UFC Fight Night 38 pre-fight facts: 'Shogun' could claim UFC/PRIDE wins record

The UFC returns to Brazil for a rare Sunday-night event this weekend, and the headliner is a rematch of one of the greatest fights in company history.

Former UFC light-heavyweight champion Mauricio Rua (22-8 MMA, 6-6 UFC) and former PRIDE/Strikeforce titleholder Dan Henderson (29-11 MMA, 6-5 UFC) meet for a second time, roughly 28 months after their 2011 “Fight of the Year” at UFC 139.

Henderson was fortunate enough to get home-field advantage in the first affair, but in the rematch, the tables have turned, and “Shogun” gets to compete in his home country of Brazil, where – over the course of 14 UFC events in the country – Brazilian fighters hold a 70-28 advantage against foreign opposition.

The rematch marks a crossroads for both fighters. Each man is 2-4 all-time in UFC main events, and while Rua will be trying to put together his first winning streak since 2009, Henderson is desperately looking to avoid a fourth consecutive loss.

After combining for 304 total strikes landed in the first bout, both men likely will be searching for a finish in the rematch. Both, though, are ready to partake in another five-round slugfest if need be.

This weekend’s event from Natal’s Ginasio Nelio Dias marks the fourth and final fight card of March for the UFC. To take a closer look at the 24 fighters scheduled to compete on the card, here are 50 pre-fight facts about UFC Fight Night 38.

MAIN EVENT

Rua is 4-0 in his career when fighting in Brazil. “Shogun” stopped Forrest Griffin by first-round knockout the most recent time he fought in his home country.

Rua has suffered all eight of his professional defeats to a fighter who once held or challenged for a UFC championship. He has avenged three of those eight losses, defeating Griffin, Mark Coleman and Lyoto Machida in rematches of their original meetings.

Rua has defeated his opponent by knockout in 19 of his 22 professional victories with 18 of those stoppages coming in the first round. All six of his UFC victories are by knockout. Rua is winless (0-3) in his UFC career in fights that go to a decision.

Rua’s 18 light-heavyweight victories under the UFC/PRIDE banner are tied with Quinton Jackson for the most in the combined history of the two organizations.

Rua’s 15 knockout victories in UFC/PRIDE competition are the most by any fighter in the weight class. Wanderlei Silva trails Rua with 12 finishes in 205-pound competition. Rua’s six knockout wins under the UFC banner are tied with Rashad Evans for second most in 205-pound history behind Chuck Liddell (nine).

Rua’s 825 significant strikes landed in UFC/PRIDE competition are the second most in the weight class behind  Jackson (949). His 52.4 percent significant striking accuracy is third highest among active UFC light heavyweights and fifth highest in UFC light-heavyweight history.

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

Henderson, 43, is the oldest fighter on the UFC’s active roster. He’s also, of course, the oldest of the 24 fighters scheduled to compete on the card.

Henderson enters the event on a three-fight losing streak, the longest skid in his 40-fight career. His most recent fight saw him suffer the first knockout loss of his career when Vitor Belfort stopped him with strikes at UFC Fight Night 32.

Henderson has not finished his opponent in any of his eight UFC light-heavyweight contests.

Henderson is the only fighter in UFC/PRIDE/Strikeforce history to hold two titles simultaneously, once reigning as the PRIDE welterweight (183-pound) and middleweight (205-pound) champion.

Henderson has beaten 10 former UFC/PRIDE/Strikeforce champions throughout his MMA career. All four of his UFC fights since returning the organization in 2011 have come against former 205-pound champions.

Henderson has earned 17 total knockdowns in his UFC/PRIDE/Strikeforce career, which ranks fourth behind only Mirko Filipovic (18), Anderson Silva (18) and Wanderlei Silva (27) in the combined history of the three promotions.

Henderson’s 527 significant strikes landed in his PRIDE career were the third-most in the promotion’s history.

Henderson has landed 87.5 percent of his takedowns from the clinch in UFC/PRIDE/Strikeforce competition. His 48 takedowns landed in the three promotions are the fourth most ever by a fighter competing at 183 pounds or heavier.

Henderson’s 31 takedowns landed in his PRIDE career were the second most of any fighter in the now-defunct promotion’s history behind Kazushi Sakuraba (40).

Henderson’s average fight time of 16:03 as a UFC light heavyweight is the longest in company history.

CO-MAIN EVENT

Cezar Ferreira’s (7-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) three-fight UFC winning streak is tied for the fourth longest active streak in the middleweight division behind Chris Weidman (seven), Brad Tavares (five) and Belfort (four).

Ferreira can become the first winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show franchise to start his UFC career with a 4-0 record since Season 8 winner Ryan Bader. He could also become the first international “TUF” winner to accomplish the feat.

Ferreira’s 47-second submission win over Thiago Santos at UFC 163 is the third fastest in UFC middleweight history (Rory Singer def. Ross Pointon, TUF 3 Finale, 0:44; Rousimar Palhares def. Thomasz Drwal, UFC 111, 0:45).

C.B. Dollaway (13-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) will fight a “TUF” contestant or winner for the fifth time in his UFC career. “The Doberman” has also faced Daniel Sarafian, Tom Lawlor, Jesse Taylor and Amir Sadollah inside the octagon.

Dollaway’s 26 takedowns landed in UFC competition are the fifth most in middleweight history behind Chael Sonnen (35), Ed Herman (29), Yushin Okami (27) and Nate Marquardt (27).

