This article is part of our Fight Stat Wrap series.
The UFC's first trip to Uruguay was mostly built around the top two fights on the card. While the fighters in the co-main event came through with an exciting fight, the main event was not overly impressive. Despite a rough finish, the main card of UFC Uruguay still featured some significant statistical occurrences. 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.
Valentina Shevchenko edges Liz Carmouche's historically low volume
Shevchenko's recent run at flyweight cemented her as one of the top female fighters on the planet. She rightfully was a big favorite here against Carmouche, but this performance did not do very much to inspire fan interest. The champion stayed on the outside for most of the 25 minutes, where she outlanded the challenger 42 to 18 on significant strikes. Carmouche's total was the ninth-fewest significant strikes landed in a 25-minute fight in UFC history. Shevchenko was never in danger of losing a round, but her performance was far from dominant.
After Shevchenko bested Jessica eye with a highlight reel finish, many expected her to have another vintage performance here and put up a high DraftKings score. Instead, she scored only 65 points, which was the second-lowest score for a winning fighter on the night.
Vicente Luque wins battle of attrition over Mike Perry
Many expected this to be a serious battle, and that turned out to be the case. Perry ended up edging Luque on significant strikes with a slight 87 to 84 advantage. The judges must have appreciated Luque's leg kicks. He landed 35 of his significant strikes to Perry's legs, while 56 of Perry's 84 landed significant strikes were headshots. Either way this fight lived up to expectations, and it will lead to bigger and better things for Luque. Despite the loss, Perry will keep his reputation as an action fighter, but he will likely be out of action with a badly broken nose for some time.
While this was probably the most exciting fight on the night, that did not really translate into a very high DraftKings score. Luque earned players 72 points, as he only scored with his significant strikes and the decision win bonus.
Luiz Eduardo Garagorri flexes standup against Humberto Bandenay
Garagorri was much more confident thanks in part to the hometown crowd. He also was clearly the better standing striker. At distance, he outlanded Bandenay 51 to 26. Bandenay did have some success with his wrestling as he landed four out of his 10 takedown attempts. However, he could not hold position on the floor and failed to land a significant ground strike.
Garagorri finished with 70.5 points based on his significant strikes, one pass and one takedown. He likely would have finished with a higher score if he was able to keep the fight standing and make more of an impact with his strikes.
Volkan Oezdemir bests Ilir Latifi across the board
This was a very one-sided fight, and that certainly comes across on the stat sheet. Oezdemir outlanded Latifi 64 to 18 in terms of significant strikes. 44 of those 64 strikes landed to the head. He scored knockdowns in both the first and second rounds. After scoring the second knockdown, his opponent could not get back to his feet.
Thanks greatly to his pair of knockdowns, Oezdemir finished with the highest DraftKings score of the night. He earned players 122 points and was one of only four fighters to break the 100-point barrier on the night. He was a big favorite coming into the night, and he paid off for his high price.
Rodolfo Vieira relies on submission game to win UFC debut over Oskar Piechota
Vieira had an extensive and impressive grappling career before ever making his MMA debut. As you might expect, things are still a work in progress in the striking battle. At distance and in the clinch, Piechota outlanded Vieira 20 to six. However, it was not really a fair fight on the ground. In the second round, Vieira appeared to be running out of gas. He still landed his third takedown of the fight, quickly passed to side and locked in the fight ending arm-triangle choke. Vieira will need to continue to learn on the job, but this was an impressive UFC debut.
Fighters who can put up points with their grappling and still finish are inherently valuable in DFS. Vieira scored with four passes and three takedowns before finishing via submission. He earned players 106 points on DraftKings, which was the third-highest score of the night.
Enrique Barzola edges Bobby Moffett in a close fight
The striking battle in this fight was about as close as it could be. Moffett had the overall advantage 90 to 83 on significant strikes. Each round was close, with Barzola taking the first 28 to 24 and Moffet taking round two (33 to 28) and three (33 to 27). However, there were a few things working in Barzola's favor in the eyes of the judges. First, he threw more strikes. He attempted more strikes in the first two rounds, which usually make an impression on the arbitrators. Plus, he landed three of his seven takedown attempts. He never really established position on the ground or landed any meaningful strikes, but it still gave him some activity over his opponents.
This was an action fight and Barzola finished with 86.5 points on DraftKings. Prior to this fight, he was much more interested in wrestling and put up a lot of points with his takedowns. He scored three in this bout, but some players may have been hoping for more.
