(Fan-made poster by Frank G.)
By Reed Kuhn
Note: Reed’s book ‘Fightnomics’ is available now on Amazon (in Kindle and paperback versions), featuring 336 pages of statistical analysis on UFC fighters and the “hidden science” behind their fights. If you’ve been a fan of his Databomb columns on CagePotato, pick up a copy today.
With UFC 171: Hendricks vs. Lawler coming up this Saturday, I decided to put together another batch of interesting facts and stats about the event, all of which fit inside Twitter’s 140-character limit. Feel free to tweet ‘em out yourself during the event, and let us know which ones surprised you the most. (And of course, follow @cagepotatomma and @fightnomics if you’re not doing so already.) Let’s begin…
The Good
7 of the Top 15 ranked @ufc welterweights are competing at #UFC171. That includes numbers 1, 2, 3, 6, 11, 12, & 14. Post GSP-era starts now.
Welterweight sluggers at #UFC171: punch for punch @TWooodley has the highest WW Knockdown Rate-13%. Lawler-10%, Lombard/Hendricks-6%. Ave=4%
Myles Jury has the best head striking defense at #UFC171. He makes opponents miss 93% of the time. Next best is Tyron Woodley at 80%.
Alex Garcia’s UFC debut lasted just 43 seconds. He landed 9 total strikes, dropped his opponent and won by KO. He opens FS2 #UFC171 prelims
Best Takedown Defense at #UFC171 goes to Tyron Woodley-94%, Dennis Bermudez-89%, Hector Lombard-79%
Highest paced striker at #UFC171 is Jake Shields. He averages 17 strikes per minute while standing, and outworks opponents by 75%
[Ed. note: WTF???]
Jake Shields has already beaten 3 other ranked welterweights competing at #UFC171, including Carlos Condit, Robbie Lawler & Tyron Woodley
Arms Race: Ovince St. Preux has the longest reach at #UFC171 at 79”. His opponent Nikita Krylov has the 2nd longest reach at 77.5”
Two fights into his UFC career and Nikita Krylov has yet to be hit with a head jab. He also hasn’t landed one yet himself #UFC171
.@jakeshieldsajj has spent more minutes in control on the mat than any other fighter at #UFC171 & 17% of that time was in full mount.
Carlos Condit & Jake Shields are most likely to advance position while on the mat at #UFC171. Each average several advances per takedown landed
The Bad
Hector Lombard (36) and Jakes Shields (35) are the two oldest competitors at #UFC171. When they face each other it’s 71 years combined age in the Octagon
With a reported reach of 62″, Jessica Andrade has the shortest wingspan of any fighter in UFC history #UFC171
Worst Takedown Defense to date at #UFC171 goes to Nikita Krylov. Opponents were 4 for 4 in takedown attempts against him
The most experienced UFC veteran at #UFC171 is Diego Sanchez. In his UFC career he’s been hit in the head 920 times total (5th all-time)
Jake Shields is the least accurate striker at #UFC171, he only lands 12% of his power head strikes
No one at #UFC171 has attempted more takedowns in the UFC than Diego Sanchez. Of his 133 attempts, however, he has only landed 19%.
The Weird
There will be (at least) 11 Southpaws competing at #UFC171 which is more than any card in @ufc history. It’s the most UNorthodox card ever!
In the main event at #UFC171 both fighters will come out Southpaw. And with the nicknames given to them when they were two: Johny & Robbie.
Most likely to attempt a takedown at #UFC171 are Johny Hendricks & Jake Shields. Each average 1 attempt per minute they are on their feet.
Most likely to mix up his striking attack at #UFC171 is Carlos Condit. He throws body and leg kicks way more than average
Young Guns at #UFC171: Nikita Krylov, Kelvin Gastelum & Jessica Andrade are all just 22 years old. Justin Scoggins turns 22 in May
Arms Race: Jimmy Hettes will have the biggest Reach Advantage at #UFC171. His reach is 71” and he’s facing Dennis Bermudez-66”
Although Robbie Lawler rarely attempts takedowns, his success rate is 70%, the highest at #UFC171. Myles Jury is 2nd at 64%
Rick Story, the lowest of the 6 ranked Welterweights at #UFC171 has a UFC win over Johny Hendricks, the highest ranked Welterweight
No one at #UFC171 faced more takedowns than Carlos Condit (81). He defended 41% leaving opponents with a high collective takedown success %.