I love useless statistics!
http://www.mmajunkie.com/news/2013/08/ufc-fight-night-26-preview-50-pre-fight-facts-for-shogun-vs-sonnen-in-boston UFC Fight Night 26 preview: 50 pre-fight facts for 'Shogun vs. Sonnen' in Boston
by Mike Bohn on Aug 13, 2013 at 2:45 pm ET
The UFC's highly anticipated debut event on FOX Sports 1 is just around the corner, and the world's premier MMA organization has put together a star-studded event in order to showcase its product on a different platform for the sixth time in less than two years.
From hosting events on Spike TV, Versus, FOX, FX and FUEL TV, the UFC has waited years for a permanent location for non-pay-per-view fight cards, and now they've found it.
On Saturday night, that home will officially become FOX Sports 1, and for the historic event, the company has loaded the card with big names and significant matchups.
Headlining the event is a light-heavyweight contest as hard-nosed wrestler
Chael Sonnen (27-13-1 MMA, 6-6 UFC) looks to pick up his first win at 205 pounds in more than eight years when he takes on former champion and one of the sport's most diverse knockout artists,
Mauricio Rua (21-7 MMA, 5-5 UFC).
Also,
Alistair Overeem (36-12 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and
Travis Browne (14-1-1 MMA, 5-1-1 UFC) meet in an important matchup for the future of the heavyweight division while
Urijah Faber (28-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) attempts to continue to work his way toward another bantamweight title shot when meets upset-minded
Yuri Alcantara (28-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC).
It may look like a top-heavy event, but Saturday's show from Boston's TD Garden has much more to offer as the 26 competitors have combined for 162 career UFC fights.
With all that time in the cage, the athletes have racked up more than a statistic or two of note, and this is where you can find them all in one handy place.
With the help of FightMetric, continue reading for 50 pre-fight facts going into "UFC Fight Night 26: Shogun vs. Sonnen."
MAIN EVENT: MAURICIO RUA VS. CHAEL SONNEN Rua and Sonnen share a combined UFC record of 11-11.
Rua's .500 UFC win percentage (5-5) is the lowest win percentage among top-10 ranked light heavyweight fighters. "Shogun" is winless (0-3) in his UFC career in fights that go to a decision.
Rua has defeated his opponent by knockout in 18 of his 21 professional victories with 16 of those stoppages coming in the first round. All five of Rua's UFC wins are by knockout, and he is tied for the fourth-most knockdowns landed in 205-pound history with six.
Rua's nine leg-lock-submission attempts in UFC/PRIDE competition are tied for second most in history behind
Rousimar Palhares (11 attempts).
Rua's 44% career takedown defense rate is 15 percentage points below the overall UFC average of 59%.
Sonnen has not earned a victory in the light-heavyweight division since July 9, 2005.
Sonnen has been finished by knockout or submission in 12 of his 13 professional defeats. His lone decision loss came in 2004.
Sonnen's 56.4% takedown accuracy as a middleweight is the fourth best in the division's history.
CO-MAIN EVENT: ALISTAIR OVEREEM VS. TRAVIS BROWNE Overeem will compete in his 50th professional MMA bout.
Overeem enters the event on the heels of his first defeat since September 2007, a knockout loss to
Antonio Silva at UFC 156 in February.
At 6-7, Travis Browne is the second tallest fighter on the UFC roster (
Stefan Struve).
URIJAH FABER VS. YURI ALCANTARA Urijah Faber is a 7-0 in his past seven non-title fights and is 0-5 in his past five title bouts.
Faber owns the longest average fight time in UFC bantamweight history at 15:43. He also owns the most total fight time in the division's history at 1:34:17.
Faber has connected with the second most significant strikes with 305, second only to interim bantamweight champion
Renan Barao (308). On the flip side, "The California Kid" has the highest significant strike defense rate in bantamweight history (67.3%).
Faber has earned 16 career submission victories, with 14 of them coming by rear-naked or guillotine chokes. His 10 submission victories in UFC/WEC competition are tied with
Nate Diaz for most in the modern era. Only
Royce Gracie (11) has more in UFC/WEC history.
Alcantara will fight outside of his home country of Brazil for just the second time in his 33-fight professional career.
Alcantara has earned 24 of his 28 professional victories by knockout or submission.
Alcantara is undefeated in two fights since dropping to the UFC bantamweight division.
REMAINING MAIN CARD Matt Brown's five-fight winning streak is tied for the third longest in the welterweight division behind
Johny Hendricks (six) and
Georges St-Pierre (11). His current streak is the longest of his 28-fight career.
