Rashad Evans was in top form against a hungry and talented contender. | Photo: Sherdog.com
The UFC’s first Fox appearance was short-lived, as Junior dos Santos stopped Cain Velasquez in a mere 64 seconds. UFC on Fox 2 provided viewers with considerably more fight time, as all three main card bouts inside the United Center in Chicago went the distance. It wasn’t all about quantity, however, as two of those bouts revealed No. 1 contenders in the light heavyweight and middleweight divisions.
Chael Sonnen earned himself another crack at the middleweight strap by taking a hard fought decision over Michael Bisping. Sonnen struggled to keep “The Count” down in the bout’s first two rounds, but managed to hold his own in the standup. He was able to control Bisping with his wrestling in round three to seal the decision. Here is a by-the-numbers look at the UFC on Fox 2 card, with statistics provided by FightMetric.com:
55: Minutes of total fight time broadcast during the UFC on Fox 2 main card, a total that exceeded the UFC on Fox 1 total by 53:56.
50: Total ground strikes by which Evans outlanded Davis over five rounds. Davis, a four-time All-American wrestler at Penn State University, twice had to escape from the mounted crucifix position against the former light heavyweight champion.
3: Successful takedowns for Evans. In his previous five Octagon appearances, Davis had never been taken down. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Tim Boetsch and Brian Stann didn’t even attempt a takedown in their encounters with “Mr. Wonderful,” while Rodney Wallace and Alexander Gustafsson went a combined 0 for 7.
48: Career takedowns for Evans, tying him with former Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts stablemate Clay Guida for No. 6 all time in UFC history.
.220: Takedown success rate for Davis, who was just 2-for-9 in his attempts to get Evans to the mat.
31: Total number of strikes to the body and legs by which Davis outlanded Evans. “Suga” landed 98 strikes to the head compared to Davis’ 22, however.
Chael Sonnen File Photo
Sonnen outlanded Bisping.
1,269: Total strikes landed by Sonnen in his Octagon tenure. That number is No. 9 all time in the UFC, and leaves him just five strikes behind Sean Sherk for No. 8.
0: Number of times that an opponent has landed more strikes than Sonnen in his UFC and WEC career. Even in his five submission defeats, Sonnen has outlanded opponents a combined 152 to 54.
4: Takedowns by Sonnen, the most Bisping has allowed since Evans took him down on six occasions at UFC 78.
1.01: Strikes absorbed per minute in the UFC career of Sonnen, the third lowest figure in the promotion, behind Pete Spratt (1.04) and Davis (1.01).
58: Significant strikes landed by Chris Weidman against Demian Maia, three more than the Serra-Longo product landed in his first three UFC appearances combined.
6: Consecutive bouts involving Maia that have gone the distance. The Brazilian’s first-round knockout loss to Nate Marquardt at UFC 102 was the last time one of his fights didn’t go to the judges’ scorecards.
.800: Significant striking accuracy for Evan Dunham in the second round of his technical knockout win over Nik Lentz. Dunham landed 29 more power strikes than his opponent over the course of their lightweight bout.
50: Significant strikes by which Mike Russow’s opponents have outlanded him during his four-fight unbeaten streak in the UFC. John Olav-Einemo outlanded the Chicagoan 31 to 21 on Saturday night. Russow has a 17-0 edge in total takedowns over those same four bouts.
1: Fights decided by calf slicer in UFC history, after Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira utilized the hold to tap Eric Wisely in the Brazilian’s featherweight debut.
4:26: Average fight time for Oliveira in six Octagon appearances, the seventh fastest average time in UFC history for competitors with a minimum of five fights.
11: Takedowns defended by Michael Johnson in his unanimous decision triumph over Shane Roller. Roller, an three-time All-American wrestler from Oklahoma State University, converted his lone successful attempt in the third frame.
6: Difference in significant strikes landed by Johnson in the first round (35) and the second and third frames combined (29).
17: Difference in weight for Joey Beltran (228 pounds) in his first-round knockout loss to Lavar Johnson on Saturday and his (245) unanimous decision setback to Stipe Miocic at UFC 136.
19: Professional bouts in which Beltran avoided defeat by knockout or technical knockout before falling to Johnson in his 20th outing. In fact, “The Mexicutioner” had only been stopped once previously, submitting to a kimura from Tony Lopez in 2008.