This article is part of our Fight Stat Wrap series.
In the main event of UFC 209, welterweight champion Tyron Woodley defended his title against Stephen Thompson. Their first fight was a close affair that ended in a draw. Once again, these two fought to a close decision, but the fight was more lackluster than anything. Thankfully the rest of the main card was action packed. 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.
Tyron Woodley edges Stephen Thompson in uneventful main event
It is pretty amazing that Thompson employed basically the same strategy against Woodley in the rematch. For the majority of the fight, he was able to stay on the outside and fight at his desired range. However, he simply did not do enough to win rounds. Woodley pretty clearly won rounds three and five. In the other rounds, Thompson slightly outlanded Woodley 26 to 22 on significant strikes. He never landed enough to sway the judges or do any real damage to the champion.
Woodley is never very active. In this fight, he landed 2.16 significant strikes per minute, which is below his career rate of 2.51. It is puzzling that he attempted only two takedowns, since his best success in both fights came when he was on the top. In two fights against Thompson, Woodley has landed 38 percent of his significant strikes on the ground but only attempted three takedowns.
Woodley remains a bit of a enigma for DFS players. While he has the power to knock out anyone with a single blow, he often ends up in fights with little or no action. Although, despite the lackluster performance, he still finished with 75 DraftKings points, which was eighth best on the night. As champion, the potential for longer fights makes him a less risky pick.
David Teymur upsets Lando Vannata
Teymur came into this fight as the second biggest underdog on the card. His purchase price on DraftKings was only $6,900, yet he ended up handily taking the decision. It was a close fight, as both landed hard shots. However, Teymur was always one step ahead in the striking game. He ended up landing 90 significant strikes, while absorbing only 76. He also proved to be a bit of a takedown threat despite coming from a kickboxing background. Teymur ended up being the third best DraftKings value, as players paid only $81.18 per point. In his three UFC fights, he has averaged 94 points per game.
Dan Kelly takes decision over former champion Rashad Evans
Kelly simply outworked Evans on the way to a decision victory. He threw 115 more strikes than Evans and attempted twice as many takedowns. Kelly is never going to be a polished striker, but he has found a style that works for him. His striking style is used to set up his takedowns. Even though he could not drag the better wrestler to the ground, he was able to dictate the pace of the fight.
Evans performance in this fight is eerily similar to his fight against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. He really could not pull the trigger and get anything going offensively. During his career, Evans has been prone to bad days, but never against this level of competition. Since 2013, he has fought only three times and been outlanded 132 to 85 in terms of significant strikes.
Cynthia Calvillo makes quick work of Amanda Cooper in UFC debut
Prior to this fight, Calvillo had never scored a submission in her professional career, and she finished only one in her six-fight amateur career. For the performance, she earned 107.5 DraftKings points, which was second best, behind only Tyson Pedro. Cooper has struggled on the ground in her short UFC career. Both of her losses have come via first-round submissions.
Alistair Overeem relies on accuracy against Mark Hunt
Overeem is always extremely accurate. He holds the UFC record for significant strike accuracy at 74.5 percent. On Saturday, he did even better and landed 78 percent. Hunt was able to land a few of his trademark power shots, but Overeem did a good job on initiating a boxing style clinch whenever he entered Hunt's range. He landed 42 percent of his 55 significant strikes in the clinch. While the knockout came due to a vicious knee to the head, Overeem wore down his opponent to the body. He landed 55 percent of his significant strikes to the body
