UFC Fight Night 33 preview: 60 pre-event facts about ‘Hunt vs. Bigfoot’ in Australia

The UFC is just days away from its annual trip down under as the octagon will touch down in Australia for “UFC Fight Night 33: Hunt vs. Bigfoot,” which takes place Saturday locally but airs live on Friday in North America.

The event, which airs on FOX Sports 1 with prelims on FOX Sports 2 and MMAjunkie, features a heavyweight main event between two of the division’s hardest hitters in Antonio Silva (18-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC) and Mark Hunt (9-8 MMA, 4-2 UFC).

The five-round contest marks the third UFC main event for “Bigfoot” while Hunt steps under the bright lights of a UFC headliner for the first time in his career.

Having both suffered knockout losses in their most recent UFC appearances, victory is essential to remain relevant in the frequently evolving heavyweight division.

Outside of the main event, several fighters on the card are at a crossroads. Longtime UFC mainstays Mauricio Rua (21-8 MMA, 5-6 UFC), Ryan Bader (15-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) and Pat Barry (8-6 MMA, 5-6 UFC) all also enter the fight off of losses and need to rebound in the worst of ways.

With an event that features former champions, title challengers, “The Ultimate Fighter” winners, established veterans and hungry up-and-comers, UFC Fight Night 33 has a bit of something for everyone.

The card is rapidly approaching and with the help of FightMetric research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll, here are 60 pre-fight facts about UFC Fight Night 33.

MAIN EVENT

Silva has been knocked out in four of his five professional defeats.

Silva’s past seven UFC/Strikeforce contests (win or lose) have ended by knockout.

Silva knocked out Alistair Overeem at UFC 156 despite being out-landed by 30 significant strikes, the third biggest deficit for a heavyweight who came back and finished an opponent.

Silva has landed 50.9 percent of his significant strikes from the clinch or ground position during his combined UFC and Strikeforce career.

Silva’s 28 significant strikes landed on Fedor Emelianenko in a 2011 Strikeforce fight are the most Emelianenko ever absorbed in an MMA fight.

Hunt has fought in Australia or Japan in five of his seven UFC appearances.

Hunt’s 81 percent takedown defense accuracy is the second highest in UFC heavyweight history. He’s stopped 17 of 21 attempts. Andrei Arlovski holds the UFC heavyweight record (89.5 percent).

Hunt has landed 83.9 percent of his significant strikes in the UFC to his opponents’ head, the second largest proportion in heavyweight history. Brendan Schaub (86 percent) tops all heavyweights.

Hunt’s 113 significant strikes landed against Yosuke Nishijima at PRIDE 31 stands as the single-fight record for the now-defunct promotion.

CO-MAIN EVENT

Rua’s 5-6 UFC record produces the lowest win percentage among top 10 ranked light heavyweight fighters. “Shogun” is winless (0-3) in his UFC career in fights that go to a decision.

Rua is on the first two-fight losing streak of his 29-bout career and has lost four of his past six fights overall.

Rua has defeated his opponent by knockout in 18 of his 21 professional victories, with 16 of those stoppages coming in the first round. All five of Rua’s UFC wins are by knockout.

Rua’s 14 knockout victories in UFC/PRIDE competition are the most ever in the weight class.

Rua’s 816 significant strikes landed in UFC/PRIDE competition are the second most in the weight class behind Quinton Jackson (933). His 52.1 percent significant striking accuracy is fourth highest among active light heavyweights and sixth highest in light heavyweight history.

Rua’s 191 total strikes landed against Dan Henderson at UFC 139 are the fifth most ever landed in a UFC light heavyweight fight.

Rua’s nine leg-lock-submission attempts in UFC/PRIDE competition are tied for third most in UFC/PRIDE history.

James Te Huna (16-6 MMA, 5-2 UFC) has been submitted in the first round of all but one of his career losses.

Te Huna’s average fight time of 7:38 is the third shortest among active light heavyweight fighters.

Te Huna’s 52.4 percent significant strike accuracy is the fifth highest rate in UFC light heavyweight history. His 65.6 percent significant strike defense rate is the seventh highest in 205-pound history.

REMAINING MAIN CARD

Bader enters the event with a 3-4 record in his past seven UFC fights. “Darth” has been stopped inside the distance in all four of his career defeats.

Bader is the owner of the fastest submission in UFC light heavyweight history, a 50-second tap-out of Vladimir Matyushenko at UFC on FOX 6.

Bader’s six knockdowns landed in light heavyweight competition are tied with “Shogun” for the fourth most in divisional history.

Bader’s three UFC knockout victories stemming from punches landed at distance are tied for the second most in light heavyweight history behind Chuck Liddell (nine).

Bader’s 71 percent significant strike defense rate is the second highest in UFC light heavyweight history (min. of five UFC fights). He absorbs just 1.63 significant strikes per minute, the third best rate among active light heavyweights (min. five fights).

Bader averages 3.08 takedowns per 15 minutes of fighting, the fifth highest rate among active light heavyweights. He’s taken down five of the seven opponents he’s attempted to take down.

