This article is part of our Fight Stat Wrap series.
UFC made a rare trip to Florida over the weekend. In the main event, Jack Hermansson picked up the biggest victory of his career over former Strikeforce champion Jacare Souza. In the co-main event, a controversial former NFL player took another step forward with a quick victory. 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.
Jack Hermansson runs up the striking numbers against Jacare Souza
Hermansson came into this fight with some of the best striking numbers among ranked middleweights, and he certainly got it done with his striking against "Jacare." He outlanded the former Strikeforce champion 148 to 90 on significant strikes in the 25-minute fight. However, the way he did it was pretty surprising. Prior to this fight, Hermansson had done most of his striking on the floor. In this fight, he got it done at distance. He outlanded Souza 120 to 74 at distance and cruised to a decision victory.
Not only did Hermansson picked up the biggest victory of his career, but he also had the highest DraftKings score on the night. He earned players 122 points based on his 148 significant strikes, three takedowns and one pass. It was an all around good night for "The Joker."
Greg Hardy takes care of business against Dmitrii Smoliakov
Against overmatched opponents, this is what Hardy looks like. He bowled over Smoliakov in a little over two minutes. He finished by landing 14 of his 30 significant strike attempts. Smoliakov, on the other hand, landed only a single significant strike and failed on a pair of takedowns.
Hardy finished with 97 points on DraftKings. Even though his UFC debut was not overly impressive, he should be able to rack up some high DFS scores against this level of competition.
Mike Perry stays ahead of Alex Oliveira
Perry has had issued with well seasoned strikers in the past, but he was able to get it done here against Oliveira. Perry outlanded his opponent 65 to 48 on significant strikes, and he had the advantage in all three rounds. Not only did Perry land more, but he was much more accurate and economical. He attempted 27 fewer significant strikes than Oliveira, but he landed 59 percent of his attempts to take the fight.
Despite showing serious power in four of his first five UFC fights, Perry has had trouble stopping fights since. This fight was another example of that, and it kept his score on the DraftKings relatively low. He finished with 65.5 points, which was the 11th highest score of the night.
Glover Teixeira goes to the ground to defeat Ion Cutelaba
The first round of this fight was really tough for Teixeira. Cutelaba outlanded him 43 to 10 on significant strikes, and he appeared on the way towards taking the decision. The second round was a totally different story. Teixeira got back into form with his striking before going to work on the floor. He landed five of his eight significant ground strike attempts, passed guard three times and finished the fight via decision.
Despite being on the losing end for a long portion of the fight, Teixeira came through with a strong score on DraftKings. He earned players 94 points, which was the sixth highest score of the night. He has moved to a more submission based style at this point in his career, which will likely work out for DFS players since the game places such a high value on finishes.
Cory Sandhagen edges John Lineker in terms of significant strikes and on the cards
Scoring fights is a little bit more complicated than looking at whoever lands the most strikes. If it was that simple, Sandhagen deserved the decision since he outlanded Lineker 120 to 106 on significant strikes, and he had the advantage in the first two rounds. However, Lineker seemed to be the one landing the harder strikes throughout the contest. This is a similar occurrence for Lineker, since he regular ignores volume in favor of power. That appeared to cost him here against Sandhagen.
Due to the striking volume, it was clear that Sandhagen would have a top score on DraftKings. He finished with an even 100 points, which was the fourth highest score of the night.
Roosevelt Roberts shows off a solid game against Thomas Gifford
Roberts showed off a solid game here against Gifford. He was able to edge his opponent 31 to 24 on significant strikes at distance. Some of his best work came on the ground. He was able to score takedowns in both the first and third rounds. From the top position, Roberts was able to pass guard six times and land 19 significant strikes. Overall this was an impressive performance from Roberts.
For the victory, Roberts earned players 84.5 points on DraftKings. He is now 2-0 in the UFC, and he has put up significant points in both outings.
