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Santos enters the cage with the wind of six straight victories in his sails. The Nova Uniao-trained Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt last competed at UFC 251, where he laid claim to a unanimous decision over Roman Bogatov on July 11. Dawson, meanwhile, finds himself on a seven-fight tear. The Dana White’s Contender Series graduate last appeared at UFC Fight Night 172 on July 18, when he was awarded a unanimous verdict over Nad Narimani.
As Santos and Dawson make their final preparations, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
41: Years of age for Santos, who was born on Feb. 5, 1980 in Rio de Janeiro—some 6,200 miles from Ultimate Fighting Championship headquarters.
4,340: Days since Santos last experienced a defeat. The Brazilian suffered his most recent professional setback in a split decision loss to Kazunori Yokota at a Sengoku event on May 2, 2009. Santos has compiled a 12-0-1 record in his 13 subsequent appearances, a March 2014 majority draw with Norman Parke the only blemish.
9: Santos victories by submission, accounting for 50% of his career total (18). His methods of choice: five arm-triangle chokes, three rear-naked chokes and one triangle choke. Santos owns three other wins by knockout, five more by decision and another by disqualification.
81: Combined wins between the three men—Yokota, Jean Silva and Takanori Gomi—who have beaten Santos. They sport a cumulative record of 81-36-6.
3: Takedowns conceded by Santos in his eight appearances inside the Octagon. He has stopped 26 of the 29 attempts against him.
27: Years of age for Dawson, who was born in Cambria, Wisconsin, on Feb. 20, 1994. “On Deadly Ground,” “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” “Blue Chips,” “Blank Check” and “Reality Bites” were the Top 5 movies at the domestic box office at the time.
11: Dawson victories by submission, accounting for 69% of his career total (16). His methods of choice: nine rear-naked chokes, one armbar and one triangle choke. Dawson also holds three wins by knockout and two more by decision.
7: First-round finishes to Dawson’s credit. The Glory MMA representative posted six of them in consecutive appearances between Dec. 5, 2014 and Aug. 15, 2015.
6: Takedowns completed by Dawson in his unanimous decision over Julian Erosa at UFC Fight Night 146 a little more than two years ago. While it remains a high-water mark for “KGD,” he has executed multiple takedowns in all four of his Octagon assignments.
1: Loss on the Dawson resume. He succumbed to punches from Hugh Pulley just 35 seconds into their encounter under the Kansas City Fighting Alliance banner on April 30, 2016. Dawson has since rattled off seven straight victories.