UFC 2014: A ridiculously robust look at stats, streaks, skids and record-setters

T.J. Dillashaw

2014 was in many ways a forgettable one for UFC mostly due to its schedule being ravaged by injuries.

However, from a statistical standpoint, 2014 was a breakthrough year from hosting the most events in history over the course of a 365-day span to adding to its second female weight class to perhaps the most important thing of all: some memorable moments inside the octagon.

Now that the year has come to a close, and with a major assist from FightMetric research analyst and live statistics producers Michael Carroll, here are some of 2014’s most significant milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances.

EVENTS

The UFC held a record 46 events in 39 different cities across 14 countries and five continents.

Within those events, there were 503 fights across 11 different weight classes (including catchweight bouts).

Those 503 fights combined for a total cage time of 89 hours, one minute and 49 seconds.

The longest event of the year was “UFC Fight Night 36: Machida vs. Mousasi” at 172 minutes and 32 seconds, the longest fight card in company history.

The shortest event of the year was “UFC Fight Night 55: Rockhold vs. Bisping” at 63 minutes and 51 seconds, the shortest 11-fight card in company history.

At those events, the UFC drew an announced total attendance of 431,712 for a live gate total of $39,991,369 (Note: live gate was not announced for 14 events.)

The highest reported attended event of the year was “UFC 180: Werdum vs. Hunt” in Mexico City (21,000) while the lowest attended event was The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale in Las Vegas (1,800).

The highest reported income gate of the year was “UFC 175: Weidman vs. Machida” in Las Vegas ($4.4 million) while the lowest reported income gate of the year went to The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale in Las Vegas ($143,000).

In 2014, 175 fight-night bonuses were given out for a sum of $8.975 million.

“UFC Fight Night 56: Shogun vs. Saint Preux” featured the shortest main event of the year at 34 seconds. It was also the shortest main event since UFC Fight Night 10 in June 2007 and the shortest main event knockout since UFC 55 in October 2005.

“UFC Fight Night 55: Rockhold vs. Bisping” saw 11 fights end in a stoppage, the most ever on a modern UFC card. The event’s 11 consecutive stoppages were also a new UFC record, breaking the previous all-time streak of nine.

UFC Fight Night 55 was the first event since The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale in June 2007 to have every bout end in a stoppage.

“UFC Fight Night 58: Shogun vs. Henderson 2” saw six fights end in the first round, the second most in modern UFC history behind UFC Fight Night 32, UFC 146, UFC Fight Night 14 and The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale (seven).

The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale was the first UFC event with no finishes due to strikes since UFC 118 in August 2010. It was just the fifth event in modern UFC history without a knockout/TKO.

The most knockouts at a single event went to “UFC Fight Night 45: Cerrone vs. Miller” with eight. That number tied UFC 92 and UFC on FOX 7 for the most knockouts on a modern UFC card.

“UFC on FOX 10: Henderson vs. Thomson” set a single-event record for most knockout finishes to stem from a kick to the head with three.

The most submissions at a single event went to “UFC 180: Werdum vs. Hunt,” which saw five fights end with a tap-out.

UFC 180 was the first event since UFC 2 to feature two standing submission finishes.

The most fights to go to a decision at an event went to “UFC 169: Barao vs. Faber 2” and “UFC Fight Night 36: Machida vs. Mousasi” with 10 each.

The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale was the first fight card in UFC history to feature more female than male fighters.

Through the end of 2014, fighters competing in their home country have found mixed success inside the octagon. Brazilians are 104-51 at home against foreign opponents to date. Canadians, meanwhile, are 60-43 while the English are 40-32.

Betting favorites went 336-154 over the course of the year.

“UFC 177: Dillashaw vs. Soto” was the only event of the year to see every favorite emerge victorious.

“UFC 170: Rousey vs. McMann” and “UFC 171: Hendricks vs. Lawler” had the most favorites come through with victorious, as 12 of 13 had their hand raised. On the flip side, nine underdogs won at “UFC Fight Night 38: Shogun vs. Henderson 2,” the most ever on a FightMetric-tracked UFC, PRIDE, Strikeforce, WEC, EliteXC or DREAM event.

