UFC: 213 Recap

Rob Font vs. Douglas Silva De Andrade:

Round 1: Font controlled the entirety of the round. He connected with far more strikes. Font had 22 significant strikes to Silva De Andrade’s nine. Both had one takedown. Font attempted two submissions. Round 2: Slightly more even, but Font still had the strike advantage. Silva De Andrade seemed more aggressive, but could not find as many openings. Font got a takedown on Silva De Andrade and locked him in a guillotine. Silva De Andrade submitted.

Statistics:

- Font finished with a +47 strike advantage, focusing on the head 80 percent of the time.

- Strikes: Font-79-154, Silva De Andrade-32-98.

- Significant Strikes: Font-70-144, Silva De Andrade-28-93.

- Takedowns: Font-2-4, Silva De Andrade-2-2, Font 50 percent, Silva De Andrade 100 percent.

- Submission Attempts: Font-3, Silva De Andrade-0

- Control: Font-2:10, Silva De Andrade-00:12

Final Result: Font wins by submission.

Anthony Pettis vs. Jim Miller:

Round 1: Miller was aggressive early on. He held the strike advantage early and repeatedly kicked at Pettis’ leg. Pettis was not very aggressive, could not find an easy opening until about halfway through the round. He took control with a number of knees and kicks, backing Miller up against the cage wall. Pettis controlled basically the last three minutes of the round. He held strike advantage 34-20 in the round. All of his strikes were significant. They stayed on their feet the whole time but Miller attempted one takedown.

Round 2: Miller successfully took down Pettis, but Pettis countered into a triangle choke, but could not completely lock it in. A head kick busted Miller wide open. This allowed Miller to keep the control on top for a significant time. Miller controlled the ground, but could not lock in the rear naked choke. Pettis slipped out and gained top control. Pettis controlled for 2:11 of the round, Miller for 1:49. Pettis landed 31 strikes to Miller’s eight, with the significant strikes 15-7 in Pettis’ favor. Both had one takedown.

Round 3: Miller went back to the leg kick early in the round, but could not get in close to Pettis. He kept his distance, playing his game. Miller had to keep going back to the calf kick. Pettis got Miller in the clench and controlled the last two or so minutes of the round.

Statistics:

- Strikes: Pettis-107-150, Miller-51-113.

- Significant Strikes: Pettis-80-121, Miller-48-110.

- Takedowns: Pettis-1-2, Miller-1-4.

- No submissions.

- Control: Pettis 3:29, Miller 1:49.

Final Result: Pettis wins via unanimous decision.

Daniel Omielanczuk vs. Curtis Blaydes:

Round 1: Blaydes went for a takedown right off the bat, but could not muscle Omielanczuk to the ground. Blaydes played his game from the beginning, going for strong strikes and clenching his opponent. Both men played with heavy hands, going for strong punches throughout the round. Omielanczuk blocked every attempt at a takedown. Blaydes spent much of Round 1 trying to wear him down. Omielanczuk landed a lot of body kicks while in the clench. Overall, Blaydes landed more strikes, 35-27, but not as many significant strikes, 13-9. In five attempts, Blayde had no successful takedown.

Round 2: Early in the round it was apparent that Blaydes had a significant advantage in conditioning over Omielanczuk. Omielanczuk was on the defensive the entire time, but still blocked every attempt at a takedown. This round was uneventful, as Omielanczuk was fighting very defensively the entire time. Boos rained down at the end of the round from the crowd as not much happened.

Round 3: Both guys came out swinging. Omielanczuk landed multiple kicks and punches to the head. Blaydes continued to try and take him down, but once again could not get it done. Fatigue set in for Blaydes, as he was not as aggressive in this round. Omielanczuk just did not have the energy to mount much offense. He went for an ankle takedown but just couldn’t spin around in time and Blaydes was able to slip out.

Statistics:

- Control: Blaydes 5:38-00:02.

- Strikes: Blaydes 93-190, Omielanczuk 66-132.

