30 post-event facts about 'UFC 165: Jones vs. Gustafsson'

UFC light heavyweight titleholder Jon Jones barely edged Alexander Gustafsson in Saturday’s UFC 165 main event, but he did walk away with the belt, and in turn, finally broke the title defense record he has aimed for since becoming champ in 2011.

Jones (19-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) was previously tied with UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz for the most consecutive 205-pound title defenses in UFC history, a record that stood since 2002. Gustafsson (15-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) made sure the record didn’t come easy, though, and he turned the champion’s face into a bloody mess.

The five-round classic will go down as one of the best fights in UFC history, and the stats back it up.

In a fight that took place almost entirely on the feet, Jones and Gustafsson each landed more than 100 significant strikes, and the combined total of 244 over 25 minutes marked a new record for UFC championship fights.

The pay-per-view bout from inside Toronto’s Air Canada Centre won’t soon be forgotten, and with the help of FightMetric, it’s time to recognize the crucial statistics that came out of Jones vs. Gustafsson and the card’s other 12 fights.

GENERAL

Jones, Gustafsson, Renan Barao and Mitch Gagnon earned $50,000 UFC 165 fight-night bonuses.

UFC 165 drew an announced attendance of 15,504 for a live gate of $1.9 million.

Betting favorites went 8-5 on the card.

Total fight time for the 13-bout card was 2:30:32.

Canadian fighters went 3-5 against foreign opponents at UFC 165, bringing their overall record to 47-40 at events on Canadian soil.

MAIN CARD

Jones’ sixth consecutive UFC title defense ranks third all-time in UFC history. Welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre is second with eight while Anderson Silva leads the category with 10.

Jones earned his 13th UFC light heavyweight victory, tying Chuck Liddell for the most 205-pound wins in modern history.

Jones 10-fight UFC winning streak is the fourth longest in organizational history. Royce Gracie and St-Pierre are tied for second with 11 consecutive wins while Anderson Silva leads the category at 16 wins.

Jones’ seven wins in UFC championship fights are the fifth-most ever. Matt Hughes and Randy Couture are tied for second at nine while Silva and St-Pierre lead the category with 11.

Jones’ 134 significant strikes landed were the second most ever in a UFC light heavyweight fight. Cyrille Diabate, who landed 146 significant strikes against Steve Cantwell at UFC on Versus 3, holds the record.

Jones was taken down for the first time in his 20-fight MMA career.

Gustafsson was defeated by decision for the first time in his 17-fight career.

Barao (31-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) is the first fighter in UFC history to defend an interim championship twice.

Barao became the third man in UFC history to earn a knockout via spinning back kick. Dennis Siver and David Loiseau are the only others to accomplish the feat; however, Barao is the first to finish a fight with the strike to the head.

Barao’s six-fight UFC winning streak is the longest in the bantamweight division. He also became the first bantamweight in UFC history to achieve six victories.

Barao’s 21-fight MMA winning streak is tied for the longest among active UFC fighters.

Barao earned the first knockout victory of his UFC/WEC career and his first in MMA competition since Aug. 13, 2009 – a span of 1,500 days (four-plus years) and 12 fights.

Barao earned his fifth finish in UFC/WEC competition, which is second only to Brian Bowles, who owns six.

Eddie Wineland (20-9-1 MMA, 2-3 UFC) suffered the first true knockout loss of his 30-fight career. The other KO loss on his resume was the result of an in-fight injury.

Brendan Schaub (10-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) earned the first submission victory of his 13-fight career. Schaub’s D’arce choke victory is the only submission of its kind in UFC heavyweight history.

Matt Mitrione (6-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) was submitted for the first time in his nine-fight career. “Meathead” has lost three of his past four UFC fights.

Francis Carmont (22-7 MMA, 6-0 UFC) tied champion Chris Weidman for the longest UFC winning streak in the middleweight division (six).

Khabib Nurmagomedov (21-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) tied T.J. Grant and Rafael dos Anjos for the longest active UFC winning streak in the lightweight division with five.

Nurmagomedov’s 21-fight MMA winning streak is tied with Barao for the longest among active UFC fighters.

Pat Healy (29-17 MMA, 0-2 UFC) had his seven-fight, three-year undefeated streak snapped.

PRELIMINARY CARD

Myles Jury‘s (13-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) four-fight UFC winning streak is tied with champion Anthony Pettis for the second longest active streak in the 155-pound weight class.

Mike Ricci (8-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has alternated between losses and wins in his past eight bouts.

Wilson Reis‘ (17-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) five-fight MMA winning streak is his longest since 2008.

Chris Clements (11-5 MMA, 1-1 UFC) was knocked out for the first time since Aug. 2, 2007 – a span of 2,242 days and 10 fights.

Mitch Gagnon (10-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) has finished his opponent by submission in all 10 of his career victories.

For complete coverage of UFC 165, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

(Pictured: Renan Barao)