This article is part of our Fight Stat Wrap series.
In the main event of UFC 230, heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier dominated Derrick Lewis and retained his title. Also on the main card, a middleweight prospect took another step forward with a stunning performance. 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.
Daniel Cormier easily dispatches Derrick Lewis
Cormier was about as dominant as expected against Lewis. He was able to impose his will with his wrestling. DC landed all four of his takedown attempts and 14 of his 19 significant strikes came on the floor. While he may not be known as a grappler, he took care of business on the ground. He passed guard four times and finished the bout via rear-naked choke in the second round. Lewis had no answers for anything in this fight and finished with only four significant strikes.
Thanks to his dominance, Cormier finished with the second highest DraftKings score of the night with 111.5 points. In addition to the 70-point second-round finish bonus, he scored via 19 significant strikes, four passes and four takedowns. While Cormier has mostly used his striking as of late, in this fight, he diversified his offense, which led to a high score.
Ronaldo Souza finishes Chris Weidman in the third round
In the opening frame, it looked like Weidman was going to have his way in this fight. He outlanded Souza 23 to 14 on significant strikes. However, the third round turned out to be the story of the fight. "Jacare" outlanded Weidman 29 to 19, scored a knockdown and finished the fight. Overall for the fight, Souza slightly outlanded Weidman 74 to 68 on significant strikes. The Brazilian has now outlanded all of his opponents since falling against middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in 2017.
By picking up the third-round knockout and finish, Souza earned players 92 points on DraftKings. He does appear to be slowing down in his career, but with this performance he showed that he will continue to be a respectable point scorer in DFS.
Jared Cannonier upsets and stops David Branch
Branch clearly wanted this fight on the floor. In the first round, he landed three of his nine takedown attempts, but he was still outlanded 13 to nine on significant strikes. The second round was a different story. He failed on his only takedown attempt, and Cannonier took control and the fight. He scored a knockdown, outlanded Branch 13 to one and finished the fight. This was Cannonier's first fight at middleweight after previously competing in the UFC at light heavyweight and heavyweight.
Cannonier originally came into this event as an undercard fighter but ended up putting up the fifth highest score of the night. His 98.5 points show that he might actually be a factor at this lower weight. With that being said, players should be cautious going forward since this might be a one-fight aberration.
Karl Roberson does enough to edge Jack Marshman
Roberson showed that he was a better striker than Marshman. It was a close fight, but he stayed ahead of his opponent at distance. For the fight, he outlanded Marshman 24 to 19 at distance. He also complemented his standing striking attack with some ground fighting. He landed takedowns in the second and third rounds and added five ground strikes to seal the fight.
Staying slightly ahead of your opponent is a great way to win fights. However, it rarely leads to high scores in DFS. Roberson's 66 points on DraftKings, was the lowest score among winners on the night.
Israel Adesanya puts on a show against Derek Brunson
In this fight Adesanya certainly lived up to the hype. He landed 13 significant strikes, three knockdowns and finished the fight. He stopped seven of Brunson's takedown attempts and forced Brunson to miss 11 of his 14 significant strike attempts. This was a fully dominant performance.
Any time a fighter scores three knockdowns and finishes the fight in the first round, they are likely going to have the highest score of the night. That is certainly the case here with Adesanya. He earned players 126.5 points, which was not only the highest score of the night, but also the 24th highest score of 2018.
