UFC 170 pre-fight facts: Rousey-McMann Olympic credentials make historic headliner

While the sport of MMA is filled with individuals who have made a life out of athletic excellence, UFC 170 on Saturday night features a rare combination of that type of competitor.

With the Winter Olympics currently in high gear in Sochi, the UFC has capitalized on the worldwide sporting craze by placing a record three Olympians on the card, two of which have medaled in the summer games.

Only 17 athletes in history have competed in both the Olympic games and a UFC fight, and two of them will headline Saturday’s event from Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Never before have two Olympic medalists squared off inside the octagon, but this weekend on pay-per-view former 2008 bronze medalist in Judo and reigning UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey (8-0 MMA 2-0 UFC) will put her title on the line for the third time against Sara McMann (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), a woman who won a silver medal in wrestling in 2004.

The combination of world-class credentials held by the two opponents is second to none, and it’s quite possible the pay-per-view main event could be the first and last time something like this ever takes place.

It is going to be a special night in “Sin City,” and to efficiently prepare for the historic fight card, FightMetric’s (www.fightmetric.com) research analyst and live statistics producer helps collaborate for 45 pre-fight facts about UFC 170.

MAIN EVENT

Rousey’s 56-day turnaround between UFC title defenses is tied for the shortest timeframe in UFC history where a champion has attempted to defend their belt twice. Matt Hughes attempted an identical turnaround at UFC 63 and UFC 65; however, he lost the belt to Georges St-Pierre at UFC 65.

Rousey’s total cage time after eight professional fights is 23:26, an average of 2:56 per fight.

Rousey has earned all eight of her professional victories by armbar submission, with seven of those finishes coming in the first round.

Rousey’s six armbar submission victories in UFC/Strikeforce competition are the most by any fighter in the combined history of the two organizations.

Those six armbar wins are also tied with Paulo Filho and Kazushi Sakuraba for the second most in UFC/Strikeforce/PRIDE/WEC combined history behind Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (seven).

Rousey’s submissions of Liz Carmouche at UFC 157 and Miesha Tate at UFC 168 stand as the only submission victory in UFC women’s bantamweight history.

Rousey’s 25-second stoppage of Sarah D’Alelio at Strikeforce Challengers 18 was the second fastest submission ever in the now-defunct organization’s history.

Rousey’s 54-second tap-out of Sarah Kaufman at “Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman” was the fastest submission ever in a Strikeforce championship fight.

All twelve of Rousey’s takedowns landed in UFC and Strikeforce competition have come from the clinch. She’s landed 12 of 17 attempts for an accuracy rate of 70.6 percent.

Rousey lands 10.23 total strikes per minute, the fifth highest average in UFC/Strikeforce combined history.

McMann is the third fighter in UFC history to go from fighting a preliminary-card matchup to challenging for a title in a pay-per-view main event. Nate Marquardt, who challenged Anderson Silva for the middleweight belt at UFC 73 and Benson Henderson, who challenged Frankie Edgar for the lightweight belt at UFC 144, are the others.

McMann’s 301-day layoff from MMA competition between her last fight and UFC 170 is the longest break she’s had without a fight since turning professional.

McMann has landed 80 percent of her takedown attempts in her past five fights, going 28 for 35. She averages 6.78 takedowns per 15 minutes of fighting, an average more than 3.5 times greater than the UFC average of 1.93. Oppositely, McMann’s past five opponents have attempted just two takedowns against her, both of which came up empty.

McMann absorbs just 1.63 significant strikes per minute of fighting, an average almost one full strike lower than the UFC average of 2.61.

CO-MAIN EVENT

Daniel Cormier (13-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) makes his light heavyweight debut after an undefeated run as a heavyweight.

Cormier is 4-0 in his career against fighters who once held or challenged for a UFC championship.

Cormier has never been taken down in his MMA career.

Cormier held the record for the most victories (eight), knockouts (four) and significant strikes landed (305) in the history of the now-defunct Strikeforce heavyweight division.

Cormier has out-landed every UFC and Strikeforce opponent he’s faced. He out-lands his opponents by a nearly three-to-one ratio; landing 438 significant strikes to just 148 absorbed. His UFC/Strikeforce strike differential of +2.67 per minute is the seven highest in the combined history of the two promotions (minimum of five fights).

