After being told that Fuel TV seems to feature some of the worst UFC cards, I found myself wondering if there was any validity in that statement.
I can recall being a bit underwhelmed by UFC on Fuel TV 6 and 7, but outside of that I don’t immediately recall any overtly miserable events.
Curiosity got the better of me, and I found myself gazing at statistical numbers provided by Sherdog.com. After some research, I’m not entirely certain I agree with my buddy (who will remain nameless out of simple respect) and his harsh assessment.
That said, his statement isn’t completely outlandish. Fuel TV has had a few lackluster cards that produced far more drawn-out distance fights than dynamic finishes.
In fact, When combined, the first eight UFC on Fuel TV events have yielded a total of 49 decisions (50 excluding the categorization of a “no contest” in this article’s instance) in 87 matches. That’s a 56.3 percent decision rate, 57.4 if you categorize UFC on Fuel 7’s no contest between Matt Riddle and Che Mills a decision.
That’s a lot of fights landing in the ever-unreliable judges’ hands.
UFC on Fuel TV 3, 7 and 8 make up for a sizable chunk of that figure, as the three events combined produced a total of 24 decisions for 27.5 percent, or 28.7 if you work Riddle’s no contest against Mills into the equation.
In contrast, a total of 20 fights (for a 22.9 percentage) have ended via technical knockout or knockout.
16 total fights (18.3 percent) ended by way of submission.
Check out an individual event breakdown as well as total number breakdown and a few fun facts from the first eight UFC on Fuel TV events.
Individual Event Breakdowns
Fuel 1: 9 Fights – 5 Decision, 3 (T)KO, 1 Submission
Fuel 2: 12 Fights – 4 Decision, 2 (T)KO, 6 Submission
Fuel 3: 12 Fights – 8 Decision, 1 (T)KO, 3 Submission
Fuel 4: 11 Fights – 5 Decision, 3 (T)KO, 3 Submission
Fuel 5: 11 Fights – 4 Decision, 5 (T)KO, 2 Submission
Fuel 6: 9 Fights – 7 Decision, 1 (T)KO, 0 Submission, 1 No Contest (no contest was stoppage)
Fuel 7: 12 Fights – 8 Decision, 2 (T)KO, 1 Submission, 1 No Contest (no contest was decision)
Fuel 8: 11 Fights – 8 Decision, 3 (T)KO, 0 Submission
Total Figures
Total Fights: 87
Total Decisions: 49 (56.3 percent)
Total (T)KOs: 20 (22.9 percent)
Total Submissions: 16 (18.3 percent)
Total No Contest: 2 (2.2 percent)
Random Facts
Brad Tavares has fought on three Fuel events. He’s undefeated in the process (3-0). All three fights went the distance.
Of the eight Fuel events broadcast thus far, four main events (UFC on Fuel TV 3, 5, 6 and 8) have ended in upset victories.
All four of those upsets came via stoppage. Chan Sung Jung submitted Dustin Poirier at UFC on Fuel TV 3, Stefan Struve TKOd Stipe Miocic at UFC on Fuel TV 5, Cung Le knocked Rich Franklin out at UFC on Fuel TV 6 and tonight Wanderlei Silva rendered Brian Stann unconscious with strikes.
UFC on Fuel TV 8 gave way to the first defeat for Stefan Struve in three Fuel TV appearances. The defeat also brought a four-fight winning streak to a sudden and violent halt.
Wanderlei’s third win in five fights was also his third consecutive upset victory. In addition to tonight’s upset, he also shocked Cung Le at UFC 139 and Michael Bisping at UFC 110.
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