By The Numbers: Lyoto Machida vs. Fabian Edwards

Lyoto Machida would like nothing more than to thumb his nose at Father Time yet again.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight titleholder will lock horns with Fabian Edwards in the Bellator 281 co-headliner on Friday at The SSE Arena in London. Machida steps back into the spotlight on the heels of three straight losses. “The Dragon” last appeared at Bellator 256, where he dropped a five-round unanimous decision to Ryan Bader on April 9, 2021. Edwards, meanwhile, finds himself on a two-fight losing streak. He last competed on May 21, when he wound up on the wrong side of a unanimous verdict against Austin Vanderford at Bellator 259.

As Machida and Edwards move ever closer to their confrontation at 185 pounds, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:

43: Years of age for Machida, who was born on May 30, 1978 in Salvador, Brazil.

11: Machida wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 42% of his career total (26). His list of victims includes Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort, Ryan Bader, Randy Couture, Rashad Evans and Rich Franklin. Machida holds two other wins by submission and 13 more by decision.

80: Rounds completed by Machida as a professional mixed martial artist. He has gone the distance on 19 different occasions and carries a 13-6 record in those bouts.

62: Seconds needed for Machida to cut down C.B. Dollaway with a body kick and follow-up punches in the UFC Fight Night 58 main event on Dec. 10, 2014. Having occurred more than seven years ago, it remains his fastest finish to date.

262: Combined victories between the 10 opponents—Bader, Phil Davis (twice), Gegard Mousasi, Derek Brunson, Yoel Romero, Luke Rockhold, Chris Weidman, Jon Jones, Quinton Jackson and Mauricio Rua—who have beaten Machida. They boast a cumulative .775 winning percentage (262-73-3).

29: Years of age for Edwards, who was born in Birmingham, England, on March 24, 1993.

3: Edwards wins by submission, accounting for 33% of his career total (nine). His methods of choice: two rear-naked chokes and one armbar. Edwards owns three other wins by knockout or technical knockout and three more by decision.

902: Days since Edwards last paid a visit to victory lane. He has followed his split decision over Mike Shipman on Nov. 23, 2019 with back-to-back losses.

5: Consecutive calendar years in which Edwards has fought at least once. He went 3-0 in 2017, 2-0 in 2018, 4-0 in 2019, 0-1 in 2020 and 0-1 in 2021.

.889: Cumulative winning percentage between the two opponents—Vanderford and Costello van Steenis—who have defeated Edwards. They sport a combined record of 24-3.