After making heads turn in his first two Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts, Trevin Giles laid low to focus on other things. Welcoming him back is a veteran who stayed active while he was away in Zak Cummings. The two middleweights will lock horns this weekend at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York, for UFC Fight Night 152. Here are some numbers that should forecast an explosive fight.
Pro experience
Cummings has been a professional since 2007, making his debut at Titan FC 7 where he went three full rounds with Ron Jackson. Cummings won the fight and followed it up with nine more victories before showing his wares at Strikeforce. Since his pro debut, Cummings has fought 28 times.The younger Giles made his professional debut a little over 13 years after Cummings made his. The date was Jan. 31, 2014, and Giles submitted Angelus Raymond McFarlane via inverted triangle choke at LFC 27. He stuck with it and made sure to stay active, with 2016 being his most active year as he fought four times.
Recent activity
In case you’re wondering what happened to Giles after picking up two straight UFC wins, the middleweight prospect focused on his police career and just finished his term as a probationary officer. He sat out the entirety of 2018, but will be making his return against Cummings, who fought twice that year.Wins by knockout
Giles and Cummings are proven finishers, but the former has a higher stoppage rate at 90 percent. When it comes to landing heavy shots, Giles isn’t gun shy. He has tallied five victories by KO or TKO, two of which were in the UFC against James Bochnovic and Antonio Braga Neto. He also landed fight-ending punches on Terrance Ferguson, Larry Crowe and Robert McCarthy.The more experienced Cummings has also notched five wins by KO or TKO. Outside the UFC, his victims are Jason Broom, Leo Pla, Dominic Brown and Jonathan Smith. His lone knockout victim in the Octagon is Dominique Steele.
Wins by submission
Submissions are part of the game plan when Cummings is inside the cage. This is evidenced by his 11 wins by tapout. After that successful pro debut, he registered thee wins by submission against Rudy Bears, James Bunch and Victor Moreno. He collected five more before getting signed by the UFC, and these were on Cole Jennet, Dennis Reed, Lamont Stafford, Brandon Newsome and another one on Bears. Cummings also brought his dreaded submission game in the UFC, victimizing Ben Alloway, Alexander Yakovlev and Nathan Coy.If there’s one thing Giles has proven in his young career, it’s his versatility. Apart from his five knockout wins, he’s also gathered five submission victories. On top of McFarlane, he also tapped out Patrick Hutton, Brendan Allen, Josh Clark and Isaac Villanueva.