This article is part of our Fight Stat Wrap series.
The UFC returned to Las Vegas with a pay per view featuring three title fights, and UFC 245 certainly delivered. Two of the champions managed to retain their titles, while the featherweight division now has a new champion. 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.
Kamaru Usman never ran out of gas against Colby Covington
Perhaps the most shocking part of this fight was that neither fighter ended up going for a takedown. In the end, that probably contributed to Usman's success. For the last few fights, Covington has turned on his distancing striking volume after exhausting his opponents with wrestling. In this fight, he went to the volume without wrestling first. He attempted a whopping 395 significant strikes, but he landed only 36 percent of those attempts. On the other hand, Usman was more measured and landed 48 percent of his significant strike attempts. In the round, Usman landed 37 significant strikes and two knockdowns to finish the fight and retain his title.
Thanks to his striking volume, the length of the fight and the late finish, Usman finished with the highest DraftKings score of the night. He earned players 147.5 points. He came into the fight as a slight betting favorite, but he certainly outperformed his odds. Even in the loss, Covington put up 71.5 points, which was actually higher than two winning fighters on the night.
Alexander Volkanovski chews up the legs of Max Holloway
One of the big stories in this fight was Volkanovski's leg kicks. He made a concerted effort to the land to the legs, which slowed down Holloway significantly. Volkanovski landed 75 significant strikes to the legs. Those 75 strikes represented 47 percent of his landed significant strikes on the night. Holloway still managed to land 134 significant strikes, but he absorbed 157. That was the most he ever absorbed in a featherweight fight.
On a card with three five-round fights, all three of the winners finished with over 100 points on DraftKings, including Volkanovski. He finished with 108.5 points, which was the seventh-highest score of the night. The new champion is usually good for some grappling points, but this was basically a striking match.
Amanda Nunes takes Germaine de Randamie to school on the ground
Even though De Randamie is a dangerous kickboxer, Nunes was always going to have the ability to take the fight to the floor whenever she wanted. That turned out to be the story of the fight. De Randamie had some success in the second round, and then Nunes went to her grappling to salt away the fight. She landed eight of her 11 takedown attempts, five passes on the ground and two submission attempts. In terms of significant ground strikes, Nunes outlanded the challenger 62 to nine.
Nunes finished with the third-highest score on DraftKings. She earned players 124.5 points, but the score probably could have been even higher. After landing 42 significant strikes in the first round, she only landed 37 over the next four rounds as she went to her grappling. She was active, but the vast majority of her strikes on the ground were not deemed to be significant.
Marlon Moraes edges Jose Aldo in close fight
This fight was a lot closer than the announcer made it seem. After seeing Aldo cutting weight, many seemed to think he would have little to offer. He exceeded those expectations, but he was still outlanded in the first and third rounds by Moraes. Striking numbers are not everything, but Moraes outlanded Aldo 18 to 15 in the opening round and 20 to 15 in the third. The second round belongs to Aldo via a 28 to 21 count.
As is often the case with close fights, Moraes finished with only 67.5 points. It was the lowest score of the night for a winning fighter.
Petr Yan flexes power against Urijah Faber
Yan's power is a problem for the bantamweight division. He registered three knockdowns against Faber. In his previous fight, he dropped Jimmie Rivera twice. In his last two fights, he is averaging 2.92 knockdowns per 15 minutes of fight time. Faber managed to land only 18 significant strikes. He attempted 75 significant strikes but landed only 23 percent.
Bolstered by the three knockdowns, Yan finished with 115 points on DraftKings. It was the fourth-highest score of the night.
