This article is part of our Fight Stat Wrap series.
UFC San Antonio got off to a very slow start with nine straight decisions. However, the main card was a different story, as it featured some dramatic finishes, a record-setting performance and a huge step forward in the main event. 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.
Leon Edwards fights his fight against Rafael dos Anjos
Coming into this fight Edwards' volume was oddly both his biggest weakness and strength. During his UFC career, he has landed at a below-average rate, but he has been able to force his opponents into low output contests. In this fight, Edwards not only increased his own volume, but he also forced Dos Anjos to be less offensive than normal. Going into this fight, Edwards landed 2.35 significant strikes per minute. Against Dos Anjos, he increased that rate to 3.68 (92 landed significant strikes in 25 minutes). The former lightweight champion had attempted 7.86 significant strikes per minute prior to this fight, but against Edwards, he managed only 6.76 attempts and 3.24 significant lands per minute.
Edwards' style might not be flashy, but his ability to dictate the pace in all positions of the fight has led him to the highest levels of the sport.
For the five-round victory, Edwards finished with 97 points on DraftKings, which was the fifth-highest score of the night and the second-highest for a decision winner. Edwards is not overly active, and he certainly isn't a finisher. However, as he starts to fight in five round fights, he becomes a more viable option in DFS.
Walt Harris continues to show off power against Aleksei Oleinik
Harris might never fight for a UFC title, but he certainly can score some highlight reel finishes at this level. He dropped and finished Oleinik only 12 seconds into the fight. He needed only four significant strikes. He has stopped his last three opponents, excluding a "no contest." In those three fights, he has averaged less than 17 significant strikes per fight. Oleinik is getting up there in age, but this is still one of Harris' biggest wins to date.
On a night with only three finishes, Harris was going to have one of the top scores of the night. He finished with 102 points, which was the fourth-highest score on DraftKings.
Greg Hardy makes Juan Adams pay for takedown attempt
It was clear from the start that Adams wanted to get this fight on the ground. Unfortunately for him, he failed on his only attempt, and Hardy went to work. He landed 31 unanswered strikes on the ground, and the referee stopped the bout. Many -- if not all -- of the strikes appeared to be to the back of the head, but the victory will almost certainly stand. After a rocky UFC debut, the controversial former NFL player has looked like a plus-athlete with solid training for his last two fights.
Hardy did his part as a heavyweight and scored a quick finish. His ability to land hard strikes from the top position greatly helped his score, and he finished with 108 points on DraftKings. It was the second-highest score of the night.
Dan Hooker stops James Vick in the first round
All nine fights on the show prior to this bout had gone to decision, but Hooker did not waste much time before finishing Vick. After dropping his previous fight against Edson Barboza, Hooker got back on track in a big way. He needed only 22 significant strikes to score the finish, and it was his fourth first-round finish since joining the UFC.
Hooker had one of the three finishes on the night. In addition to his 22 significant strikes, he also scored a knockdown. That helped put him over the top, and he finished with 111 points on DraftKings, which was the highest score of the night.
Alexander Hernandez doesn't look like himself against Francisco Trinaldo
There really isn't much to say about this fight. Hernandez seemed content to stay on the outside and throw with little volume. Trinaldo is persistent, but he did not seem ready to chase his opponent around the cage. Both fighters finished with only 25 significant strikes in the 15-minute fight. Hernandez threw 91 significant strikes compared to only 52 for Trinaldo, but he landed only 27 percent of those attempts. It might be fair to say the prospect was somewhat hesitant following his first career knockout loss against Donald Cerrone in his previous outing.
Low volume and lack of accuracy rarely gets it done in the fight game, and it almost never gets it done on DFS. Hernandez scored only 42.5 points on DraftKings. Not only was it the lowest score among winners on the night, it was also lower than Steven Peterson (49.5) and Jinsoo Son (60.5), who both lost on the card.
Andrei Arlovski turns up the volume versus Ben Rothwell
Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz said on the broadcast that Arlovski looked more active in the striking game than ever before. That was certainly true on the stat sheet. He finished with 152 significant strikes, which set a new record for a heavyweight in a 15 minute fight. It might actually be more impressive that he was able to withstand 70 significant strikes from Rothwell without ever hitting the deck. Despite a long career, he seems to have found a way to put his chin issues in the rearview.
Normally when picking a heavyweight on DFS, a player is looking for a quick finish. That did not work out here, but he still paid off for players with his volume. He earned players 106 points on DraftKings, which was the third-highest score of the night.
