UFC 164 preview: 50 pre-fight facts for 'Henderson vs. Pettis 2' in Milwaukee

The UFC continues its loaded scheduled on Saturday with the second of three events in a seven-day span as “UFC 164: Henderson vs. Pettis 2? goes down from Milwaukee’s Bradley Center.

It’s the second time in the nearly 20-year history of the organization that the octagon will be set up in the state of Wisconsin – the first since UFC on Versus 5 in 2011 – and a loaded fight card is on the docket for fans in “The Badger State.”

In the night’s main event, reigning UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson (18-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) attempts to make a fourth title defense in a 386-day span when he takes on hometown hero Anthony Pettis (16-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) in a rematch from a December 2010 bout at WEC 53, a contest in which “Showtime” won by decision to win the now-defunct organization’s 155-pound title.

Outside of the headliner, the theme of the evening is fighters attempting to build some momentum in their respective careers. Of the 26 fighters scheduled to compete on the card, only four have won more than one consecutive fight inside the UFC, with nine competitors coming off a loss in their most recent bout.

Without further ado (and with a major assist from the good people at FightMetric), it’s time to sink your teeth into 50 pre-fight facts about UFC 164.

LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MAIN EVENT

Henderson’s seven-fight UFC winning streak is the longest in the lightweight division. The streak is tied with Jim Miller and George Sotiropoulos for second longest in the UFC 155-pound history. Henderson can tie Gray Maynard‘s record streak of eight with a victory over Pettis.

Henderson is currently tied with B.J. Penn and Frankie Edgar for the most consecutive lightweight title defenses in UFC history with three.

Henderson’s 145 minutes of fighting without a finish is five minutes behind welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre (150 minutes) for the record. His average fight time of 20:43 is the longest of any fighter in UFC history.

Henderson is only the third fighter in UFC history (Demetrious Johnson, Michihiro Omigawa) to start his UFC career by going to a decision in seven straight fights.

Henderson has successfully defended 32 submission attempts in UFC/WEC competition, the most ever.

Henderson’s 58.3 percent takedown accuracy is third in UFC lightweight history.

Pettis has earned three knockouts in UFC/WEC competition stemming from a roundhouse kick to the head or body, more than any other fighter. Adding Strikeforce and PRIDE competition, the only fighter with more such victories is Mirko Filipovic with seven such one-kick finishes.

Pettis is one of two fighters in UFC history (Vitor Belfort) to earn two consecutive knockouts via a kick to the head or body.

Pettis absorbs just 1.41 significant strikes per minute, the second-best average in UFC/WEC lightweight history (minimum of five fights).

Pettis has never been finished in his 18-fight career.

HEAVYWEIGHT CO-MAIN EVENT

Frank Mir (16-7 MMA, 14-7 UFC) enters the event on the first two-fight losing streak of his career.

Mir will fight in the UFC for the 22nd time, the most of any heavyweight in the organization’s history. His 22nd UFC bout will move him into a tie for fifth place all-time behind Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, Matt Hughes and Tito Ortiz.

Mir owns the most wins of any fighter in UFC heavyweight history with 14.

Mir is tied with Nate Diaz and Kenny Florian for the most submission victories in modern UFC history at eight. All eight of those wins took place in the first round, giving Mir the record for most first-round submission victories in UFC history. Hughes is second in the category with just five submissions in the opening frame.

Mir’s 20 attempted submissions in UFC competition are the most in heavyweight history.

Mir is the only fighter in UFC history to earn more than one submission victory in less than one minute. He has three such finishes. He’s also just one of five fighters in the modern era to earn three sub-minute knockout or submission finishes.

Mir is the only fighter UFC history to earn three technical submission victories inside the octagon.

Mir’s 19 completed takedowns rank fifth in heavyweight history behind Jake O’Brien (21), Cheick Kongo (24), Randy Couture (25) and Cain Velasquez (27).

Josh Barnett (32-6 MMA, 4-1 UFC) returns to the UFC for the first time since March 22, 2002 – a span of 4,148 days (11.5 years) and 24 fights.

Barnett has earned his last seven victories by knockout or submission and has finished his opponent in 27 of his 32 professional victories.

