UFC Fight Night 39 pre-fight facts: Nogueira looks to halt surge in knockdowns

For the first time in four years, the UFC finally returns to the United Arab Emirates for UFC Fight Night 39 on Friday in Abu Dhabi.

The first time the UFC hosted a show in the region was April 2010, when former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva infamously clowned Demian Maia for five rounds in UFC 112's main event.

That show was a major pay-per-view event with two title fights. This time, the UFC brings a vastly different kind of card, which is scheduled for a rare Friday afternoon timeslot in the U.S. and streams on UFC Fight Pass.

Heavyweights are slated to take center stage at DU Arena as former UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (34-8-1 MMA, 5-4 UFC) returns to the octagon to take on “The Ultimate Fighter 10” winner Roy Nelson (19-9 MMA, 6-5 UFC) in a five-round main event.

Nogueira will go down as one of the most legendary fighters in MMA history, and he hopes to further extend his legacy with another underdog victory. Nelson, on the other hand, enters the contest in a two-fight slump and can’t afford a third consecutive defeat.

With the UFC’s second-ever event in the Middle East just days away, here are 44 pre-fight facts about UFC Fight Night 39:

MAIN EVENT

Nogueira, 37, is the oldest of the 18 fighters scheduled to compete on the card. He is just 18 days the senior of opponent Nelson, who is the second oldest fighter on the card. Nogueira is also the second oldest fighter in the heavyweight division behind Mark Hunt (39).

Nogueira has alternated wins and losses in his past eight UFC appearances.

Nogueira’s 22 victories in his UFC/PRIDE/Strikeforce/WEC career are tied for the third most in the combined history of the four organizations behind Wanderlei Silva (27) and Dan Henderson (23).

Nogueira has earned 13 submission victories in UFC/PRIDE/Strikeforce/WEC competition, the most of any fighter in the combined history of the four organizations. Overall, he has earned 21 of his 34 professional victories by submission.

Nogueira’s seven armbar submission victories in UFC/PRIDE/Strikeforce/WEC competition are the most in the combined history of the four organizations. Ronda Rousey, Paulo Filho and Kazushi Sakuraba narrowly trail him with six.

Nogueira has committed to 56 submission attempts in UFC/PRIDE/Strikeforce/WEC competition, the most of any fighter in the combined history of the four organizations. Second place in the category goes to Chris Lytle (37).

Nogueira has suffered all four of his UFC defeats by knockout or submission. He had never been stopped in MMA competition prior to joining the organization.

Nogueira was knocked down just three times during his 21-fight PRIDE career. In nine fights since joining the UFC roster, he’s been knocked down a total of six times.

Nelson has earned all six of his UFC victories by knockout, five in the first round. Those six knockout finishes are the fifth most in UFC heavyweight history behind Cain Velasquez (nine), Junior dos Santos (seven), Gabriel Gonzaga (seven) and Andrei Arlovski (seven). He has landed fewer significant strikes than his opponent in three of those six knockout wins.

Nelson is the only heavyweight in UFC history to suffer five decision losses.

Nelson has absorbed 511 significant strikes throughout his UFC career. That’s the second most of any fighter in heavyweight history behind Frank Mir (541), and the most without suffering a knockout loss. Of those 511 strikes, 355 were landed to the head.

CO-MAIN EVENT

Clay Guida (30-14 MMA, 10-8 UFC) will make his 19th UFC appearance, the third most for any fighter weighing 155 pounds or less, behind Melvin Guillard (20) and Gleison Tibau (20).

Guida is 1-1 since dropping to the UFC featherweight division this past year. His defeated Hatsu Hioki in his divisional debut at UFC on FOX 6 and suffered a knockout loss to Chad Mendes at UFC 164. “The Carpenter” is 1-3 in his past four UFC appearances overall.

Guida’s knockout loss to Mendes this past August marked the first time he was stopped with strikes in 44 professional fights.

Guida’s 51 completed takedowns in UFC competition are the fifth most in the modern era behind Georges St-Pierre (87), Gleison Tibau (71), Jon Fitch (58) and Karo Parisyan (53). Among all-time UFC competitors, he ranks seventh. His 133 takedowns attempted are tied with Diego Sanchez for the second most in company history behind Demian Maia (139).

Guida’s eight fight-fight bonuses are tied for the fifth most in UFC history behind Joe Lauzon (12), Anderson Silva (12), Nate Diaz (11) and Lytle (10).

Tatsuya Kawajiri (33-7-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is undefeated in five fights since dropping to the featherweight division. He has won four of those fights by submission, including a second-round finish of Sean Soriano in his UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 34.

Kawajiri’s 3.4 takedowns landed per 15 minutes of fighting in his PRIDE career stands as the fourth highest rate in the now-defunct organization’s history.

