Cain Velasquez was relentless in his rematch against Junior dos Santos at UFC 155. | Photo: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com.
Cain Velasquez came to UFC 155 with something to prove. After succumbing to Junior dos Santos in just 64 seconds at UFC on Fox 1, Velasquez silenced those who questioned whether he had the ability to handle the Brazilian’s heavy-handed boxing on Saturday night at the MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas. For 25 minutes, the American Kickboxing Academy product had his way with dos Santos to reclaim the UFC heavyweight crown he had lost more than a year prior.
2,128: Days since a UFC heavyweight title fight went the distance. Prior to the five-round encounter between Velasquez and dos Santos, Randy Couture and Tim Sylvia went 25 minutes at UFC 68.
23:56: Difference in cage time between Velasquez’s win over dos Santos at UFC 155 (25 minutes) and their first meeting at UFC on Fox 1, which dos Santos won in just 64 seconds.
33: Takedowns attempted by Velasquez against dos Santos, nine more than the American Kickboxing Academy product had tried in his previous nine UFC appearances combined. Velasquez successfully landed 11 takedowns in the fight – seven in the bout’s first two rounds.
.520: Career takedown accuracy for Velasquez. Before his rematch with dos Santos, his rate of 67 percent ranked No. 4 among all fighters in the UFC.
2: Takedowns landed by dos Santos’ opponents in his previous nine UFC bouts prior to facing Velasquez on Saturday night.
111: Significant strikes landed by Velasquez. By comparison, dos Santos previous nine UFC foes landed a combined 124 significant strikes against the Brazilian.
6.21: Significant strikes landed per minute by Velasquez, the highest rate in UFC history. Coming into his rematch with dos Santos, his rate was an even more impressive 7.47 significant strikes landed per minute. In defeat, dos Santos’ rate fell from 6.87 to 5.51, still the fifth-best figure among UFC fighters.
Photo: D. Mandel/Sherdog.com
Miller vs. Lauzon was a masterpiece of a fight.
5: Combined submissions attempted by Jim Miller (2) and Joe Lauzon (3) in their scintillating lightweight tilt. Miller has attempted 29 submissions in his UFC career, good for No.2 all-time in the promotion, while Lauzon has 24, attempts tying him for second best in UFC history.
56: Significant strike advantage for Miller against, who outlanded his foe 46 to 16 in round one and 37 to 16 in a unanimous decision triumph.
11: UFC wins for Miller, the most of any lightweight in the promotion’s history. Miller debuted in the Octagon at UFC 89 in 2008, choking out David Baron in the third round.
14: Total significant strikes landed by Alan Belcher in 30 minutes of Octagon time against Yushin Okami. “The Talent” was outlanded 20 to 6 by Okami at UFC 155; in their first meeting at UFC 62, the Japanese fighter held a 12-to-8 advantage in significant strikes.
1,653: Total strikes landed in the career of Chris Leben, who dropped a unanimous decision to short-notice opponent Derek Brunson in a middleweight clash. Leben landed 103 strikes in defeat, his first bout since a loss to Mark Munoz at UFC 138.
90: Significant strikes landed by Eddie Wineland, the most of his Zuffa tenure, in a win over Brad Pickett. Wineland and Pickett combined to throw 506 significant strikes in their bantamweight bout.
4: Average significant strikes landed by Erik Perez’s first three UFC opponents, all of whom have been dispatched by “El Goyito” in the first round.
7: Takedowns landed, in 10 attempts, by Jamie Varner against Melvin Guillard. The Arizonan took Guillard down at least one time in each frame – including four times in round three – en route to capturing a split decision triumph. Guillard had not been taken down more than once in his last eight UFC bouts.
1-3: Record for Guillard since officially leaving Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts to train with the Blackzilians after a loss to Joe Lauzon at UFC 136.
115: Total strikes by which Myles Jury outlanded Michael Johnson in earning a unanimous decision victory in a lightweight clash. “Fury” was especially dominant in round one (42 to 3) and round three (56 to 1).
1:57: Difference in time between Todd Duffee’s first UFC victory, a 7-second knockout of Tim Hague on Aug. 29, 2009, and his return to the Octagon, a TKO of Philip De Fries that ended 2:04 into the opening frame.
6: Decisions that have resulted in some type of split verdict involving Leonard Garcia. “Bad Boy” dropped a split decision to Max Holloway on Saturday night, giving Garcia a 3-2-1 overall record in those contests.