This article is part of our Fight Stat Wrap series.
The UFC returned to Mexico City for third season finale of "The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America." Many fighters have been outspoken about their desire not fight in the city's extreme altitude, but that did not stop the main eventers from putting on a memorable show. 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 FightMetric.com.
Tony Ferguson rides his volume striking a decision over Rafael dos Anjos
Ferguson has always been a volume striker. For his UFC career, he lands 5.23 significant strikes per minute. However, over his last three fights, he has taken things to the extreme. For those bouts, he is landing 8.10 per minute. Against Dos Anjos, he landed 199 strikes on 401 attempts. That output is impressive for any fight, but it is incredible considering the oppressive altitude in Mexico City.
Another underrated aspect of Ferguson's performance was his ability to stone Dos Anjos' takedown attempts. The former NCWA Champion has always been a solid wrestling, but coming into this fight, he had given up seven takedowns in 11 fights. Dos Anjos attempted five takedowns and never really came close. Wrestling has always been an underrated part of the former champion's game. In two of his biggest wins, against Anthony Pettis and Nate Diaz, he scored 11 takedowns and controlled the pace of the fight. Ferguson did not allow that to happen, and he forced it to remain a striking battle.
In his previous fight, Dos Anjos had his worst striking performance of his UFC career against Eddie Alvarez, per StrikeScore, a proprietary stat that measures striking efficiency. In some ways, he bounced back against FergusonWithout the threat out of a takedown, however, he could not come out on top in a striking battle.
Diego Sanchez takes advantage of style matchup
For the first time since 2010, Sanchez was able to outland an opponent. He landed 46 significant strikes against Marcin Held while absorbing only 30. Sanchez had gone six-straight fights without outlanding an opponent. During the stretch, he had been outlanded 328 to 184.
Held, who normally relies on his ground game, actually had the striking advantage in the first round. He outlanded Sanchez 23 to 17, but decided against keeping the striking assault going. The Polish fighter spent most of the next two rounds on the ground hunting for submissions. He has been able to best quality fighters like Patricky Freire and Alexander Sarnavskiy in that manner, but Sanchez has always been a plus grappler and that showed here.
Ricardo Lamas catches Charles Oliveira
At the start of this year, Oliveira had only been submitted one time. Now, he has been tapped three times following back-to-back submission losses via guillotine at the hands of Anthony Pettis and Lamas. During his combined UFC/WEC career, Lamas has scored three submission victories on thirteen attempts.
Martin Bravo takes TUF season championship over Claudio Puelles
Bravo became the first person to win a season of The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America with a knockout. The previous four winners all took the season crown via decision. He outlanded Puelles 56 to 29 before finishing. Following the victory, Bravo returned to the Fight Matrix rankings as the No. 170 lightweight. His previous high ranking was the No. 232 featherweight. Bravo has already indicated he plans to return to the 145-pound division.
Beneil Dariush shuts down. Rashid Magomedov en route to decision victory
Dariush handed Magomedov his first UFC defeat, and he did it with defense. By pushing for the clinch and controlling distance, Dariush held Magomedov to his worst significant strikes per minute of UFC career, 2.73. Prior to this fight, Magomedov was landing 4.59 per minute.
In his last two fights, Dariush has also showed that he can win fights against respectable opposition without getting takedowns. In those fights, he Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt went zero-for-seven on takedown attempts, but still managed to get the wins. Against Magomedov, Dariush did his best work in the clinch as he outlanded his opponent 35 to 13 in that position.
Alexa Grasso rides big first round to decision over Heather Jo Clark
Grasso came out and landed 30 significant strikes in the first round against Clark. It appeared as if Clark was basically done, and she would not survive the following rounds. However, Grasso's output fell off a cliff, and Clark made the final bell. Finishing has never been a huge part of Grasso's game. During her four-fight Invicta FC career, she won three decisions and only stopped Alida Gray in 2014.
