By the Numbers: TUF 18 Finale

Tristen CritchfieldDec 01, 2013
Nate Diaz unloaded all over Gray Maynard. | Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images



“The Ultimate Fighter 18” finale was supposed to be all about the ladies, but it was ultimately Nate Diaz who stole the show. The Stockton, Calif., native avenged a 2010 loss to Gray Maynard in Saturday’s main event at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, stopping “The Bully” with strikes 2:38 into the opening round. It might be Diaz’s last 155-pound outing for a while -- he has hinted at a return to welterweight in the future.

Meanwhile, Julianna Pena made a little bit of history, as she became the first female “TUF” winner by dispatching Jessica Rakoczy to earn a six-figure contract with the promotion. Chris Holdsworth accomplished the same -- albeit to less fanfare -- by submitting Davey Grant in a men’s 135-pound finale. Here is a by-the-numbers look at UFC “The Ultimate Fighter 18” Finale, with statistics courtesy of FightMetric.com.

801: Significant strikes landed by Diaz in his UFC career. The Stockton, Calif., native landed 33 significant strikes against Maynard to pass Forrest Griffin for No. 8 all-time in promotion history.

57: Combined significant strikes by which Diaz has outlanded Gray Maynard in their two official Octagon meetings. The Cesar Gracie protégé outlanded “The Bully” 33 to 5 on Saturday night. In their first meeting, he held a 70-41 advantage but lost a split decision at UFC Fight Night 20.

.400: Significant striking defense for Maynard on Saturday. Prior to facing Diaz, Maynard’s .719 significant strike defense rate ranked No. 8 in promotion history.

3: KO/TKO losses suffered in the past 784 days by Maynard, who was also stopped by T.J. Grant and Frankie Edgar in recent outings.

10: Lightweight victories for Nate Diaz, tying him with B.J. Penn and Yves Edwards for third most in the history of the division. Only Gleison Tibau (13), Jim Miller (11) and Melvin Guillard (11) have more.

8: UFC finishes at 155 pounds for Diaz, tying him with Kenny Florian for second-most at lightweight. Joe Lauzon and B.J. Penn have the most with nine.

11: Post-fight bonuses garnered by Diaz during his UFC career after he captured “Knockout of the Night” for his stoppage of Maynard. Only Anderson Silva and Joe Lauzon have more -- both have 12.

8: UFC bouts that have ended at the 4:59 mark of round one via KO/TKO after Mario Yamasaki halted Julianna Pena’s ground-and-pound assault on Jessica Rakoczy with one second remaining in the opening stanza of their women’s bantamweight tussle. Eleven UFC bouts have ended 4:59 into round one overall.

58: Total strikes by which Pena outlanded Rakoczy. “The Venezuelan Vixen” also outlanded her opponent 33 to 4 in significant strikes.

1-3: Professional record for Rakoczy prior to Saturday night, making her the first “Ultimate Fighter” finalist with a losing record since the show began in 2005. Rakoczy’s professional boxing record is 33-3, according to BoxRec.com.

100: Percentage of Chris Holdsworth’s professional victories that have come by way of submission. The Team Alpha Male-trained bantamweight has made all five of his victims tap out, including Davey Grant, who submitted to a Holdsworth rear-naked choke 2:10 into the second round of their “TUF 18” finale matchup on Saturday night.

201: Total strikes landed by Jessamyn Duke, the most of anyone on the “TUF 18” finale card. The Invicta FC veteran outlanded Peggy Morgan 75 to 7 in round one, 69 to 22 in round two and 57 to 16 in round three. “The Gun” earned 30-27 scorecards from all three judges for her efforts.

123: Significant strikes landed by Duke, the most ever for a fighter in a UFC debut.

6: Consecutive losses for Roxanne Modafferi, who dropped a unanimous decision to Raquel Pennington in a women’s bantamweight conflict. One of the most popular competitors on “TUF: 18,” Modafferi has not tasted victory in an official bout since she took a split decision over Tara LaRosa on May 21, 2010.

3,673: Days since Modafferi made her professional debut, a first-round submission triumph over Hikaru Shinohara at Smackgirl: Third Season 7.

3: Bouts ending in disqualification that were refereed by Mario Yamasaki: Akira Corassani-Maximo Blanco, Erick Silva-Carlo Prater and Matt Lindland-Ricardo Almeida. He is the only referee to preside over three such affairs, according to MMADecisions.com.

150: Total strikes attempted by Jared Rosholt in his three-round victory over Walter Harris at heavyweight. A three-time NCAA All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State University, Rosholt attempted and landed his only takedown of the fight in the third frame. Rosholt landed 48 strikes in round three after landing 25 combined total strikes in the first 10 minutes.

12: Consecutive victories for Tom Niinimaki, who captured a split decision over Rani Yahya in a featherweight bout. The Finnish fighter’s streak began on Aug. 4, 2007 with a unanimous verdict against Bogdan Cristea at Cage Wars 7 “Scotland the Brave.”

41: Significant strikes by which Sean Spencer outlanded Drew Dober over the course of rounds two (30 to 16) and three (47 to 20) en route to winning via unanimous decision in their welterweight clash. The first round was more competitive, with Spencer holding a 28 to 25 edge.

25: Flyweights currently on the UFC roster, including new additions Joshua Sampo and Ryan Benoit, according to UFC.com. Only the women’s bantamweight division, with 22, has fewer. In men’s divisions, the heavyweights have the second fewest with 31 members. Sampo submitted Benoit with a rear-naked choke 4:31 into their 125-pound encounter.