By the Numbers: Emmanuel Sanchez vs. Tywan Claxton

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Former Bellator MMA featherweight title challenger Emmanuel Sanchez will collide with Tywan Claxton in San Jose, California, on Sept. 7 at Bellator 226. Learn more about their matchup through the numbers below.

Current or former Bellator champions fought

Claxton may be a surging prospect with an unblemished record, but the experience in higher level competition certainly belongs to Sanchez. The man they call “El Matador” has fought current or past Bellator titleholders including Patricio Freire, Daniel Straus, Marcos Galvao and Pat Curran. He’s also shared the cage with former grand prix winner Daniel Weichel.

Claxton, on the other hand, has yet to stand opposite a current or former Bellator champion.

Age and overall MMA experience

There isn’t much difference between Sanchez and Claxton in terms of age. The former just celebrated his 29th birthday on Aug. 11 while the latter will be turning 27 on Nov. 25. But when it comes to experience, Sanchez has been in the game six years longer than Claxton.

“El Matador” made his pro debut on Nov. 19, 2011 at an event called Fight Night - Round 17 - Clash at the College. He defeated one-time World Series of Fighting lightweight Matt Church by decision that day. Sanchez would compete for different promotions before eventually getting signed by Bellator where he debuted on Oct. 10, 2014. His current professional record is 18-4.

Meanwhile, all five of Claxton’s fights have been under the Bellator banner. He debuted on Nov. 3, 2017, winning via a first-round flying knee over Jonny Bonilla-Bowman. After that, he compiled four straight victories for an overall record of 5-0.

Wins by knockout

After 22 professional fights and 18 wins, Sanchez has only scored one knockout. That was against Gustavo Rodriguez back in January 2014.

Claxton, on the other hand, has scored four. The Strong Style Fight Team standout started his career with a pair of knockouts before decisioning Cris Lencioni and bouncing back with two more knockouts. Apart from Bonilla-Bowman, he has also starched Jose Antonio Perez, Kaeo Meyer and James Bennett.

Wins by submission

What Sanchez lacks in knockout power, he most certainly makes up for with his ground game. The Roufusport product owns seven victories by submission, five of which came in the first round. His most notable victims are Sam Sicilia and Straus. He has also tapped out Stephen Banaszak, Brady Hovermale, Jose Pacheco, Travis Johnson and Juan Carlos Rodriguez. As for Claxton, he is yet to stop anyone by submission so far in his career.

Career losses

Claxton has yet to taste defeat after five bouts. Meanwhile, the more experienced Sanchez has lost four times in his career and all were by decision. He bowed to Curran, Weichel and Freire in a title showdown. His lone setback outside of Bellator was to Lewis Gonzales in an event called West Coast Fighting Championship in Sacramento, California.