This article is part of our Fight Stat Wrap series.
The UFC made their first ever visit to New Brunswick, Canada on Saturday for UFC Fight Night 138. In the main event, Anthony Smith continued his surprising late-career run to a title shot with a third-round submission victory over Volkan Oezdemir. On the undercard, Sean Strickland finished with the highest DraftKings score of the night. He earned 115.5 points for his victory over Nordine Taleb. 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.
Anthony Smith stages third-round comeback against Volkan Oezdemir
On the broadcast, the announcers said that Smith's plan was to wait out the first two rounds and come alive in the latter stages of the fight. In the first round, Oezdemir slightly outlanded him on significant strikes 27 to 26. However, it was clear he wanted to grapple, and he failed on a pair of takedowns. In the second round, Oezdemir took over the fight. He outlanded Smith 30 to 9 on significant strikes and scored a takedown. He held top position until the end of the round, and it appeared the fight was turning his direction.
The third round was a different story. Smith got to work with his standing striking game. He landed 28 significant strikes and turned the tide of the bout. He scored a takedown and worked his way to the back. Even though, he landed only one significant ground strike in the fight, he was able pass Oezdemir's guard and complete the comeback via rear-naked choke submission.
Smith finished with 84.5 DraftKings points, which was tied for the ninth-highest score of the night. His lack of activity in the first two rounds kept him from compiling a higher score. With that being said, Smith still earned players a respectable mark.
Michael Johnson easy took a striking battle against Artem Lobov
This fight played out almost entirely at distance. Johnson landed 99 significant strikes with 98 coming at distance, while Lobov landed 67 significant strikes with 66 coming at distance. At that range, Johnson clearly had the advantage. Lobov tried to wade through strikes and land power. However, Johnson controlled distance well and pieced him up. In the final round, Johnson seemed to have more in the tank, and he outpaced Lobov 31 to 14 on significant strikes.
Johnson made it a point to stay ahead of Lobov in the striking. While this helped him take home the decision, it did not really help him in terms of DraftKings. He earned players 84.5 DraftKings points based mostly on his 99 significant strikes and one takedown.
Misha Cirkunov stops Patrick Cummins' takedowns and finishes
Early in the fight, Cirkunov stopped multiple takedown attempts from Cummins. You got the feel that the fight was basically over at that point. He landed 10 significant strikes on the feet before taking the fight to the ground. From there, he quickly took superior position and finished via submission. In his UFC career, Cummins has never won a fight without landing a takedown. He has advanced stylistically, but against a fighter like Cirkunov, he really needed to get the top position.
In all five of his UFC wins, Cirkunov has finished his opponent. This was his quickest finish to date, and helped him finish with a strong score on DraftKings. He earned players 103.5 points based on the first-round finish bonus, 11 significant strikes, a pass and a takedown.
Andre Soukhamthath relies on strategy for win over Jonathan Martinez
After his previous loss to Sean O'Malley, Soukhamthath appeared to be have a weakness in terms of fight IQ. However, here he seemed to prove that wrong (at least for one fight). He got out to a big lead in the first round, where he outlanded Martinez 33 to 17 on significant strikes and registered a pair of knockdowns. However, Martinez got back on track and outlanded Soukhamthath 43 to 34. In the final round, Soukhamthath went to his grappling to seal the fight. He landed three takedowns and iced the fight.
The wild nature of this fight left Soukhamthath with a full stat sheet. Thanks largely to a pair of knockdowns, he earned 107.5 points. The score was the third-highest one of the night.
Gian Villante wins razor thin decision over Ed Herman
From a stats perspective, the most interesting thing about this fight is how close it ended up being. Herman threw 223 significant strikes and landed 84. Villante threw 217 and landed 81. Most of the fight took place on the feet, so that was pretty much the story of the bout. In the end, the judges decided to hand it Villante.
While both fighters had above average striking output, there really wasn't much else in the fight. Villante finished with 70.5 DraftKings points, which was better than only two other winners on the card.
Court McGee surprises Alex Garcia with second-round knockdown and finishes decision
For years, McGee has been grinding his opponents down in the UFC. In this fight, he went to the clinch a lot and attempted six takedowns. He landed two, which greatly contributed to his win. In the second round, McGee shocked Garcia with some striking and landed a knockdown. From there, he went back to the grind and finished out the decision. He ended up landed 51 significant strikes with 26 coming on the ground.
McGee finished with 92.5 DraftKings points, which was the eighth-highest score of the night. While he only landed 51 significant strikes, he also filled up the stat sheet with grappling points, which left him with a quality score.
