UFC Fight Night 37 pre-event facts: Guillard shines in lightweight record books

The UFC’s global tour in the month of March continues on Saturday when UFC Fight Night 37 touches down at London’s O2 Arena.

The 10-bout card, which streams entirely on UFC Fight Pass, sees a crucial contest in the light heavyweight division as Alexander Gustafsson (15-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) looks to solidify his status as the next title challenger when he meets undefeated striking specialist Jimi Manuwa (14-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC).

“The Mauler” is coming off a surprisingly competitive defeat to 205-pound champion Jon Jones this past year, and he’s eager to get back in the cage with “Bones” and claim the title in the rematch.

Manuwa, on the other hand, is hungry to prove his worth in the first main event of his UFC career, and he carries the confidence that comes with an unblemished record into his most notable fight to date.

With a lot riding on the main event of the organization’s 15th trip across the pond to the U.K., here are 35 pre-fight facts about the UFC Fight Night 37 headliners, as well as the remaining 18 fighters on the card.

MAIN EVENT

Gustafsson has stopped his opponent by knockout (three) or submission (two) in five of his seven UFC victories. After finishing his first five UFC opponents, Gustafsson has earned his past two UFC victories by decision. His five stoppages are tied for the sixth most in UFC divisional history.

Gustafsson’s five stoppage victories in the UFC came quicker than any light heavyweight’s in history. He accomplished the feat in just six bouts.

Gustafsson’s 41-second knockout of Jared Hamman at UFC 105 is the second fastest knockout finish by a debuting UFC light heavyweight in the modern era. The fastest was Ryan Jimmo’s seven-second knockout of Anthony Perosh at UFC 149.

Gustafsson and Jones combined for a total of 244 significant strikes landed in their UFC 165 bout, the most ever in a UFC light-heavyweight bout and second most ever in a UFC championship fight behind Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz, who combined for 256 significant strikes at UFC 143.
Gustafsson lands 4.11 significant strikes per minute, the fifth highest rate among active UFC light heavyweights (min. five fights).

Gustafsson has successfully defended 26 of 30 takedowns in his UFC career for a takedown defense rate of 86.7 percent. His takedown defense rate is the second best in UFC divisional history behind Jones (95.8 percent). It’s also the seventh best rate overall among active UFC fighters.

Manuwa has earned all of his career victories by knockout (13) or submission (one) with 10 of those finishes coming in the first round. “Poster Boy” has never fought to a decision, and his longest fight to date went exactly 10 minutes.

Manuwa is one of three fighters in UFC history to earn two consecutive victories by stoppage at the 5:00 mark of a round. His UFC victories over Kyle Kingsbury, Cyrille Diabate and Ryan Jimmo came by doctor’s stoppage, retirement and injury, respectively. He’s the only fighter in UFC history with three victories due to injury, and one of just two with two or more such wins along with Pete Spratt. who got victories at The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale and UFC 42 due to an opponent’s injury.

CO-MAIN EVENT

Melvin Guillard (31-12-2 MMA, 12-8 UFC) will compete in his 22nd UFC fight, tying him for the seventh most appearances in company history behind Tito Ortiz (27), Matt Hughes (25), Randy Couture (24), Chuck Liddell (23), Josh Koscheck (23) and Frank Mir (23). No fighter lighter than 170 pounds has competed in more UFC bouts than “The Young Assassin.”

Guillard’s average fight time of 6:16 is the fourth shortest in UFC lightweight history.

Guillard’s consistent octagon appearances dating back to his debut in 2005 have made him one of the most successful lightweights in UFC history. His 11 victories in the weight class are the third most in history behind Gleison Tibau (13) and Jim Miller (12).

Guillard’s 13 knockdowns landed in UFC competition are the most in lightweight history and the third most overall in UFC history behind only Anderson Silva (17) and Chuck Liddell (14).

Guillard’s seven career knockout victories under the UFC banner are the most in lightweight history.

Guillard may have a long tenure with the UFC, but right now, he’s in one of his worst stretches as he enters the event with a 2-4 record (and one no-contest) in his past seven UFC appearances.
Guillard’s six submission losses under the UFC banner are tied with Ryan Jensen for the most by submission in organizational history.

Michael Johnson (14-8 MMA, 6-4 UFC) has scored eight knockdowns in his UFC lightweight career. That’s tied with Yves Edwards for the second most in UFC divisional history behind only Guillard (13).

Johnson out-struck Joe Lauzon by a margin of 91 strikes at UFC Fight Night 26, the fourth largest disparity in a UFC lightweight bout.

Johnson has been submitted in seven of his nine career defeats.

REMAINING MAIN CARD

Brad Pickett (23-8 MMA, 3-3 UFC) drops to the flyweight division for the first time in his nearly 10-year, 31-fight professional career.

Pickett has earned a fight-night bonus in five of his six UFC appearances for a total of $270,000 in extra pay.

Neil Seery (13-9 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his UFC debut on short notice after Pickett’s originally scheduled opponent, Ian McCall, withdrew from the event due to an injury.

Gunnar Nelson (11-0-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) competes for just the third time in the past 25 months.

Nelson has earned 10 of his 11 career victories by submission (seven) or knockout (three), nine in the first round.

Omari Akhmedov (12-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) drops to the welterweight division after winning his UFC debut against Thiago Perpetuo by first-round knockout at UFC Fight Night 32.

Akhmedov has earned 10 of his 12 career victories by knockout (six) or submission (four), all in the first round.

PRELIMINARY CARD

Cyrille Diabate (19-9-1 MMA, 4-3 UFC), 40, is the second oldest active fighter in the UFC light-heavyweight division behind Dan Henderson (43).

Diabate’s 146 significant strikes landed against Steve Cantwell at UFC on VERSUS 3 are a UFC single-fight light-heavyweight record. Diabate finished the bout with a +118 strike differential (146 to 28), also a record for the weight class.

Diabate has been finished in all three of his UFC losses.

Ilir Latifi (7-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) enters the event on a 336-day layoff, the longest break from competition in his career.

Luke Barnatt’s (7-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) 113 significant strikes landed at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale are the fourth most ever landed by a debuting UFC fighter. Jessamyn Duke’s 123 significant strikes at the TUF 18 Finale lead the category. Barnatt and TUF 17 Finale opponent Collin Hart combined for 208 significant strikes landed, a UFC middleweight record.

Brad Scott (9-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has earned all nine of his career victories by knockout (five) or submission (four), six in the first round.

Claudio Henrique da Silva (9-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) enters the event on a 498-day layoff, the longest break from competition in his career.

Roland Delorme’s (9-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) 10 takedowns landed in UFC competition are tied for the seventh most in bantamweight history.

Davey Grant (8-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has been submitted in both of his professional defeats.

Igor Araujo (24-6 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has earned 17 of his 24 professional victories by submission with 12 of those finishes coming in the first round.

Louis Gaudinot (6-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) was on the losing end of the fourth largest total striking deficit in UFC history when Tim Elliott outlanded him by 229 strikes at UFC 164. The lopsided loss also ranks second in the category when it comes to three-round fights.

Phil Harris (22-11 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has been defeated by knockout or submission in 10 of his 11 career losses, seven in the first round.

For more on UFC Fight Night 37, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

FightMetric research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.