Of the 1006 fighters to weigh in for UFC bouts, only 10 officially missed weight for their respective contests. Nine of those fighters were scheduled to compete at welterweight or below.

229 fighters made their UFC debut in 2014. Of those fighters, 33 debuted on the main card of a televised or pay-per-view event.

UFC canceled a fight card that had already sold tickets for just the second time in company history when it scrapped August’s “UFC 176: Aldo vs. Mendes 2” three weeks prior to the event.

A variety of circumstances caused a total of 16 UFC main event fights to be adjusted, postponed or canceled entirely.

Matt Mitrione

HEAVYWEIGHT

Number of fights: 32
Knockouts: 21
Submissions: One
Decisions: 10
Most wins: Zero
Most wins: Matt Mitrione (three)

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT

Number of fights: 31
Knockouts: 14
Submissions: 5
Decisions: 12
Most wins: Zero
Most wins: Patrick Cummins and Ovince Saint Preux (three)

MIDDLEWEIGHT

Number of fights: 61
Knockouts: 22
Submissions: 11
Decisions: 28
Most wins: Zero
Most wins: Luke Rockhold and Yoel Romero (three)

WELTERWEIGHT

Number of fights: 87
Knockouts: 25
Submissions: 11
Decisions: 48
Most wins: Three
Most wins: Neil Magny (five)

LIGHTWEIGHT

Number of fights: 107
Knockouts: 30
Submissions: 24
Decisions: 52
Most wins: One
Most wins: Donald Cerrone (four)

FEATHERWEIGHT

Number of fights: 61
Knockouts: 16
Submissions: 15
Decisions: 29
Most wins: One
Most wins: Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira (three)

BANTAMWEIGHT

Number of fights: 60
Knockouts: 13
Submissions: 17
Decisions: 28
Most wins: Two
Most wins: T.J. Dillashaw and Iuri Alcantara (three)

Ronda Rousey

WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT

Number of fights: 17
Knockouts: Six
Submissions: Two
Decisions: Nine
Most wins: Zero
Most wins: Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, Jessica Andrade and Bethe Correia (two)

FLYWEIGHT

Number of fights: 34
Knockouts: Four
Submissions: 8
Decisions: 21
Most wins: One
Most wins: John Moraga (three)

WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT

Number of fights: 13
Knockouts: One
Submissions: Three
Decisions: Nine
Most wins: Zero
Most wins: Joanna Jedrzejczyk (two)

INDIVIDUAL FEATS

T.J. Dillashaw, Lyoto Machida, Matt Brown, Donald Cerrone and Erick Silva all earned three fight-night bonuses, the most of any fighter.

Nikita Krylov earned the fastest head kick knockout in UFC history when he stopped Walt Harris in 25 seconds at UFC on FOX 10.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira suffered the eighth knockdown of his UFC career against Roy Nelson at UFC Fight Night 39, the most of any heavyweight in company history and tied for the second most of any competitor in UFC history behind Keith Jardine (10).

Alistair Overeem suffered the ninth knockout loss of his professional career when Ben Rothwell defeated him at UFC Fight Night 50. The number of knockouts are the most of any active UFC fighter.

Junior Dos Santos and Stipe Miocic

Junior dos Santos and Stipe Miocic combined for 222 significant strikes landed at UFC on FOX 13, a new single-fight UFC heavyweight record. Mark Hunt and Antonio Silva, who combined for 202 at UFC Fight Night 33, held the previous record.

Jon Jones earned his 14th UFC light heavyweight victory at UFC 172 and passed Chuck Liddell and Rashad Evans the most wins in divisional history.

Anthony Johnson became the first fighter in UFC history to earn four knockout victories in less than one minute each when he stopped Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC on FOX 12. Along with Nogueira, “Rumble” has stopped Yoshiyuki Yoshida, Tommy Speer and Chad Reiner before the 60-second mark of Round 1.

Anthony Perosh, 42, became the second oldest fighter in UFC history to earn a submission victory when he finished Guto Inocente at UFC Fight Night 55. Randy Couture accomplished the feat twice while older.

