By the Numbers: UFC 164

Tristen CritchfieldSep 01, 2013
Josh Barnett folded Frank Mir with a knee early in the first round. | Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images



The first meeting between Benson Henderson and Anthony Pettis will go down in history, not only because it signaled Pettis’ arrival as a highlight-reel fixture, but also because it marked the final chapter of World Extreme Cagefighting. But as those who follow the fight game know, rematches rarely follow the same path of their predecessor.

On Saturday night at the BMO Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Henderson-Pettis II left its own stamp on MMA history, as Pettis became the UFC lightweight king by submitting “Smooth” with an armbar in the opening stanza in the UFC 164 headliner. With the win, Pettis improves to 2-0 against a man who hasn’t lost two to anyone else in six years and also opened the door for a potentially lucrative superfight with 145-pound kingpin Jose Aldo. While Pettis-Henderson looked nothing like their first fight, it will be remembered nonetheless. Here is a by-the-numbers look at UFC 164, with statistics courtesy of FightMetric.com:

32: Submissions defended, in 32 attempts by Henderson in UFC and WEC bouts prior to UFC 164, more than any fighter competing under the Zuffa banner. “Smooth” was unable to stop attempt No. 33, however, as Pettis secured an armbar 4:31 into round one.

6: Submission attempts from the bottom for Pettis, who has attempted a total of 12 submissions in UFC and WEC career.

16: Total strikes by which Henderson outlanded Pettis in their abbreviated matchup. It was a series of wicked body kicks from Pettis, however, that appeared to hurt the MMA Lab representative and set the stage for Pettis’ victory.

3: Takedowns successfully defended, in three attempts, by Pettis. In their first meeting at WEC 53, Henderson went 3-for-10 on takedown attempts.

20:29: Difference in time between Pettis-Henderson I, a five-round verdict for “Showtime,” and their rematch, which ended inside of a round.

.850: Career finishing rate for Josh Barnett, who earned a first-round TKO victory over Frank Mir in the heavyweight co-main event. “The Warmaster” has garnered 28 of his 33 triumphs by knockout, technical knockout or submission since his initial pro foray in 1997.

0: Losses as a result of a submission hold for Barnett in 38 professional fights. Barnett’s only submission defeats came at the hands of Mirko Filipovic: once due to a shoulder injury at Pride 28 in 2004 and once due to punches at Pride “Final Conflict Absolute” in 2006.

4,180: Days since Barnett’s last Octagon appearance, a second-round technical knockout triumph over Randy Couture at UFC 36 “Worlds Collide” in 2002. It’s the second longest duration between UFC victories – Mark Coleman went 4,537 days between triumphs at UFC 12 and UFC 100, according to MMADecisions.com

94: Significant strikes by which Mir has been outlanded in losing his last three UFC bouts. The former heavyweight king was outlanded 26 to 9 in his loss to Barnett.

File Photo

Mendes has four straight knockouts.
4: Consecutive knockout wins for Chad Mendes, who stopped Clay Guida with strikes 30 seconds into round three. In his previous three outings, the Team Alpha Male stalwart knocked out Cody McKenzie, Yaotzin Meza and Darren Elkins inside of a round.

.500: Career significant striking accuracy for Mendes, the highest rate among featherweights in UFC/WEC history. Cub Swanson is No. 2 at 47.3 percent. “Money” landed 32 of 66 significant strikes against Guida, a 48 percent clip.

.170: Significant striking accuracy for Guida, who landed 17 of 99 strikes in defeat. The Jackson’s MMA product’s career significant striking rate is 30 percent, but that figure has fallen to 20 percent (43-for-211) in two featherweight bouts.

43: Professional bouts without a knockout or technical knockout defeat for Guida. In his 44th fight, Mendes became the first person to ever finish “The Carpenter” with strikes.

19: Significant strikes by which Ben Rothwell outlanded Brandon Vera in the decisive third round of their heavyweight showdown. The Kenosha, Wisc., native swarmed “The Truth” with hooks, knees and an uppercut against the fence for a TKO victory 1:54 into round three.

7: Combined submission attempts by Erik Koch (5) and Dustin Poirier (2) in their featherweight scrap. Koch appeared to have his opponent in trouble in round one with a tight triangle choke, but Poirier was eventually able to escape. “The Diamond” returned the favor late in period, trapping Koch in a triangle in the frame’s waning seconds. Koch attempted three rear-naked chokes in the third stanza, but was unable to elicit a tapout.

3:57:06: Total fight time for Gleison Tibau. With his split decision victory against Jamie Varner, the Brazilian lightweight moved past Matt Hughes, Diego Sanchez and Rashad Evans into seventh place on the promotion’s all-time list in that category. Tibau is one of only 13 fighters in UFC history to have fought 20 times for the Las Vegas-based organization.

71: Career takedowns landed by Tibau, No. 2 behind Georges St. Pierre (84) in promotion history. The American Top Team representative went 2-for-4 on takedowns against Varner.

41: Total strike advantage for Tibau in round two against Varner, who did not land a single strike in the period. The Arizonan rallied to outland Tibau 50 to 6 in the bout’s final frame, but that furious salvo ultimately was not enough.

88: Significant strikes by which Tim Elliott outlanded Louis Gaudinot in a dominant unanimous decision triumph. It is not the only lopsided defeat for the Team Tiger Schulman product -- at “The Ultimate Fighter 14” finale, Gaudinot was outlanded by 76 significant strikes in a third-round TKO loss to Johnny Bedford.

270: Total strikes landed by Elliott, the second most for a three-round fight in UFC history and fourth-highest total overall. By comparison, Gaudinot landed 41 total strikes.

2: Fighters in UFC history to have earned consecutive knockout wins by knee strikes. Hyun Gyu Lim became the second when he stopped Pascal Krauss with a flying knee to the head on Saturday; he also finished Marcelo Guimaraes with a knee in his promotional debut in March. Thiago Alves, who has twice won back-to-back fights with knees, was the first.