Even after a year and a half away, Michelle Waterson didn’t miss a beat.
While Waterson’s journey in the UFC strawweight division is just beginning, smaller-weight icon Urijah Faber called it a career in style, as the ex-World Extreme Cagefighting champion outpointed Brad Pickett in front of an appreciative hometown crowd earlier in the evening. “The California Kid” leaves behind an impressive legacy, with plenty of milestones worth examining. Here is a by-the-numbers look at UFC on Fox 22, with statistics courtesy of FightMetric.com.
9: Career submission triumphs for Waterson following her tapout of VanZant in Saturday’s headliner. Both of the Jackson-Wink MMA product’s Octagon triumphs have come via rear-naked choke.
524: Days since Waterson’s last UFC appearance, a third-round rear-naked choke submission of Angela Magana at “The Ultimate Fighter 21” finale.
8-1: Record for Waterson since 2010. “The Karate Hottie’s” only defeat during that time came in via submission in an atomweight championship bout against Herica Tiburcio at Invicta FC 10.
3: Submission attempts by Mickey Gall against Sage Northcutt in their welterweight co-main event matchup. Gall tapped out “Super” Sage with a rear-naked choke at the 1:40 mark of round two.
3: Rear-naked choke victories in three Octagon appearances for Gall, who has also submitted CM Punk and Mike Jackson in UFC competition.
11: Bantamweight wins in UFC/WEC competition for Urijah Faber, the second most in the history of the two promotions. Only longtime rival Dominick Cruz has more with 12 victories. Faber ended his UFC career with a unanimous decision triumph over Brad Pickett in a featured 135-pound clash.
3:29:04: Total Octagon time for Faber at 135 pounds, most in UFC bantamweight history.
52: Significant strikes by which Faber outlanded Pickett. That included a 33-to-3 advantage in round one, when “The California Kid” floored his opponent with a left hook and nearly finished the fight.
26: Takedowns landed by Faber in UFC competition as a bantamweight. The Team Alpha Male founder landed five of 10 takedowns against Pickett to surpass Dominick Cruz (23) and move into the top spot all-time at 135 pounds.
636: Significant strikes landed at bantamweight by Faber, No. 2 all time in the division behind only T.J. Dillashaw (868). Faber landed 70 significant strikes against Pickett.
45: Combined significant strikes to the body (16) and legs (29) landed by Alan Jouban in a decision win over knockout artist Mike Perry at welterweight. All told, Jouban landed 69 significant strikes, while Perry landed 37.
1,067: Days since Cole Miller’s last Octagon triumph, a second-round submission of Sam Sicilia at UFC Fight Night 35 in January 2014. The American Top Team member fell to Mizuto Hirota via unanimous decision on Saturday night.
165: Total strikes landed by Hirota. By comparison, Miller landed just 22.
12: Takedowns landed by Colby Covington in a three-round verdict over Bryan Barberena, tying him with Johny Hendricks for the second-most takedowns ever landed in a UFC welterweight fight. Covington’s total also is tied for fifth-most in any weight class behind only Khabib Nurmagomedov (21), Sean Sherk (16), Demetrious Johnson (14) and Luigi Fioravanti (13).
65: Significant strikes by which Alex Morono outlanded James Moontasri in their welterweight duel. That included a 30-to-12 advantage in round two and a 63-to-19 edge in round three as Morono won a unanimous decision.
8: Takedowns landed in 12 attempts by Josh Emmett in a unanimous decision triumph over Scott Holtzman at lightweight. Emmett didn’t land a single takedown in a split-decision win over Jon Tuck in his promotional debut.
277: Combined significant strikes landed by Leslie Smith (169) and Irene Aldana (108) in their preliminary bantamweight tilt. That figure represents the third highest combined total landed in a women’s 135-pound bout.
169: Significant strikes landed by Smith, the third most in women’s bantamweight history behind Jessica Andrade (206 at UFC Fight Night 30) and Sarah Kaufman (202 at “TUF Nations” finale).
10: Wins at bantamweight for Eddie Wineland in UFC/WEC competition, tying him for second most in the combined history of the two promotions. Dominick Cruz is first with 12. Wineland defeated Takeya Mizugaki via TKO 3:04 into the first round of their bantamweight bout.
7: Finishes for Wineland in UFC/WEC competition, tying him with Urijah Faber and Renan Barao for most in the combined history of the two organizations at 135 pounds.
11: Knockdowns landed by Wineland in UFC/WEC bantamweight bouts, the most in the history of the division. Michael McDonald is No. 2 with six knockdowns. Wineland floored Mizugaki twice in their bout.
0: Takedowns landed in eight attempts by Fredy Serrano against Hector Sandoval in their flyweight bout. Serrano, a 2008 Olympian in freestyle wrestling, lost a unanimous decision to the Team Alpha Male product.