- Significant Strikes: Blaydes 58-155, Omielanczuk 47-112.

- Takedowns: Blaydes 0-14, Omielanczuk 0-1.

- Zero submissions from either.

Final Result: Blaydes wins by unanimous decision.

Fabricio Werdum vs. Alistair Overeem:

Round 1: Overeem started with his hands low in an open stance. He was basically inviting Werdum to be aggressive. Both men felt each other out for a while before going in. Overeem seemed like he had no intention of going strike-for- strike with Werdum. Werdum connected with some strong body and leg kicks. He did a great job of keeping his distance, not taking Overeem’s bait. Werdum had a slight advantage in strikes landed, but neither man attempted many and neither man was accurate. There were no takedowns in the round.

Round 2: Overeem was able to take down Werdum a minute into the round, but could not get any offense in. Overeem smartly found his way back to his feet. Overeem became much more aggressive, landing some strong knees to the body. Werdum was stunned, but when he got back in it when they went to the ground. When they were both back up, Overeem was more aggressive. He did not just try and bait Werdum the entire time. The last two minutes of the round consisted of both men exchanging strong strikes. Werdum landed nice combinations early in round three. He knocked down Overeem with a combination and completely rattled him. Werdum took control from there with another takedown. He spent a lot of time in control on the ground.

Statistics:

- Total strikes: Werdum: 80-149, Overeem: 22-47.

- Significant Strikes: Werdum 34-100, Overeem: 18-41.

- Takedowns: Werdum 1-2, Overeem 0-0.

- No submission attempts.

- Control: Werdum 2:39, Overeem 1:22.

Final Result: Overeem wins by split decision (28-28, 29-28, 29-28).

Yoel Romero vs. Robert Whittaker (Interim Middleweight Championship):

Round 1: Neither man could find an opening for the first minute. Romero landed a few body kicks before finally taking Whittaker down. However, Whittaker could escape without spending too much energy. Whittaker’s takedown defense was great early on. Both men exchange strong kicks just before the end of the round. Whittaker’s left leg is significantly hurt from an inside leg kick. Romero connected with slightly more strikes, and got one takedown in the opening period.

Round 2: Romero spent a good amount of the round in control on the ground. Whittaker would not let him go, wearing him down with shots to the back. Romero took significant time to escape Whittaker’s leg scissors. Whittaker’s takedown defense is solid, but his legs are not doing him any good. Whittaker came back near the end of the round with some strong strikes. The round ended with a Romero takedown after significant time in the clench.

Round 3: Whittaker came out with strong strikes. He kept Romero on his heels and did not allow him to get offense in early on. He could continually get strikes in throughout the round. Romero got very little offense in compared to Whittaker. He threw very few strikes. He probably figured he won the first two rounds and was saving himself for the later rounds. Whittaker landed plenty of kicks to end the round.

Round 4: Whittaker lands a strong kick that rattles Romero. Romero desperately tries to take him down, with knees to the body to try and wear him down. He finally tried to go for a leg takedown, but Whittaker escaped unscathed. Again Romero did not go for many strikes. Whittaker stuns him with punches after defending another takedown. Romero was visibly exhausted by the end of the round.

Round 5: Both men came out in the final round throwing strikes. Romero is much more fatigued and has a hard time keeping up. He is still able to land some hard strikes. Towards the middle of the round both men appear completely gassed. Romero cannot defend the body kick, but he is able to land plenty of punches to the face. He is too tired to dodge and gets taken down. Whittaker controls the last minute of the round as both men exchange blows while on the ground.

Statistics:

- Control: Romero-5:15, Whittaker-1:33.

- Total Strikes: Romero-108-171, Whittaker-103-210.

- Significant Strikes: Romero-38-100, Whittaker-93-199.

- Takedowns: Romero-4- 4 Whittaker-0-0.

- No submissions

Final Result: Whittaker wins by unanimous decision

Whittaker will now challenge undisputed Middleweight Champion - Michael Bisping.

Photo Credit: MMA Weekly.