Anthony Perosh (14-7 MMA, 4-4 UFC) enters the event with a 4-1 record in his past five UFC appearances.

Perosh, 41, is the second oldest fighter on the UFC roster behind Dan Henderson.

Perosh is one of just five 40-plus year old fighters in UFC history to earn a victory inside the octagon (Henderson, Cung Le, Mark Coleman, Randy Couture).

Perosh’s average fight time of 3:15 is the shortest among active UFC light heavyweights and the sixth shortest in the division’s history.

Perosh’s 3.7 submission attempts per 15 minutes of fighting are the most by any fighter in UFC light heavyweight history.

Perosh’s 14-second knockout of Vinny Magalhaes at UFC 163 was the third fastest in UFC light heavyweight history (Ryan Jimmo def. Perosh, UFC 149, 0:07; James Irvin def. Houston Alexander, UFC Fight Night 13, 0:08).

Perosh has earned all 14 of his career victories by knockout or submission.

Opponents Barry and Soa Palelei (19-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) have only fought to a decision once in a combined 36 professional fights.

Barry has been defeated by knockout or submission in all six of his career losses.

Barry’s average fight time of 6:05 is the sixth shortest in UFC heavyweight history.

Barry and/or his opponent have received a post-fight bonus in eight of his past nine UFC fights.

Barry has fought 11 times under the UFC banner without winning back-to-back fights. Only Wanderlei Silva (12 UFC fights) has entered the octagon more times without consecutive victories.

Barry’s eight knockdowns landed are tied with Arlovski for the third most in heavyweight history behind Cain Velasquez (nine) and Junior dos Santos (11).

Barry lands 88.2 percent of his significant strikes while at distance, the largest proportion in UFC heavyweight history.

Barry’s 78 leg kicks landed are the second most in UFC heavyweight history behind Arlovski (100). He lands 42.8 percent of his significant strikes to his opponents’ legs, the third largest proportion in UFC history.

Barry is one of six fighters in UFC history to earn a finish stemming from leg kicks.

Barry’s 52.2 percent significant strike accuracy ranks third in UFC heavyweight history.

Barry’s 80 percent takedown defense rate ranks third in UFC heavyweight history (min. 20 opponent attempts).

“The Ultimate Fighter 17? Team Jones teammates Dylan Andrews (17-4 MMA, 2-0 UFC) and Clint Hester (8-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) meet on the main card.

Andrews’ current six-fight MMA winning streak is tied for the longest of his career.

Hester is one of nine fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout victory stemming from a standing elbow strike.

Takeya Mizugaki‘s (18-7-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) current three-fight winning streak is the longest of his UFC/WEC career, which dates back to 2009. His seven career UFC/WEC bantamweight victories are tied for the fifth most in divisional history.

Mizugaki’s average fight time of 14:32 is the third longest in UFC/WEC bantamweight history. His 2:54:20 of total fight time in UFC/WEC bantamweight competition is the second most in the division’s history.

Mizugaki’s 508 significant strikes landed in UFC/WEC bantamweight competition are the third most in the division’s history. His 937 total strikes are also the second most in bantamweight history.

Mizugaki’s 20 takedowns in UFC/WEC bantamweight competition are the fifth most in the division’s history. His 74.1 percent takedown accuracy is the highest in UFC/WEC bantamweight history.

Nam Phan (18-11 MMA, 2-4 UFC) has been defeated by decision in eight of his 11 career losses. Phan has not been finished under the UFC banner.

Phan was on the losing end of just the second 30-24 scorecard in UFC history in his UFC on FOX 5 loss to Dennis Siver. The first was Nate Quarry vs. Kalib Starnes at UFC 83.

Phan has absorbed the most and second-most total strikes in UFC/WEC featherweight history, absorbing 222 total strikes against Siver at UFC on FOX 5 and 221 total strikes against Jimy Hettes at UFC 141.

Phan’s 174 significant strikes landed against Leonard Garcia at UFC 136 are the most ever landed in a UFC/WEC featherweight fight. Phan is the only featherweight in UFC/WEC history to top the 100-significant-strikes-landed mark three times.

Julie Kedzie (16-12 MMA, 0-1 UFC) enters the event on a career-worst three-fight losing streak.

Kedzie’s 28 professional fights are the most of any female currently signed to the UFC roster.

Bethe Correia (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has earned five of her six career victories by decision.

PRELIMINARY CARD

Nick Ring (13-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) owns no UFC victories over fighters who are still part of the organization’s middleweight roster.

Ring’s average fight time of 14:43 is the second longest in UFC middleweight history.

Ring’s 3.8 strikes landed per minute rate is the sixth highest in UFC middleweight history.

Bruno Santos (13-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has earned 11 of his 13 career victories by decision. He hasn’t finished an opponent since September 2008.

Alex Garcia (10-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has earned nine of his 10 career victories by knockout or submission, eight in the first round.

For the latest on UFC Fight Night 33, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.