This article is part of our Fight Stat Wrap series.
The UFC traveled to St. Petersburg over the weekend, which left fans in the U.S. with an early morning show. The show was mostly built around showcasing Russian talent, but there were some significant matches on the main card. In the main event, former Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem stopped dangerous grappler Aleksei Oleinik in the first round. 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.
Alistair Overeem picks his spots against Aleksei Oleinik
Overeem has the best significant strike accuracy in UFC history, and that was on display once again in this fight. Oleinik resorted to throwing wild volume after pulling guard didn't get him anywhere. He attempted 101 total strikes in the sub-five minute fight. While Overeem appeared hurt at one point, he remained calm in the pocket and waited for his opportunities. In the end, he landed 29 of his 33 significant strike attempts (87 percent) and a knockdown. His did some of his best work in the clinch where he registered 12 of his 13 significant strike attempts.
Overeem finished with 114.5 points on DraftKings, which was the second highest score of the night. It would have been the high score on many shows, but Michal Oleksiejczuk had a three knockdown performance on the undercard and finished with 124 points.
Islam Makhachev wins wrestling battle against Arman Tsarukyan
This fight turned out to be a highly competitive fight and mostly a wrestling match. The two fighters combined to land only 27 significant strikes, and large portions of the contest were spent in the clinch jockeying for position. Makhachev was more successful with his takedowns, as he converted four of his nine attempts compared to Tsarukyan, who went one for 12 on the night.
While Makhachev landed 47 total strikes in the fight, only 14 were counted as significant. Strikes in the clinch and on the ground need to generate power in order to be considered significant. His lack of striking stats held down his DraftKings score a bit, and he finished with only 63 points. It was the second-lowest score among winning fighters on the night.
Sergei Pavlovich makes up for debut against Marcelo Golm
In his UFC debut, Pavlovich lasted less than a round against Overeem. In this fight, he finally got to show what he can do. In a little over a minute, he landed 17 significant strikes, scored a knockdown and finished the fight. While Golm is now 1-3 in the UFC, he had never been stopped with strikes or finished in the first round prior to this fight.
Pavlovich had the third highest score of the night on DraftKings. He put together 108.5 points based only his strikes and the knockdown.
Roxanne Modafferi schools Antonina Shevchenko on the ground
Modafferi was as high as a +279 underdog going into this fight. In theory, Shevchenko was going to keep this fight standing and get it done with her more technical striking. However, that did not turn out to be the case. Modafferi was regularly able to score takedowns against her opponent. For the fight, she finished with five landed on six attempts. She was also able to move into dominant positions on the ground and ended up with five passes. Shevchenko looked to be lost at times on the ground, and even though Modafferi never really came close to finishing, it was one-sided.
Even though Modafferi was much more active on the ground than Makhachev, her DraftKings score still suffered from a lack on significant strikes on the ground and in the clinch. She still finished with 96.5 points on DraftKings, even though she landed only 33 significant strikes. If more of her 105 total strikes had earned significant status, she may have been a contender for top score of the night.
Krzysztof Jotko dominates Alen Amedovski on the ground
Even though this fight was a decision, it was perhaps one of the most one-sided on the card. Jotko continually took the fight to the ground and did serious work from the top position. He finished with four landed takedowns, five passes on the ground and 35 significant ground strikes. For the fight, Amendovski managed to land only six significant strikes and a reversal in the 15 minute fight.
Jotko finished with 86.5 points on DraftKings, which was the seventh-highest score of the night. His diverse grappling attack helped him put up a decent score even though he only landed 43 significant strikes.
