This article is part of our Fight Stat Wrap series.
The UFC's recent trip to Stockholm was clearly a regional show designed around the local fans. However, thanks to Anthony Smith's upset over Alexander Gustafsson, they did not go home happy. The rest of the main card featured some incredible results and workmanlike performances. 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.
Anthony Smith comes back to finish Alexander Gustafsson via submission
From the start it was clear that Gustafsson was going to try to keep to the outside to avoid the power from Smith. It took him a while to get going, but it looked like he hit his stride in the third round. In the third, he outlanded Smith 38 to 15 on significant strikes and finished the round in side control following a takedown. However, the fight did not swing in his favor. In the fourth round, Smith countered a takedown attempt and ended up on top. He passed to the back and finished via decision. Despite being outlanded 72 to 49 for the fight overall, Smith was the definitive winner. This was the fourth time in his UFC career when he won despite being outlanded.
The late-round finish from Smith earned players 67.5 points for the night on DraftKings. Due to his lack of volume, the score was one of the three lowest scores for a winner on the night. However, he probably still helped quite a few lineups since he was a heavy betting underdog in the sportsbooks.
Aleksandar Rakic eliminates Jimi Manuwa
The was a stunningly impressive knockout from Rakic. He needed only two significant strikes to put Manuwa completely out of the fight. In his short UFC career, Rakic has shown that he has the striking skills to compete with the highest levels of the division. He has scored dominating decisions and quick knockouts. Considering the shrinking depth of the light heavyweight division, he could find himself in the title picture sooner than expected.
The quick victory means Rakic only really earned players via the first-round finish bonus on DraftKings. Thanks to the knockdown, he pushed his score over the 100-point barrier and finished with 101 points.
Makwan Amirkhani finishes with second round submission over Chris Fishgold
Amirkhani supposedly worked on his striking during his time away from the UFC. Unfortunately, he was not really able to show off much of that here. He could not really get his striking game going. However, the strongest part of his game has always been his ability to finish fights. With this victory, he now has three stoppage victories in the UFC, and all three have come with his landing fewer than 10 significant strikes.
Amirkhani did not really rack up the stats in this fight. However, he still earned the 70-point second round finish bonus on DraftKings and finished with a respectable score. He earned players 82.5 points on the night.
Christos Giagos wrestles his way to victory over Damir Hadzovic
The story of this fight was really the takedowns of Giagos. He set a new personal best with six takedowns. This prevented Hadzovic from ever really getting on track with his striking. The Bosnian fighter landed only four significant strikes in the first round and only five in the third round. Even though Giagos landed those six takedowns, he also needed to throw out 13 attempts to get those six, and he only landed three significant strikes on the ground. This was an impressive performance, but he will need to do more on the floor against higher-level fighters.
The takedowns also helped pad Giagos' score on DraftKings. He finished with 92.5 points, which was the highest score for a fighter who won a decision on the night. The score is especially surprising since he only landed 47 significant strikes in the 15 minute fight.
Daniel Teymur makes Sung Bin Jo look like an amateur in the striking game
Despite having the height and reach advantage, Jo had very little success in the striking game. In the 15 minute fight, he landed only 21 significant strikes and only 12 of those came at distance. Teymur did have some trouble with the taller fighter, but he landed 40 of his 83 significant strike attempts and led the way throughout the contest. After dropping his first three fights in the Octagon, it was nice of Teymur to get on track with a win. However, it did not really show any stylistic improvements from the kickboxer.
Neither fighter landed with very much volume, and therefore Teymur did not put up a high DraftKings score despite the victory. He finished with 55 points, which was the lowest score for a winning fighter on the night.
