eighth-highest score of the night. Many players were probably expecting more from the former Bellator champion against the former NFL player.
Danny Roberts flexes rarely seen power against Zelim Imadaev
At points in this fight, it looked like Roberts would prefer the fight on the floor. He landed only one of his eight takedown attempts. However, in the end, none of that really mattered. He landed 37 of his 61 significant strike attempts and finished Imadaev on the feet. Roberts really needed this win as he came into this fight off back-to-back losses, and he had not scored a stoppage victory since March of last year.
Roberts had the highest score of the night. His second-round finish earned him 103.5 points. He was one of only four fighters to finish the fight on Saturday.
Ed Herman uses old school Team Quest tactics against Khadis Ibragimov
Both fighters had their moments in this fight. However, what really set Herman apart from his opponent was his ability to land meaningful blows in the clinch. In the position, he outlanded Ibragimov 43 to 10 on significant strikes. Ibragimov actually had the edge 36 to 43 distance, but he could not overcome the clinch striking of Herman.
Herman finished with 70.5 points on DraftKings. He is usually good for some grappling points, but that did not turn out to be an advantage he had in this fight.
Anthony Rocco Martin shows persistence and determination against Ramazan Emeev
Martin was able to move forward in this fight and still avoid strikes from Emeev. He was the one pushing the action from a footwork perspective, and he also poured it on in terms of volume. Martin attempted 140 significant strikes compared to only 92 attempts for Emeev. Emeev was slightly more accurate, but Martin more than made up for that with volume. Even though Martin only landed 29 percent of his significant strike attempts, he still managed to outlanded Emeev 41 to 30 and score the upset victory.
This was a great performance from Martin, but unfortunately that does not always come across on DFS. He scored only 50.5 points on DraftKings, which was the lowest score for a winning fighter on the night and only slightly above the overall average score.
Shamil Gamzatov doesn't let Klidson Abreu get on track
Abreu was never really able to get out of the starting blocks in this fight. Gamzatov was able to set the pace and control the grappling. He outlanded Abreu on significant strikes in the opening round 30 to 10, then 20 to 15 in the second and finally 14 to seven in the final round. Abreu did land a takedown in the second round, but he failed to land a significant ground strike or even a pass. Gamzatov took the decision easily.
Gamzatov finished with the 10th highest score of the night on DraftKings. Thanks to his striking and decision win bonus, he earned players 62 points.
