Yoel Romero Palacio's win at UFC Fight Night 31 will be remembered. | Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images
The Ultimate Fighting Championship brought a balanced card to Fort Campbell in Hopkinsville, Ky., on Wednesday, but fittingly, it was Tim Kennedy who left a lasting impression. Much to the delight of the military personnel in attendance, the former Green Beret flattened Rafael Natal with a left hook and follow-up punches to get a knockout victory 4:40 into their “Fight for the Troops 3” main event matchup.
2,139: Days since Kennedy’s last KO/TKO victory, a first-round knockout of Elias Rivera at an International Fight League event on Dec. 29, 2007. While he owns five submission victories during his UFC/Strikeforce tenure -- including one via strikes -- Kennedy had yet to earn a knockout or technical knockout win in either promotion prior to facing Natal.
3-4: Record for Natal in contests that end via knockout or technical knockout. The Brazilian is 11-1 in bouts that end by way of submission or go the distance.
303: Total strikes attempted by Alexis Davis and Liz Carmouche combined in their bantamweight clash. Davis landed 69 of 190 strikes, while Carmouche went 65 for 113. Davis’ activity helped carry her to a unanimous verdict on the judges’ scorecards.
32: Significant strikes by which Yoel Romero Palacio outlanded Rony Markes in their middleweight encounter. The Olympic silver medalist landed 50 of 104 significant strikes, a 48 percent clip. By comparison, Markes landed 18 of 75 significant strikes, a 24 percent success rate.
10: Takedowns attempted by Rustam Khabilov. Despite only landing two of those attempts, the sambo specialist was able to outpoint Jorge Masvidal in their lightweight duel. In his first two UFC appearances, Khabilov went 6-for-8 on takedowns.
4: Knockdowns in four UFC appearances for Francisco Rivera since he rejoined the promotion in May 2012. “Cisco” has scored one knockdown each of Alex Soto, Roland Delorme, Edwin Figueroa and George Roop in his second go-around with the promotion.
.800: Percentage of Michael Chiesa’s victories that have come by way of submission. “Maverick” tapped out Colton Smith with a rear-naked choke 1:41 into the second round of their lightweight clash. It was Chiesa’s fifth professional victory using the RNC; he is one of 11 fighters to win three UFC bouts with the hold. Kenny Florian has the most with seven wins via RNC.
45: Significant strikes landed by Chiesa in his four UFC appearances. The Washington native landed 24 significant strikes in a second-round submission loss to Jorge Masvidal in April but just 21 combined in the other three bouts -- all victories.
6: Takedowns landed, in 10 attempts, by Dennis Bermudez in his unanimous decision victory over fellow “Ultimate Fighter 14” alum Steven Siler. Siler was also taken down 6 times in his only other Octagon defeat, a three-round verdict against Darren Elkins at UFC 154. Bermudez has landed 20 takedowns in his six-fight Octagon tenure, No. 5 in UFC/WEC featherweight history.
7: Combined submission attempts by Bermudez and Siler. Bermudez attempted four: two in the first and one apiece in the second and third. All three of Siler’s attempts, meanwhile, came in the opening stanza.
10: Career submission attempts for Siler, tying him with Urijah Faber and Elkins for most among featherweights in UFC and WEC bouts.
14: Significant strikes landed, in 57 attempts, by Amanda Nunes in her first-round technical knockout triumph over Germaine de Randamie. Despite landing only 25 percent of her attacks, Nunes was able to get the stoppage when the “Iron Lady” was unable to defend herself from the assault.
1,019: Days since the UFC last held a “Fight for the Troops” event. Prior to UFC Fight Night 31, the Octagon last touched down on a military base in Fort Hood, Texas, on Jan 22, 2011. Melvin Guillard defeated Evan Dunham via first-round TKO in the “Fight for the Troops 2” headliner.
2: Events held by the UFC in Kentucky after “Fight for the Troops 3” took place at Fort Campbell in Hopkinsville, Ky., on Wednesday night. The first: UFC Live 3 on March 3, 2011 at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville.
19: Bouts in the Octagon for Yves Edwards, tying him with Michael Bisping and Diego Sanchez for 14th place in UFC history. Edwards lost to Yancy Medeiros via first round knockout to fall to 10-9 in those fights.
48: Seconds needed by Derek Brunson to elicit a tapout from Brian Houston with a guillotine choke, the fourth-fastest submission by a middleweight in UFC history. Brunson floored his opponent with a head kick immediately before transitioning to the choke. It was the fourth submission triumph of Brunson’s 13-fight pro career.