Linchpins of their respective companies, A.J. McKee and Roberto Satoshi de Souza were destined to cross paths as soon as their bosses decided to throw a year-end party with each other. So arose the main event for the Bellator MMA-Rizin Fighting Federation co-promotion at Rizin 40 on Saturday at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

McKee enters the match with a spectacular 19-1 record. The Team Bodyshop cornerstone last competed at Bellator 286, where he took a three-round unanimous decision from Spike Carlyle in their Oct. 1 encounter at 155 pounds. Satoshi de Souza, meanwhile, finds himself on a run of five consecutive victories. The two-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist last fought on April 17, when he submitted Johnny Case with a reverse triangle armbar in the first round of their Rizin 35 pairing.

As McKee and Satoshi de Souza move ever closer to their Bellator-versus-Rizin clash on New Year’s Eve, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:

27: Years of age for McKee, who was born on April 7, 1995 in Long Beach, California.

6: McKee wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 32% of his career total (19). His list of victims includes John Teixeira, Dominic Mazzotta and Danilo Belluardo. McKee owns seven other wins by submission (36%) and six more by decision (32%).

10: First-round finishes on the McKee resume, highlighted by his eight-second knockout of former World Series of Fighting and Tachi Palace Fights champion Georgi Karakhanyan at Bellator 228 on Sept. 28, 2019.

259: Days spent by McKee as undisputed Bellator featherweight champion. He laid claim to the 145-pound title with a first-round guillotine choke submission of Patricio Freire at Bellator 263 on July 31, 2021, then surrendered it in a five-round unanimous decision defeat to “Pitbull” in their Bellator 277 rematch on April 15, 2022.

28: Rounds completed by McKee as a professional mixed martial artist. He has gone the distance on seven different occasions and carries a 6-1 record in those bouts.

33: Years of age for Satoshi de Souza, who was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Sept. 19, 1989.

10: Satoshi de Souza victories by submission, accounting for 71% of his career total (14). His methods of choice: four rear-naked chokes, three triangle chokes, one arm-triangle choke, one armbar and one reverse triangle armbar. Satoshi de Souza holds four other victories by knockout or technical knockout (29%).

65: Seconds needed for Satoshi de Souza to put away Doo Jae Jung at a Real Fight Championship event on Dec. 23, 2014. More than eight years later, it remains the reigning Rizin lightweight champion’s fastest finish to date.

3: Organizations in which Satoshi de Souza has competed as a mixed martial artist. He has gone 7-1 in the Rizin Fighting Federation, 5-0 in Real Fighting Championship and 2-0 in Arzalet Fighting Globe Championship.

.708: Cumulative winning percentage between the four men—Case, Yusuke Yachi (twice), Tofiq Musaev and Kazuki Tokudome—Satoshi de Souza has beaten during his five-fight winning streak. They sport a combined record of 91-37-2.