This article is part of our Fight Stat Wrap series.
UFC 211 turned out to be one of the better main cards in recent memory. In the main event, UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic avenged a previous defeat against Junior dos Santos. 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.
Stipe Miocic continues knockout tour of the UFC heavyweight division against Junior dos Santos
Miocic defended his title in style on Saturday night. This was his fifth-straight knockout and fourth consecutive one that landed in the first round. During the first-round knockout streak, he has landed 4.29 knockdowns per 15 minutes of fight time, which is simply incredible. In his first fight with dos Santos, Miocic only attempted 7.72 significant strikes per minute, which is well below his average. Striking volume was not an issue at UFC 211. In the rematch, the champion attempted 23.73 significant strikes per minute. Considering his power, his ability to throw that many strikes early in fights gives him a chance against virtually any heavyweight.
For DraftKings players, the ability to finish fights quickly is an extremely valuable asset. Miocic has tallied at least 90 points (first-round finish bonus) in each of his last four fights. On Saturday, he earned players 130 points, which includes his 26 landed significant strikes (13 points) and knockdown (10 points).
Joanna Jedrzejczyk outlands Jessica Andrade by 142 significant strikes
Jedrzejczyk has landed at least 171 or more significant strikes in each of her last four fights. On Saturday, she landed 225 significant strikes, while absorbing only 83. Her career striking differential -- significant strikes landed per minute minus significant strikes absorbed per minute -- stands at 4.44. Against fighters not named Claudia Gadelha, that number bumps up even higher to 4.91. The champion has shown that she is simply a step ahead of her opponents in the striking game. Jedrzejczyk also has the takedown defense to go along with her style. Against Andrade she stopped eight of 10 takedown attempts, which is right in line with her career number of stopping 81 percent of opponents' attempts.
Unlike Miocic, Jedrzejczyk is not going to score a lot of first-round finishes. However, her volume makes her a great addition to any DraftKings team. Her 225 strikes alone earned player 112.5 points. That said, she will likely be a huge favorite over whoever she is matched up against next, so she might be too pricey to fit into a quality lineup.
Demian Maia survives and advances over Jorge Masvidal
After absorbing only 13 significant strikes over his previous four fights, Maia had to deal with some serious adversity from Masvidal. "Gamebred" ended up outlanding Maia 39 to 23 on significant strikes in the fight. However, Maia's positional dominance was simply too much for Masvidal to handle. The grappler's ability to take the back from any position was the story of this fight. He converted only four of 12 on his takedown attempts, but was always able to pull guard, scramble and reverse position.
Maia's next fight is likely to come against champion Tyron Woodley. The champion is clearly the better wrestler and will be able to keep the fight standing. Maia's only hope would be to outlast Woodley's early onslaught and score a late submission. For these reasons, DFS players should probably avoid Maia the next time out.
Frankie Edgar runs through Yair Rodriguez
Throughout his UFC career, Edgar has been an absolute buzzsaw when he is not matched against the very best fighters in the division. He showed that again against Rodriguez. In both rounds, he ended up on top and did incredible work. Of his 72 landed significant strikes, he landed 69 of those on the ground. His ability to generate power and land meaningful blows from the top position really separates him from other featherweights.
Any time a DraftKings player can fit Edgar into a lineup, they should do it. He lands at a high volume in almost all of his fights. On top of that, he has shown some sneaky late round finishing ability, which can be a deciding factor in close games. Edgar earned players 114 points for this performance.
David Branch does just enough against Krzysztof Jotko
This was a tough fight to watch. Neither fighter really had the edge in any single area. It was clear that Branch wanted the fight on the ground as he attempted seven takedowns and failed on five of those attempts. The fighters combined to miss 140 significant strike attempts during the 15-minute fight. Branch landed 93 total strikes, but only 39 were judged to be significant by FightMetric.
Unless he has a clear edge in the submission game over an opponent, DFS players should avoid David Branch. Even during his run in World Series of Fighting, he never showed very much point scoring activity.