Patrick Cummins (4-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his UFC debut on just 10 days notice after Rashad Evans was forced to withdraw from the event due to a knee injury.

Cummins has earned all four of his professional victories by first-round knockout or submission.

Cummins has fought just four times since making his professional debut in December 2010.

REMAINING MAIN CARD

Demian Maia (18-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC) is 3-1 since dropping to the UFC welterweight division in July 2012.

Maia’s six submission victories in the UFC are tied for third most of any fighter in the modern era. He’s the only fighter in the modern era to win five consecutive UFC fights by submission.

Maia committed to 13 submission attempts in his UFC middleweight career, tied for the third most in divisional history. He’s attempted four more since dropping to welterweight.

Maia landed 25 takedowns in 13 middleweight fights, good for the fifth most in divisional history. In just four welterweight fights, he’s landed 14 takedowns. Maia is 12-1 in UFC bouts in which he lands at least one takedown.

Rory MacDonald (15-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) owns some of the best offensive and defensive wrestling statistics in the welterweight division. His 57.6 percent takedown accuracy is the highest among active welterweights, while his 85.7 percent takedown defense rate ranks second in UFC welterweight history (minimum of five fights and 20 attempts).

MacDonald’s 48.3 percent striking accuracy is the fifth highest among active welterweights (minimum of five fights and 350 significant strike attempts). His striking defense of 65.3 percent is the third highest among active welterweights. MacDonald’s accuracy differential of +13.6 percent is the second highest in welterweight history, behind only Georges St-Pierre’s +26.3 percent.

MacDonald lands 3.85 significant strikes per minute of fighting, the second highest rate among active welterweights and fourth highest in the division’s history. “Ares” landed 116 significant strikes against B.J. Penn at UFC on FOX 5 and absorbed just 24 in return. His +92 significant strike differential against “The Prodigy’ is the fifth largest ever in a welterweight bout.

MacDonald has never been submitted in his 17-fight career.

Robert Whittaker (11-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC), 23, is the youngest of the 22 fighters scheduled to compete on the card.

Mike Pyle (25-9-1 MMA, 8-4 UFC), 38, is the oldest active fighter in the UFC’s welterweight division and is also the oldest of the 22 fighters scheduled to compete at UFC 170.

Pyle is the only fighter in UFC welterweight history to record first-round knockout victories in three consecutive fights. “Quicksand” accomplished the feat in 2012 when he stopped Ricardo Funch, Josh Neer and James Head all in the opening frame.

Pyle’s 73.5 percent takedown defense rate is the third highest among active welterweight fighters.

T.J. Waldburger’s (16-8 MMA, 4-3 UFC) 5.94 submission attempts per 15 minutes of fighting is the highest rate of any fighter in UFC welterweight history and third highest in UFC history. Waldburger has submitted his opponent in 13 of his 16 professional victories.

Waldburger has been knocked out in six of his eight career defeats.

PRELIMINARY CARD

Eight of the 12 preliminary-card fighters will be fighting in the UFC for the first or second time.

Alexis Davis’ (15-5 MMA, 2-0 UFC) two-fight UFC winning streak is tied with Rousey for the longest active streak in the women’s bantamweight division.

Davis’ 213 total strikes landed in a Strikeforce bout against Sarah Kaufman were the fourth most ever in the organization’s history.

Jessica Eye (10-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) combined for 152 significant strikes landed with Kaufman in her UFC debut, the third most ever landed in a women’s bantamweight fight.

Raphael Assuncao’s (21-4 MMA, 5-1 UFC) five-fight UFC winning streak is the second longest streak in the bantamweight division behind champion Renan Barao (seven).

Assuncao is undefeated (5-0) since dropping to the UFC bantamweight division.

Assuncao’s 72.3 percent striking defense is the fifth highest in UFC/WEC bantamweight history.

Zach Makovsky (17-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is undefeated (4-0) since his release from Bellator MMA.

Erik Koch (13-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) moves up to the lightweight division after spending the first 16 fights of his career as a featherweight.

Koch leaves the 145-pound weight class on a two-fight losing streak, the longest drought of his MMA career.

Koch’s 79.2 percent takedown defense rate in his UFC/WEC featherweight career was the third best in history.

Cody Gibson (11-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his UFC debut on just 11 days notice. “Renegade” enters the event on a career-high six-fight winning streak.

For the latest on UFC 170, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.