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UFC Fight Night 64 pre-fight facts: Can 'Cro Cop' stay perfect in rematches?


Mirko

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic

UFC Fight Night 64 marks the organization’s debut in Poland. Krakow Arena plays host to a 12-fight card that sees veteran heavyweights clash for a second time.

Gabriel Gonzaga (16-9 MMA, 11-8 UFC) looks to somehow upstage his unforgettable head-kick knockout victory in their first meeting at UFC 70 in April 2007 when he welcomes Mirko Filipovic (30-11-2 MMA, 4-6 UFC) back to the octagon.

The headliners are among the small group of familiar names on the card. Ten fighters are set to make their promotional debuts at the event, which streams on UFC Fight Pass.

For more on the numbers behind the UFC’s first fight card on Polish soil, check out 35 pre-fight facts about UFC Fight Night 64.

* * * *

Main event

Gabriel Gonzaga

Gabriel Gonzaga

Gonzaga competes in his 20th UFC heavyweight bout, the second most in divisional history behind Frank Mir (24).

Gonzaga’s average fight time of 5:29 in UFC heavyweight competition is the shortest among active fighters and third shortest in divisional history.

Gonzaga’s 11 victories in UFC heavyweight competition are tied for the third most in divisional history behind Mir (14) and Andrei Arlovski (12).

Gonzaga’s 11 stoppage victories in UFC heavyweight competition are the second most in divisional history behind Mir (12). Gonzaga has finished his opponent in all of his career victories.

Gonzaga’s seven knockout victories in UFC heavyweight competition are tied for the fifth most in divisional history behind Cain Velasquez (nine), Junior Dos Santos (eight), Matt Mitrione (eight) and Arlovski (eight).

Gonzaga’s 17-second knockout of Dave Herman at UFC 162 is the third-fastest knockout in UFC heavyweight history.

Gonzaga’s four submission victories in UFC heavyweight competition are tied for the second most in divisional history behind Mir (eight).

Gonzaga has attempted 10 submissions in UFC heavyweight competition, tied for the third most in divisional history behind Mir (21) and Stefan Struve (19).

Mirko

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic

Filipovic returns to the UFC for the first time since a third-round knockout loss to Roy Nelson at UFC 137 in October 2011. He went 3-1 between stints with the organization.

Filipovic enters the event on a three-fight UFC losing skid with losses to Nelson, Brendan Schaub and Mir. He hasn’t registered an octagon victory since UFC 115 in June 2010.

Filipovic’s rematch with Gonzaga marks the seventh rematch of his pro career. He’s 6-0 when facing an opponent for the second time.

Filipovic has earned 20 stoppage victories in UFC/PRIDE/WEC/Strikeforce competition, tied with Wanderlei Silva for the most finishes in the combined history of the four organizations.

Filipovic’s 17 knockout victories in UFC/PRIDE/WEC/Strikeforce competition are the second most in the combined history of the four organizations behind Wanderlei Silva (19).

Filipovic has earned eight of those knockouts with kicks, the most kick-related finishes in UFC/PRIDE/WEC/Strikeforce combined history.

Filipovic is one of two fighters in UFC/PRIDE/WEC/Strikeforce combined history to earn at least one knockout stemming from head, body and leg kicks. UFC lightweight Edson Barboza is the other.

Filipovic’s 18 knockdowns landed in UFC/PRIDE/WEC/Strikeforce competition are tied for the second most in the combined history of the four organizations behind Wanderlei Silva (27).

Co-main event

Jimi Manuwa

Jimi Manuwa

Jimi Manuwa (14-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) enters the event on the heels of his first professional loss. Alexander Gustafsson defeated him by knockout at UFC Fight Night 37.

Manuwa fights outside the U.K. for the first time in his pro career.

Manuwa has earned all of his victories by stoppage with 10 of those finishes coming in the first round.

Manuwa has never fought to a decision, and his longest fight to date lasted exactly 10 minutes.

Manuwa is one of three fighters in UFC history to earn three consecutive victories by stoppage at the 5:00 mark of a round. His UFC victories w over Kyle Kingsbury, Cyrille Diabate and Ryan Jimmo came by doctor’s stoppage, retirement and injury, respectively.

Manuwa is the only fighter in UFC history with three victories due to an opponent’s injury. Along with Pete Spratt, who earned victories at the TUF 4 Finale and UFC 42, he’s one of two fighters in UFC history with two or more injury-related wins

Jan Blachowicz (18-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is 15-1 in his past 16 pro fights. The lone defeat in that stretch came to Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, a defeat he later avenged.

Blachowicz is one of two light heavyweights in UFC history to earn a knockout with a kick to the body. He accomplished the feat against Ilir Latifi at UFC Fight Night 53.

Remaining main card

Joanne Calderwood

Joanne Calderwood

Sheldon Westcott (8-2-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) drops to the welterweight division after losing to Elias Theodorou in “The Ultimate Fighter: Nations” middleweight final.

Westcott has earned all six of his career finishes in the first round. Of those finishes, five have come in less than one minute with four in less than 30 seconds.

Joanna Calderwood (9-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is one of six female fighters in UFC history to land 100 or more significant strikes. She accomplished the feat against Seo Hee Ham at The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale.

Maryna Moroz (5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes her UFC debut just 504 days after her first pro fight.

Moroz has earned all five of her career victories by stoppage.

Preliminary card

Seth Baczynski

Seth Baczynski

Seth Baczynski (19-12 MMA, 5-5 UFC) enters the event with just one victory in his past five UFC appearances.

Baczynski has been stopped inside the distance in eight of his 12 career losses.

Sergio Moraes (8-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since August 2013. He’ll compete in just his fourth pro bout since June 2010.

Moraes is one of six fighters in UFC history to earn a mounted-triangle submission. He accomplished the feat against Neil Magny at UFC 163.

Daniel Omielanczuk (16-4-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since April 11, 2014. His 365-day layoff is the longest of his pro career dating back to his October 2009 debut.

Anthony Hamilton (13-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has suffered both of his UFC losses by first-round stoppage in a total fight time of 2:51.

Hamilton set a single-round UFC record for most significant body strikes when he landed 49 in the second round against Ruan Potts at UFC 177.

Marcin Bandel (13-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has earned 12 of his 13 career victories by submission. Of those submissions, half were via heel hook.

For more on UFC Fight Night 64, check out 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.

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