This article is part of our Fight Stat Wrap series.
After early reports that she was struggling with the weight cut, Joanna Jedrzejczyk put on another vintage performance and took a one-sided decision over Michelle Waterson in the main event of UFC Tampa. The card turned out to be the second-longest UFC event ever in terms of cage time with 2:57:27, per UFC stats analyst Michael Carroll. 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.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk dominates Michelle Waterson in the standup
Going into this fight, it was clear that if it remained standing, Jedrzejczyk would have a big advantage. That certainly turned out to be the case. The former champion outlanded Waterson 132 to 44 on significant distance strikes and 48 to 14 on significant clinch strikes. Waterson did score one takedown and one advance on the ground, but she was not able to change the tide of this fight. At 115 pounds, Jedrzejczyk is a challenge for anyone in the world. Newly crowned champion Weili Zhang might be next, and that is certainly an interesting bout between ace strikers.
Due to her volume striking dominance, Jedrzejczyk finished with the second-highest score on DraftKings. She earned players 135 points, which was behind only Mike Davis' 147.5 point performance on the undercard.
Cub Swanson gives Kron Gracie fits in the striking game
Gracie really needed to get this fight on the ground to be successful. He had some moments in the standup and really showed toughness. However, Swanson is a striker on another level and he outlanded Gracie 135 to 86 in terms of significant strikes. He made it a point to work the body throughout the contest and outlanded his opponent 40 to four on significant body shots. Gracie attempted only two takedowns and failed on both.
Swanson finished with the fifth-highest DraftKings score of the night and the second-highest score for a fighter who won via decision. His 97.5 points were due almost entirely to his significant strike total.
Niko Price scores rare finish over James Vick
The finish here really is the story. Price was able to finish Vick with a upkick from his back. This was only the second upkick knockout in UFC history. The first came in 2006 when Jon Fitch stopped Thiago Alves. Vick may need to take some time away from the sport. He is now riding a four-fight losing streak, and he has been stopped due to strikes in three of those fights. The other fight was a war against Paul Felder. He absorbed only 26 significant strikes total in those stoppage losses, so it might be a sign of a deteriorating chin.
Price earned DFS players 108.5 points on DraftKings. It was one of two first-round finishes on the card and one of four scores over the 100-point barrier.
Amanda Ribas ruins Mackenzie Dern's return to the Octagon
Dern made a quick return from maternity leave and perhaps it was too quick. She is still picking up the overall MMA game, and Ribas made sure to drive that point home. Ribas outlanded Dern 74 to 20 on significant strikes. Dern failed on all six of her takedowns, and she really couldn't implement her grappling when Ribas scored a pair of takedowns. Dern landed only 13 percent of her attempted significant strikes.
The brilliance of Ribas' domination did not really come across on DraftKings. She finished with only 78.5 points, which was only the 10th best score on the night.
Matt Frevola edges Luis Pena
This was a close fight. Pena took a slight overall edge on significant strikes 51 to 48. However, Frevola landed four of his seven takedown attempts, while Pena landed one of his two attempts and three reversals on the ground. Pena's best round was the second, where he outlanded Frevola 26 to 10 on significant strikes. Frevola had a slight striking edge in the first and third rounds.
For winning the close fight, Frevola took home 77 points on DraftKings. He was the betting underdog going into this fight, so players who selected him probably took it as a bonus despite the suboptimal score.
Eryk Anders escapes with decision over Gerald Meerschaert
Anders pulled out the victory despite being outlanded 72 to 64 on significant strikes. He had a small advantage in the first (15 to 13) and in the third (29 to 28), but this was another close fight. The judges awarded a split decision for the former college football player, but 13 of the 15 media scorecards tracked by MMADecisions had it for Meerschaert.
Anders finished with the second-lowest score for a winning fighter on the card on DraftKings. His 72.5 points were only above Max Griffin who also won via decision on the undercard and finished with 62 points.