Kawajiri vs. Guida is the lone bout on the card pitting a fighter who won his most recent bout vs. a fighter who lost.

REMAINING MAIN CARD

John Howard (22-8 MMA, 6-3 UFC) is 2-0 since returning to the UFC this past year. “Doomsday” defeated Uriah Hall at UFC Fight Night 26 in August and Siyar Bahadurzada at UFC 168 in December.

Howard has earned three of his six UFC victories by split decision. Overall, he’s earned four of his six wins with the promotion by going the distance.

Howard’s knockout of Dennis Hallman at 4:55 of Round 3 at The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale stands as the latest knockout ever in a three-round UFC fight.

Ryan LaFlare’s (10-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) three-fight UFC winning streak is tied for the third longest active streak in the welterweight division behind Matt Brown (six) and Dong Hyun Kim (four).

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

LaFlare is 4-0 in MMA competition since returning from a 2.5-year layoff in January 2013.

Ramsey Nijem (8-4 MMA, 4-3 UFC) absorbs just 1.14 significant strikes per minute of fighting, the lowest rate of any lightweight in UFC history (minimum of five fights).

Nijem lands an average of 5.78 takedowns per 15 minutes of fighting, the second highest rate in lightweight history behind Khabib Nurmagomedov (7.37). He has completed 56.8 percent of his takedowns in UFC competition, the fifth highest rate in divisional history (minimum of five fights and 20 attempts).

Beneil Dariush (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), 24, is the youngest of the 18 fighters scheduled to compete on the card.

Dariush’s submission of Charlie Brenneman at 1:45 of Round 1 at UFC Fight Night 35 was the fourth fastest tap-out earned by a debuting lightweight in UFC history.

PRELIMINARY CARD

Jared Rosholt (9-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is a member of one of 15 pairs of siblings to have competed under the UFC banner. His brother, Jake, is a three-fight veteran of the organization.

Daniel Omielanczuk (16-3-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) enters the event on a career-high 12-fight MMA winning streak. He has finished his opponent by knockout or submission in 10 of those victories, including a third-round stoppage of Nandor Guelmino at UFC 165.

Rani Yahya (19-8 MMA, 4-2 UFC) is one of two fighters in UFC history (Jeff Monson) to earn a north-south choke submission. He has two such submissions in his UFC/WEC career; he used the technique to finish Josh Grispi at UFC on FOX 4 and John Hosman at WEC 42.

Yahya absorbs just 1.05 significant strikes per minute of fighting, the second lowest rate in UFC history (minimum of five fights) behind Pete Spratt (1.04).

Johnny Bedford (19-10-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) competes for the first time since a submission loss to Bryan Caraway at UFC 159 a year ago. His 349-day layoff is the second longest of his career.

Bedford has suffered nine of his 10 professional defeats by submission. His opponent, Yahya, has earned 15 of his 19 career victories by submission.

Thales Leites (22-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) is 2-0 since making his return to the UFC this past year. He defeated Tom Watson at UFC 163 and Ed Herman at UFC 167.

Leites enters the fight on a five-fight winning streak, his longest since 2008.

Leites has attempted 13 submissions in his UFC career, which is tied with Ed Herman for the most among active middleweights. Overall, his 13 submission attempts are tied for fourth most in divisional history behind Kendall Grove (17), Rousimar Palhares (14), Joe Doerksen (14).

Trevor Smith (11-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) enters the event off the first decision victory of his 15-fight career. “Hot Sauce” outpointed Brian Houston on the judge’s scorecards at UFC Fight Night 35.

Chris Camozzi (19-7 MMA, 6-4 UFC) enters the event on the first two-fight losing streak of his career. The 27-year-old suffered defeats to Ronaldo Souza at UFC on FX 8 this past May and Lorenz Larkin at UFC Fight Night 31 in November.

Camozzi is one of just two fighters in UFC history (Henry Martinez) to attempt 350 or more significant strikes in a UFC bout and not land a single significant ground strike.

Camozzi lands 84.4 percent of his strikes at a distance while landing only 15.6 percent from the clinch.

Camozzi’s has landed 134 leg kicks throughout his UFC career, the most of any fighter in middleweight history.

Andrew Craig (9-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) defeated Rafael Natal at UFC on FUEL TV 4 despite finishing with 50 fewer significant strikes landed. Craig’s -50 significant strike differential is the second largest margin ever in a UFC fight featuring a come-from-behind finish. Anderson Silva leads the category for his fifth-round submission of Chael Sonnen at UFC 117, which featured a -60 differential.

Alan Omer (18-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) competes for just the second time since Dec. 3, 2011 – a span of 860 days (more than two years).

Jim Alers (12-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who makes his debut at the event, has earned all but one of his professional victories by submission (nine) or knockout (two). Seven of those stoppages were recorded in the first round. Alers enters the event on an eight-fight MMA winning streak.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 39, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

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