Fabricio Werdum made it look easy on the floor at UFC on Fuel TV 10. | Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images
Fabricio Werdum continued to build his resume in the UFC on Fuel TV 10 headliner, submitting Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira with an armbar 2:41 into the second round on Saturday night at the Paulo Sarasate Gymnasium in Fortaleza, Brazil. With the win, “Vai Cavalo” avenged a 2006 Pride Fighting Championships defeat to Nogueira and moved himself one step closer to a heavyweight title shot.
18: Significant strikes by which Werdum outlanded Nogueira. “Vai Cavalo” landed 32 of 37 significant strikes attempted, an 86 percent success rate. By comparison, Nogueira landed 14 of 40 significant strikes, a 35 percent clip.
111: Significant strikes by which Werdum has outlanded his last three Octagon foes combined. The decorated grappler has demonstrated vastly improved standup in getting the best of the striking against Nogueira (32 to 14), Mike Russow (31 to 3) and Roy Nelson (91 to 26).
2,534: Days since Werdum and Nogueira first squared off at Pride “Critical Countdown Absolute,” a fight “Minotauro” won via unanimous decision. In that contest, Nogueira outlanded Werdum 44 to 23 in significant strikes, while “Vai Cavalo” held a 5-to-1 edge in takedowns.
2: Opponents, in 43 professional bouts, who have submitted Nogueira after Werdum accomplished the feat with an armbar in the second round of their heavyweight tilt. Frank Mir was the first person to tap “Minotauro” at UFC 140.
Photo: M. Alonso/Sherdog.com
Silva and Feijao had a short but potent bout.
23: Combined significant strikes landed by the six fighters in the three main card bouts that preceded Silva-Cavalcante, all of which also ended inside of a round.
4:30: Average fight time for Erick Silva in five Octagon appearances, the ninth-quickest average among UFC competitors with at least five bouts. “Indio” tapped Jason High with an armbar 1:11 into the first round of their welterweight showdown. Only one UFC foe, Jon Fitch, has made it out of the first round against the Brazilian.
7-0: Record for Brazilian fighters against opposition from other countries on Saturday. Overall, all 12 winners at UFC on Fuel TV 10 were from the South American nation, the first time that has occurred at a UFC event in Brazil.
8: Total victories via submission at UFC on Fuel TV 10, the most in promotion history. Previously, “The Ultimate Fighter 6” finale, UFC Fight Night 17 and UFC on Fuel TV 2 had the most submissions on a UFC card with six. The rundown of maneuvers used: armbar (twice), arm-triangle choke (twice), reverse triangle armbar, triangle choke, rear-naked choke and kneebar.
12: Submissions attempted in the eight bouts ending via tapout. Fabricio Werdum, Leonardo Santos, Erick Silva, Daniel Sarafian, Rony Mariano Bezerra, Raphael Assuncao and Antonio Braga Neto each needed just one submission attempt to achieve victory. Meanwhile, Caio Magalhaes attempted five submissions before defeating Karlos Vemola with a rear-naked choke 2:49 into the second round.
10: Finishes at UFC on Fuel TV 10, tying it with UFC Fight Night 13 for most finishes since the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts were first employed in the Octagon. In addition, six of Saturday’s bouts ended inside of a round.
8: Submission finishes in nine professional victories for Daniel Sarafian, who elicited a tapout from Eddie Mendez with an arm triangle from mount 2:20 into the opening round of their middleweight encounter. Mauricio Alonso is the only one of Sarafian’s victims not to lose via submission, as he lost a unanimous verdict to the “TUF: Brazil” alum in 2010.
4-0: Bantamweight record for Raphael Assuncao, who submitted Vaughn Lee with a second-round armbar in a preliminary scrap. Prior to the drop in weight, the Brazilian was 3-3 while competing for the WEC and UFC at 145 pounds.
27: Professional fights for Anthony Smith without having gone the distance. The Strikeforce veteran suffered his fourth submission defeat at the hands of Antonio Braga Neto, tapping to a kneebar in the first round.
4: Fighters on Saturday’s card who have brothers that have also competed in the UFC or WEC: Nogueira (Antonio Rogerio Nogueira), Ildemar Alcantara (Iuri Alcantara), Leonardo Santos (Wagnney Fabiano) and Raphael Assuncao (Junior Assuncao).