35 post-event facts about 'UFC 166: Velasquez vs. dos Santos III'

In the history of UFC trilogies, the fighter who emerged victorious in the second bout has found success in the rubber match roughly two-thirds of the time.

Cain Velasquez (13-1 MMA, 11-1 UFC) continued the trend in Saturday’s UFC 166 pay-per-view headliner with a performance against Junior dos Santos (16-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) that nearly mirrored his UFC 155 victory over “Cigano.”

Similar to the previous meeting, Velasquez dominated the fight from bell-to-bell with his relentless offensive attack. However, this time he stopped his Brazilian foe by knockout to retain the heavyweight title and to win the epic trilogy.

Velasquez’s second consecutive title defense ties him with Randy Couture, Tim Sylvia and Brock Lesnar for the most ever in the weight class, and just one more defense of the belt will make the 31-year-old the most decorated heavyweight champion in company history.

The American Kickboxing Academy product may be the greatest heavyweight fighter the sport has ever seen, and if his statistics are any indication, he’s likely already the best to ever step foot in the UFC octagon.

Saturday’s event inside Houston’s Toyota Center may have been the most memorable card of the year, and with eight of the 13 fights ending inside the distance, it certainly had its share of noteworthy figures.

So with the help of FightMetric, take a look at 35 facts to come out of UFC 166.

GENERAL

Tony Ferguson (14-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC), John Dodson (15-6 MMA, 4-1 UFC), Gilbert Melendez (22-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and Diego Sanchez (24-6 MMA, 13-6 UFC) earned $60,000 UFC 166 fight-night bonuses.

UFC 166 drew an announced attendance of 17,238 for a live gate of $2.5 million.

Betting favorites went 12-1 on the card.

Total fight time for the 13-bout card was 2:05:19.

MAIN CARD

Velasquez earned his ninth knockout victory in the UFC, the most of any fighter in heavyweight history.

Velasquez’s nine knockout victories are tied with Rich Franklin and Vitor Belfort for the third most in UFC history. Only Chuck Liddell (10) and Anderson Silva (11) have more.

Velasquez’s knockout finish at the 3:09 mark of Round 5 was the latest ever in a UFC fight. It was also the latest finish ever in a UFC heavyweight fight.

Velasquez joined Georges St-Pierre as the only fighters in UFC history to land 200 or more total strikes in three separate UFC bouts.

Velasquez’s 1,257 total strikes landed are the most in UFC heavyweight history. Cheick Kongo held the previous record with 1,025 total strikes landed.

Velasquez’s 274 total strikes landed against dos Santos were the fourth most landed in a single UFC fight.

Roy Nelson (19-9 MMA, 6-5 UFC) has absorbed 511 significant strikes in his UFC career without being knocked out, more than any fighter in UFC heavyweight history. His 511 significant strikes absorbed are also an overall UFC heavyweight record.

Nelson is the only fighter in UFC heavyweight history to lose five fights by decision.

Sanchez’s 4:07:57 of total fight time is the fifth most in UFC history. “The Dream” has spent more time in the octagon than any non-champion in promotional history.

Sanchez attempted six takedowns against Melendez, bringing him to a total of 133 takedown attempts throughout his UFC career, which is tied with Clay Guida for the most in company history.

Gabriel Gonzaga (16-7 MMA, 11-6 UFC) improved to 4-1 since returning to the UFC in late 2012.

Gonzaga earned his 11th UFC finish, tying him with Frank Mir for the most in heavyweight history.

Gonzaga has defeated his opponent by knockout or submission in all 11 of his UFC victories and all 16 of his professional victories.

Shawn Jordan (15-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) was knocked out for the first time since Sept. 30, 2010 – a span of 1,115 days (over three years) and nine fights.

Dodson’s knockout of Darrell Montague (13-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at the 4:15 mark of Round 1 was the third fastest in UFC flyweight history.

Montague was knocked out for the first time since Feb. 4, 2009 – a span of 1,718 days (nearly five years) and 12 fights.

PRELIMINARY CARD

Tim Boetsch (17-6 MMA, 8-5 UFC) snapped a career-worst two-fight losing streak. “The Barbarian” is now 5-2 since dropping to the middleweight division.

C.B. Dollaway (13-6 MMA, 7-5 UFC) lost a decision for the first time in his 18-fight career.

Dollaway landed three takedowns in defeat, passing Demian Maia and Aaron Simpson for fourth in middleweight history with a total of 26.

Hector Lombard (33-4-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC) has finished his opponent by knockout or submission in 26 of his 33 career victories.

Nate Marquardt (32-13-2 MMA, 10-6 UFC) has been defeated in three consecutive bouts, the longest losing streak of his 47-fight career.

Marquardt has been knocked out in the first round of back-to-back fights.

Jessica Eye (11-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Sarah Kaufman (16-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) combined for 152 significant strikes in their three-round bout, a UFC women’s bantamweight record. Alexis Davis and Rosi Sexton held the previous high of 78 significant strikes.

Kaufman was defeated by decision for the first time in her 19-fight career.

K.J. Noons (12-7 MMA, 1-1 UFC) snapped a career-worst three-fight losing streak for his first victory since December 2011.

Noons has fought to a decision in seven consecutive fights.

George Sotiropoulos (14-6 MMA, 7-4 UFC) has lost four straight UFC fights after starting his career in the promotion with seven straight victories.

T.J. Waldburger (16-8 MMA, 4-3 UFC) has been knocked out in six of his eight career defeats.

Ferguson earned his first submission victory since Jan. 4, 2009 – a span of 1,749 days (nearly five years) and 14 fights.

Ferguson became the 12th fighter in UFC history to submit his opponent with a D’Arce/brabo choke. His victory over Mike Rio (9-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) at the 1:52 mark of Round 1 was the quickest submission of its kind in UFC history.

Dustin Pague (11-9 MMA, 1-5 UFC) became the first fight in UFC history to lose five bantamweight fights. Pague has lost a career-worst four consecutive bouts.

For complete coverage of UFC 166, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.