Ovince Saint Preux registered just the second Von Flue choke submission victory in UFC history when he submitted Krylov at UFC 171. No one had successfully finished a fight with the technique inside the octagon since namesake Jason Von Flue submitted Alex Karalexis at UFC Fight Night 3.

Yoel Romero became the first fighter in UFC history to earn back-to-back third-round knockout victories when he defeated Derek Brunson at UFC Fight Night 35 and Ronny Markes at UFC Fight Night 31.

Dong Hyun Kim landed the first and only spinning elbow knockout in UFC history when he defeated John Hathaway at The Ultimate Fighter: China Finale.

Demian Maia attempted 22 takedowns against Rory MacDonald at UFC 170, the most ever in a UFC welterweight fight.

Thiago Alves landed 52 leg kicks against Seth Baczynski at UFC on FOX 11, the most ever in a three-round UFC bout.

Neil Magny

Neil Magny’s five UFC victories over the course of the year were the most of any fighter.

Magny tied Roger Huerta’s record for the most victories in a calendar year with five in 2014. Huerta accomplished the feat in 2007.

Benson Henderson became the first fighter to ever earn his first eight UFC victories by decision when he edged Josh Thomson by split decision at UFC on FOX 10.

Jesse Ronson became the first fighter in UFC history to suffer three consecutive split decision losses when Kevin Lee at defeated him at The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale.

Jim Miller attempted the 31st submission of his UFC career at UFC 172 and tied Chris Lytle’s all-time submission attempts record that stood on its own since August 2011.

Daron Cruickshank and Cerrone joined Vitor Belfort as the only fighters in UFC history to earn three or more knockout stemming from a head kick when Cruickshank stopped Erick Koch at UFC Fight Night 40 and Cerrone stopped Jim Miller at UFC Fight Night 45.

Gleison Tibau recorded his 15th UFC lightweight victory against Poitr Hallmann at UFC Fight Night 51, adding to his tally for the most wins in divisional history.

Tibau’s 15 UFC victories are tied with Michael Bisping for the most in UFC history without competing in a championship bout.

Tibau and Diego Sanchez both fought to a decision for the 15th times under the UFC banner and co-own the record for most fights to go the distance in UFC history.

Yves Edwards suffered his 10th UFC loss at UFC Fight Night 57, the second most of any fighter in company history behind Tito Ortiz (11).

Edson Barboza became the first fighter in UFC history to earn four knockout victories stemming from some form of kick when he defeated Evan Dunham at UFC Fight Night 45.

Ben Saunders

Ben Saunders earned the first omoplata submission victory in UFC history when he submitted Chris Heatherly at UFC Fight Night 49.

Joe Lauzon was awarded the 13th fight-night bonus of his UFC career at UFC Fight Night 50. With the award, he surpassed Anderson Silva for the most bonuses for any fighter in company history.

Jake Matthews, 19, became the second youngest fighter in UFC history to earn a victory with his first-round submission at UFC Fight Night 43. Only Belfort earned a UFC submission while younger.

Chas Skelly set the UFC record for quickest turnaround between UFC wins outside of one-night tournaments when he registered UFC Fight Night 49 and UFC Fight Night 50 victories in a 13-day span.

Jose Aldo pushed his UFC/WEC winning streak to 15 when he defeated Chad Mendes at UFC 179. His streak is second longest in the combined history of the two organizations behind A. Silva (16).

Max Holloway earned four stoppage victories in the year, the most of any fighter.

Frankie Edgar became the second fighter in UFC history to defeat a single opponent on three separate occasions inside the octagon when he stopped B.J. Penn at The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale. Tito Ortiz, who defeated Ken Shamrock three times, is the other to accomplish the feat.

Edgar’s submission of Cub Swanson at the 4:56 mark of Round 5 at UFC Fight Night 57 marked the latest stoppage ever in a UFC bout. Demetrious Johnson held the previous record with his fifth-round finish (3:43) of John Moraga at UFC on FOX 8.

Charles Oliveira became the first fighter in UFC history to earn his first six victories with the promotion by submission when he finished Hatsu Hioki at UFC Fight Night 43.

