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Kang has won six of his past seven bouts and enters the cage on the strength of a three-fight winning streak. “Mr. Perfect” last appeared on Dec. 21, 2019, when he eked out a three-round split decision over Pingyuan Liu at UFC Fight Night 165. Yahya, meanwhile, owns a 12-4-1 record in the UFC. The 2007 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist last competed at UFC Fight Night 187, where he submitted Ray Rodriguez with an arm-triangle choke in the second round of their March 13 pairing.
As the Kang-Yahya confrontation approaches, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
33: Years of age for Kang, who was born on Sept. 9, 1987 in Busan, South Korea.
11: Kang victories by submission, accounting for 65% of his career total (17). His methods of choice: five rear-naked chokes, three triangle chokes, two armbars and one arm-triangle choke. Kang holds two other victories by knockout or technical knockout and four more by decision.
1.06: Submission attempts from Kang per 15 minutes of UFC competition, placing him fifth on the organization’s active list at 135 pounds. Only Yahya (1.61), Alex Caceres (1.47), Marlon Vera (1.46) and Nathaniel Wood (1.10) rank ahead of him in the category.
52: Seconds needed by Kang to prompt a corner stoppage against Kil Woo Lee at a Road Fighting Championship event on July 24, 2011. Having taken place more than a decade ago, it remains the fastest finish of his 26-fight career.
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5: UFC fights in which Kang has secured multiple takedowns. He sports a 3-1 record with one no contest in those five appearances, his wins over Liu, Brandon Michael Davis and Shunichi Shimizu offset by his loss to Chico Camus.
36: Years of age for Yahya, who was born on Sept. 12, 1984 in Brasilia, Brazil.
21: Yahya wins by submission, accounting for 78% of his career total (27). His methods of choice: five arm-triangle chokes, three north-south chokes, two guillotine chokes, two rear-naked chokes, two kimuras, one Peruvian necktie, one armbar, one keylock, one triangle choke, one Ezekiel choke, one brabo choke and one heel hook. Yahya owns six other wins by decision.
25: Takedowns completed by Yahya as a UFC bantamweight, tying him with Dominick Cruz for fifth on the promotion’s all-time list at 135 pounds. Only Merab Dvalishvili (46), Ricky Simon (33), Brett Johns (29) and Urijah Faber (26) have executed more.
1: Stalemate on the Yahya resume. He fought to a three-round majority draw with “The Ultimate Fighter Latin America” Season 2 winner Enrique Barzola at UFC Fight Night 170 on March 14, 2020.
200: Combined victories between the 10 men—Simon, Fredson Paixao, Gesias Cavalcante, Chase Beebe, Norifumi Yamamoto, Joseph Benavidez, Takeya Mizugaki, Chad Mendes, Tom Niinimaki and Joe Soto—who have defeated Yaha. They boast a cumulative winning percentage of .699 (200-81-5).