Gracie is arguably the most accomplished mixed martial artist to compete under the name of Brazilian jiu-jitsu’s first family, but enters the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, having gone 3-3 in his last six fights and looking to prove he is still a top 170-pound contender. Yamauchi has been one of Bellator’s best and most entertaining fighters since his debut at Bellator 99 nine years ago, but will be making his welterweight debut after having missed weight at 145 as well as 155 pounds. He will seek to demonstrate on Friday that he has finally found his divisional home, and that his elite skills can work on an opponent with the size and pedigree of Gracie.
As two of the most prolific submission artists in Bellator history prepare to square off, a look at the numbers that have defined their careers so far:
33: Years of age for Gracie, who was born Neiman Gracie Stambowsky on Dec. 12, 1988, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is the son of legendary grappler Marcio Stambowsky and Carla Gracie, daughter of Robson Gracie, making him a fourth-generation scion of the family.
9: Consecutive victories to open Gracie’s career, leading up to and including his submission win over Ed Ruth in the quarterfinals of Bellator’s 2018 welterweight grand prix. In his next fight, Gracie met reigning champ Rory MacDonald and dropped a unanimous decision, setting up a pattern of alternating wins and losses that has continued ever since.
12: Bellator appearances for Gracie, who joined the promotion after fighting twice in World Series of Fighting, predecessor to today’s Professional Fighters League.
29: Years of age for Yamauchi, who was born on Jan. 5, 1993, in Anjo, Japan. Yamauchi’s Japanese father and Japanese-Brazilian mother immigrated to Brazil when he was three years old.
15: Straight bouts before Yamauchi competed outside Brazil. He went 14-1 over that span, earning a contract with Bellator and his first fight in the United States. Since then, he has also fought in Italy—and finally, on Dec. 29, 2019, his native Japan.
16: Combined submission wins in Bellator for Gracie and Yamauchi, the highest such total for a pair of opponents in promotional history. Gracie’s seven subs tie him with A.J. McKee for second most in Bellator history, behind Yamauchi’s record of nine.
.789: Career rate of victory by submission for Gracie (nine of 11) and Yamauchi (21 of 27), a couple of true specialists whose finishing ability has carried over even as they have faced higher and higher-level opposition.
0: Losses by finish for either man. Gracie’s three career setbacks and Yamauchi’s five have all come via the judges; until Yamauchi’s split-decision loss to Dan Moret at Bellator 256 last April, all had been unanimous.
61: Seconds for Yamauchi to pull off his quickest submission under the Bellator banner. He has done so twice: Musa Toliver fell victim to a rear-naked choke in Yamauchi’s promotional debut on Sept. 13, 2013, while Ryan Couture tapped out to an armbar at a similar round and time, three years later at Bellator 162.
13: Rear-naked choke finishes by Yamauchi, accounting for 61% of his total submission victories. Not that Gracie is far behind on the list of fighters one does not want on one’s back—Gracie’s three lion-killers, when combined with two neck cranks that began as rear-naked chokes, make up 55% of his submissions.