Brown's seven knockout victories under the UFC banner are the most in welterweight history. He holds the highest significant strike accuracy of any 170-pound fighter in UFC history at 56.69%. "The Immortal" has scored six knockdowns in his UFC career, which is tied for fourth most in his weight class. He has finished his opponent by knockout or submission in 15 of his 17 professional wins.
Brown has also attempted the third most submissions in UFC welterweight history with 18, which is tied for third most behind Georges St-Pierre (22) and
Chris Lytle (31). Oppositely, the 32-year-old is one of only seven fighters in UFC history to have suffered four or more submission losses inside the octagon.
Mike Pyle, 37, is the oldest active fighter in the UFC welterweight division.
Pyle's four-fight winning streak is tied for the fourth longest in the 170-pound division. Part of that streak includes three consecutive first-round knockout victories, a feat no other UFC welterweight has ever accomplished.
Pyle's 73.5% takedown defense rate is fifth among active welterweight fighters.
John Howard returns to the UFC for the first time since June 2011. "Doomsday" went 4-3 in his first stint with the promotion and has gone 6-1 since his release.
Howard's knockout of
Dennis Hallman at the 4:55 mark of Round 3 at The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale is the latest knockout ever in a three-round UFC fight.
Uriah Hall will enjoy an eight-inch reach advantage over Howard, the largest margin of any matchup on the 13-bout card.
Joe Lauzon has the third shortest average fight time in lightweight history at 6:28.
Lauzon is tied with former middleweight champion
Anderson Silva for the most post-fight bonuses in UFC history at 12; he and/or his opponent have earned a post-fight bonus in his past nine UFC fights.
Lauzon has only fought to a decision once in his 30-fight career and has never won a fight that's gone the distance.
Michael Johnson has been submitted in six of his eight professional defeats.
PRELIMINARY CARD Brad Pickett has earned post-fight bonuses in four of his five UFC fights for a total of $220,000.
Michael McDonald is tied with three other fighters for the most knockdowns landed in bantamweight history with three.
Conor McGregor has never fought to a decision in his 15-fight career, with the longest bout of his career to date lasting 9:10. Twelve of his 13 career wins have come via knockout.
McGregor's 67-second knockout of
Marcus Brimage in his UFC debut was the fifth fastest knockout in UFC featherweight history. It was also the second fastest knockout by a debuting featherweight in UFC/WEC history, bested only by
Pablo Garza's 51-second KO of
Fredson Paixao at The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale.
Max Holloway, 21, is the youngest active fighter on the UFC roster.
Holloway owns a 78.4% takedown defense rate, which is second in featherweight history behind 145-pound titleholder
Jose Aldo (89.7%).
Holloway has landed 353 significant strikes in his UFC career, second in featherweight history behind
Nam Phan (483). "Blessed" is tied with three other fighters for the most knockdowns landed in featherweight history with three.
Holloway's 6.07 strikes landed per minute are the most of any fighter in featherweight history and second overall in UFC history behind
Cain Velasquez (6.50). His 71.3% significant strike defense is third best in UFC/WEC featherweight history.
Mike Brown will compete in just his third bout in a 24-month span.
Brown has landed 25 takedowns in his UFC/WEC career, more than any other 145-pound fighter in history. His 820 total strikes landed are the most ever by a UFC/WEC featherweight.
Steven Siler holds the record for third-most total strikes landed in UFC featherweight history at 444. "Super" has attempted seven submissions in his UFC career, third most in UFC/WEC featherweight history.
Of a combined 35 professional wins,
Diego Brandao and
Daniel Pineda have finished 32 of their opponents by knockout or submission.
Pineda is the only fighter in the past 50 UFC events to earn a kimura submission victory, a win that came against
Justin Lawrence in his most recent fight, at April's The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale. Pineda has the highest submission attempt average per 15 minutes of fighting rate of any fighter in featherweight history at 2.8.
Pineda has earned the third, fourth and sixth fastest submission wins in UFC featherweight history at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale, UFC on FX 1 and UFC on FX 2.
Pineda owns the shortest average fight time in the 145-pound division at 4:18.
Cole Miller will compete in his fourth bout since dropping to the featherweight division. He is 1-2 in his first three contests.
Miller's past six UFC victories are by submission, and his 21 submission attempts are the sixth most all-time in UFC history. His most recent decision win came against
Leonard Garcia in September 2007.
Miller's submission of
Jorge Gurgel at the 4:48 mark of Round 3 at UFC 86 is the latest submission victory ever in a three-round UFC fight.
At 6-3,
James Vick is tied with
Quinn Mulhern for tallest lightweight on the UFC roster.
For the latest on
UFC Fight Night 26, stay tuned to the
UFC Rumors section of the site.
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