Lucas Martins and Manvel Gamburyan joined Kenny Florian, Sanchez and George Roop as the only fighters in UFC history to register wins in three different weight classes when he defeated Alex White at UFC Fight Night 45. He’s the lone fighter to accomplish the feat in consecutive fights.

Dillashaw became the first fighter in UFC history to land more than 100 significant strikes in three consecutive fights when he defeated Joe Soto at UFC 177, Renan Barao at UFC 173 and Mike Easton at UFC Fight Night 35.

Barao became the first fighter in UFC history to successfully defend the first 20 opponent takedown attempts thrown his way. Barao has stopped 27 of 27 takedowns in his UFC career.

Urijah Faber earned his 14th stoppage victories in UFC/WEC competition against Francisco Rivera at UFC 181 and tied A. Silva for the most finishes in the combined history of the two organizations.

Faber earned his 13th submission victories in UFC/WEC/Strikeforce/PRIDE competition against Rivera at UFC 181 and tied Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for the most submission wins of any fighter in the combined history of the four organizations.

Henry Cejudo became the first Olympic gold medalist in modern UFC history when he competed at UFC on FOX 13. He’s just the third Olympic gold medalist overall to step in the octagon.

Rousey became the first fighter to earn a knockdown in UFC women’s bantamweight competition when she dropped Sara McMann with a knee at UFC 170.

Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler

CHAMPIONSHIP FEATS

Jones’ 138 significant strikes landed against Glover Teixeira at UFC 172 were the most ever in a UFC light heavyweight title fight.

Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler combined for 308 significant strikes landed over the course of their five-round bout at UFC 171. That tally marked a new record for a UFC championship fight, obliterating the previous total of 256, which was set by Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz at UFC 143.

Hendricks and Lawler attempted 728 significant strikes in the fight, the second most ever in single UFC bout behind Cole Miller and Nam Phan, who attempted 788 significant strikes at UFC on FOX 4.

Hendricks’ 158 significant strikes landed against Lawler at UFC 171 stand as the most ever for a UFC title bout.

Lawler earned a UFC championship in his 14 UFC fight at UFC 181, the most it’s ever taken for a fighter to win a UFC championship. Former light heavyweight champion Liddell held the previous record (13).

Lawler became the first fighter in UFC history to force a belt to change hands by split decision when he defeated Hendricks in their rematch at UFC 181.

Lawler became the first American Top Team-trained fighter to win a UFC championship.

Dillashaw became the first Team Alpha Male-trained fighter to win a UFC championship when he defeated Barao at UFC 173. His teammates are 0-7 in UFC title fights.

Dillashaw became the fourth fighter in history to win a UFC championship after being introduced to the organization through “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show. Of those four champions, Dillashaw is the first who did not win the reality show.

Dillashaw became the first UFC champion to come from “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show to successfully defend his belt when he defeated Soto at UFC 177. Matt Serra, Forrest Griffin and R. Evans all failed to register a title defense during their reigns.

Dillashaw became the first fighter in UFC history to earn two fifth-round stoppage victories when he finished Soto at UFC 177 and Barao at UFC 173.

Soto became the sixth fighter in modern UFC history to challenge for a title in his promotion debut when faced Dillashaw at UFC 177. Of those six fighters, Soto became the fifth to come up short in his opportunity.

Women’s bantamweight champion Rousey and featherweight king Aldo made two successful title defenses, the most of any champion.

Rousey’s two successful UFC title defenses in a 56-day span at UFC 168 and UFC 170 marked the quickest successful championship turnaround in UFC history.

Rousey 16-second knockout of Alexis Davis at UFC 175 marked the second fastest knockout ever in a UFC championship fight behind Andrei Arlovski’s 15-second stoppage of Paul Buentello at UFC 55. It also tied Frank Shamrock’s UFC 15.5 stoppage of Kevin Jackson for the second fastest finish overall in title fight history.

Carla Esparza became the inaugural UFC women’s strawweight champion when she defeated Rose Namajunas at The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale.

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

FightMetric (www.fightmetric.com) research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript (www.twitter.com/mjcflipdascript).