Junior dos Santos took care of business at UFC on Fox 1. | Photo: Ray Mickshaw/FOX/PictureGroup
UFC on Fox 1 was one for the history books, as mixed martial arts’ premiere organization made its debut on network television with a heavyweight title clash between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
Those who only tuned into the Fox portion of the broadcast missed a spirited lightweight war between Ben Henderson and Clay Guida. In a bout that was more entertaining than the judges’ scorecards might suggest, Henderson bested “The Carpenter” to earn a shot at Frankie Edgar’s 155-pound belt in 2012. On the surface, there’s no question that Saturday was a significant night in the sport’s history, but it never hurts to look deeper. A by-the-numbers glance at UFC on Fox 1, with statistics provided by FightMetric.
11: First-round finishes for dos Santos. Besides Velasquez, the list includes noteworthy opponents such as Gabriel Gonzaga, Gilbert Yvel, Stefan Struve and Fabricio Werdum.
6.79: Significant strikes per minute that dos Santos has landed in an eight-fight UFC tenure, good for second among fighters in the organization. “Cigano” connected with eight such strikes against Velasquez, who ranks first on that list with 7.64 strikes landed per minute, in 64 seconds. Velasquez landed seven strikes in that same period.
29.67: Average number of significant strikes by which Velasquez had outlanded his previous nine opponents before losing to dos Santos. The 29-year-old Californian had never landed less strikes than an opponent in any of those contests.
0: Takedowns for Velasquez against dos Santos. The former Arizona State University wrestling standout wasn’t around long enough to get many attempts, but his 68.2 percent success rate in that area still ranks fourth overall in the UFC.
85: Takedown defense percentage for dos Santos in his UFC career. In eight cage appearances, only Shane Carwin and Gabriel Gonzaga have been able get “Cigano” to the mat.
1,863: Days between Velasquez’s professional debut, a first-round TKO of Jesse Fujarczyk, and his first loss in the cage.
8: Knockdowns by dos Santos in his UFC career. Only Filipovic, a victim of a verbal submission, hasn’t hit the canvas against the Brazilian.
58:56: Approximate television time -- including commercials -- that didn’t have live fights during the hour-long time block allotted to the UFC on Fox 1 broadcast.
463: Total Zuffa-related (UFC and Strikeforce) fights refereed by “Big” John McCarthy since UFC 2 “No Way Out” in 1994. McCarthy oversaw four bouts on the UFC on Fox 1 card.
19: Significant strikes landed by Henderson in the first round against Guida; he combined to land 21 total in rounds two and three against the Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts product. Guida, meanwhile, landed 11 power strikes in the bout’s duration.
67: More total strikes landed by Henderson than Guida in the former WEC lightweight champion’s unanimous decision win. The MMA Lab representative scored the fight’s only knockdown in the first round.
84: Percentage of body punches successfully landed by Henderson, who peppered Guida with a total of 41 strikes in that area.
4: Submissions attempts by Guida -- all guillotines -- in 15 minutes against Henderson, the most in his UFC and Strikeforce career. It was to no avail, however, as the Arizona native has been tapped only once in 17 professional fights.
48: Takedowns by Guida in his UFC career. His two on Saturday night moved him ahead of Randy Couture and all alone into sixth place on the promotion’s all-time list.
11: Average number of significant strikes landed by Cub Swanson in his four losses in the WEC and UFC. By comparison, the Palm Springs, Calif., native has connected on more than 40 strikes per outing in five victories.
7: Difference in significant strikes landed by Cub Swanson (13) and Ricardo Lamas (6) in the opening frame of their featherweight duel. Lamas rebounded to submit the Jackson’s MMA product with an arm-triangle choke in round two. The eight total strikes by which Swanson outlanded Lamas over the course of the fight was the greatest difference of Lamas’ UFC and WEC career.
8: Opening round finishes for DaMarques Johnson, who crushed Clay Harvison with a left hook and finished him at the 1:34 mark of round one on Saturday night. It wasn’t the fastest stoppage of the Elite Performance representative’s career -- he needed only 55 seconds to TKO William Layton in a 2007 contest -- but it was the shortest night of work for “Darkness” since he joined the UFC.
3-4: Record of Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto in bouts that go the distance following his unanimous decision defeat to Darren Uyenoyama. The “Kid” is 0-2 in such contests in the UFC, having fallen to Demetrious Johnson in three rounds at UFC 126.