Dollaway lands exactly four takedowns per 15 minutes of fighting, the third highest rate among active middleweights and fourth highest in middleweight history (minimum of five fights).

Dollaway is an accurate takedown artist. He’s connected with 53.1 percent of his attempts, the third highest takedown accuracy among active middleweights and fifth highest in divisional history (minimum of five fights and 20 attempt). Oppositely, Dollaway’s opponents have had few opportunities to take him down, and they’ve largely proven unsuccessful. He’s stuffed 12 of 14 opponent attempts for a takedown defense of 85.7 percent, over 26 percentage points higher than the UFC average of 59 percent.

Dollaway’s Peruvian necktie submission victory over Jesse Taylor at UFC Fight Night 14 is the only submission of its kind in UFC history.

REMAINING MAIN CARD

Leonardo Santos (12-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC), lightweight winner of “TUF: Brazil 2,” will compete for the first time since winning the show and earning his six-fight UFC contract this past June.

Santos, 34, is the second oldest fighter to win an edition of “TUF” behind Roy Nelson.

Norman Parke’s (19-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) three-fight UFC winning streak is tied for the sixth longest active streak in the lightweight division behind T.J. Grant (five), Rafael dos Anjos (five), Khabib Nurmagomedov (five), Myles Jury (five) and Anthony Pettis (four).

Parke has earned all three of his UFC victories by decision.

Mairbek Taisumov (21-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has earned all but two of his 21 professional victories by knockout (10) or submission (nine).

Steven Siler’s (23-11 MMA, 5-2 UFC) five UFC featherweight victories are tied for the sixth most in divisional history behind Dustin Poirier (seven), Chad Mendes (seven), Darren Elkins (six) Jose Aldo (six), and Dennis Bermudez (six).

Siler has suffered all but two of his 11 professional defeats by submission (five) or knockout (four).

Siler’s 494 total strikes landed in UFC featherweight competition are the sixth most in divisional history behind Elkins (619), Bermudez (549), Dennis Siver (545), Nam Phan (540) and Poirier (536).

Siler’s knockout of Mike Brown at 0:50 of Round 1 at UFC Fight Night 26 is tied for the sixth fastest knockout in UFC/WEC featherweight history.

Siler has attempted 10 submissions inside the octagon, tied for second most in UFC featherweight history behind Elkins (14).

Rony Jason (13-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has earned all three of his UFC victories by a different method. He has recorded one knockout, one submission and one decision win.

Jason’s submission of Mike Wilkinson at 1:24 of Round 1 at UFC on FUEL TV 10 was the fifth fastest submission in UFC/WEC featherweight history.

PRELIMINARY CARD

Scott Jorgensen (14-8 MMA, 3-4 UFC) enters the event with a 1-4 record in his past five UFC appearances. “Young Guns” will compete in his second flyweight bout after losing his divisional debut to Zach Makovsky at UFC on FOX 9.

Jorgensen holds the record for most wins in UFC/WEC bantamweight competition with 10.

Jussier Formiga (15-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has suffered both of his UFC defeats by knockout.

Formiga’s career losses have come to top-ranked UFC flyweights Joseph Benavidez, John Dodson and Ian McCall.

Fabio Maldonado (20-6 MMA, 3-3 UFC) enters the event on his first two-fight winning streak since 2010.

Maldonado’s 60.9 percent significant strike accuracy is the best in UFC light-heavyweight history and the second highest percentage overall in UFC history behind Anderson Silva (67.2 percent).

Maldonado’s lands 5.72 strikes per minute of fighting, the second most in light heavyweight history behind Glover Teixeira (6.35). It’s also the third best rate overall in UFC history behind Teixeira and Cain Velasquez (6.21).

Maldonado’s 722 total strikes landed inside the octagon are the third most amongst active 205-pound fighters behind Jon Jones (878) and Rashad Evans (743). Similarly, his 462 significant strikes landed rank third behind Jones (686) and Evans (463).

Maldonado also absorbs a lot of punishment. He’s hit with 4.34 significant strikes per minute, a rate far higher than the UFC average of 2.61. As an example, Maldonado absorbed 64 significant strikes from Teixeira in Round 1 of their bout at UFC 153, the third most strikes ever absorbed by a light heavyweight in a single round.

Maldonado lost to Igor Pokrajac at UFC on FUEL TV 3 despite out-landing Pokrajac by a count of 98 to 36. His +57 significant strike differential is the most for a losing fighter in UFC history.

Diego Brandao (18-9 MMA, 4-2 UFC) is 3-2 since becoming the Season 14 “TUF” winner.

Brandao’s 85.7 percent takedown defense accuracy ranks third in UFC/WEC featherweight history behind Jose Aldo (91.6 percent) and Dennis Bermudez (91.3 percent).

Will Chope (19-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC) started his professional career with a record of 1-5. Since then, “The Kill” has won 18 of his 20 fights, all but three of which have come by some form of stoppage.

Chope will become the first UFC fighter to compete twice in 2014. He suffered a knockout loss to Max Holloway at UFC Fight Night 34 in January.

Chope, 23, is the youngest of the 24 fighters scheduled to compete on the card.

Kenny Robertson (12-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) is the author of the only “Suloev Stretch” submission in UFC history. He used the rare technique to finish Brock Jardine at UFC 157.

Thiago Perpetuo (9-2-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) drops to the welterweight division for the first time after going 1-1 in his first two UFC bouts as a middleweight.

Noad Lahat(7-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who makes his debut at the event, will compete in just his third MMA bout since May 2010.

For the latest on UFC Fight Night 38, 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.