Barnett owns 20 career submission victories while using nine different finishing techniques. Mir owns nine career submission wins with seven different techniques.

REMAINING MAIN CARD

Chad Mendes (14-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) enters the event with a streak of three consecutive first-round knockouts in a combined total of three minutes and 34 seconds, an average of 71 seconds per fight. Mendes’ average fight time of 3:26 is second best in featherweight history behind Daniel Pineda (6:05).

Mendes is the only fighter in featherweight history to earn three straight first-round knockout finishes and one of just six fighters in organizational history to accomplish the feat. “Money” is currently tied with six other fighters for the most knockdowns in featherweight history with three.

Mendes’ 2.08 strike differential against his opponents in the best ratio in featherweight history.

Mendes’ 40.9 percent takedown accuracy is second in the featherweight division’s history behind Dennis Bermudez (46.7 percent).

Clay Guida (30-13 MMA, 10-7 UFC) is 1-0 in the featherweight division with a split-decision win over Hatsu Hioki at UFC on FOX 6 in January.

Guida’s 51 completed takedowns are fifth overall in UFC history.

Guida has never been knocked out in his 33-fight career.

Guida’s eight post-fight bonuses are tied for the third most in UFC history.

Brandon Vera (12-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) will compete in the heavyweight division for the first time since a knockout loss to Fabricio Werdum at UFC 85 in June 2008. Vera is 4-2 in the weight class. However, he has not won a heavyweight fight since November 2006.

Vera’s average fight time of 5:33 in heavyweight bouts is the fourth shortest in the organization’s history.

Vera is 1-3 (with one no-contest) in his last five fights.

Dustin Poirier (13-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and his five submission attempts in UFC competition are tied for the third most all-time in featherweight history behind Steven Siler (seven) and Darren Elkins (10).

Poirier is the only fighter in UFC history to earn two submission wins via D’arce choke.

Poirier has connected with 331 significant strikes in his UFC career, third all-time in featherweight history behind Max Holloway (376) and Nam Phan (483). His 46.8 percent significant striking accuracy ranks second in 145-pound history behind Mark Hominick (48.3 percent).

With Erik Koch (13-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC), all of the significant strikes landed in his UFC career have taken place on his feet.

Koch’s 80.9 percent takedown defense in UFC/WEC competition is the third best in featherweight history.

PRELIMINARY CARD

Gleison Tibau (27-9 MMA, 11-7 UFC) will compete in his 20th UFC bout, joining 10 others as the only fighters in history with 20-plus UFC appearances.

Tibau has completed 69 takedowns in his UFC career, second in UFC history. St-Pierre holds the record with 84. Tibau’s 53 completed takedowns in 155-pound competition are the most in the division’s history.

Tibau holds the UFC record for highest takedown defense accuracy. The Brazilian stops 93.1 percent of his opponents’ takedown attempts (minimum of five UFC fights and 20 takedown attempts by opponents).

Tibau’s 3:04:39 of total fight time in the UFC lightweight division is sixth in history behind Spencer Fisher, Penn, Guida, Sam Stout and Edgar.

Jamie Varner (21-7-1 MMA, 3-2 UFC) owns the second best takedown accuracy in lightweight history (65.5 percent), behind Penn (66.7 percent).

Chico Camus (12-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) enters the event on the heels of his first career submission defeat.

Louis Gaudinot (6-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) enters the event off a 484-day layoff, the longest of his MMA career.

Pascal Krauss (11-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) landed 163 significant strikes against Mike Stumpf at UFC on FOX 6, the third most ever landed in a UFC welterweight fight.

Soa Palelei (18-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) returns the UFC after a one-fight stint in December 2007 at UFC 79, where Eddie Sanchez knocked him out.

Nkita Krylov (15-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will compete in his 12th MMA bout in less than a one-year span.

Palelei and Krylov have earned all 33 of their combined professional victories by knockout or submission.

Jared Hamman (13-5 MMA, 2-4 UFC) competes for the first time since Aug. 11, 2012 – a span of 386 days and the second longest layoff of his 18-fight career.

Hamman’s 5.57 strikes landed per minute is the fifth highest average in UFC history (minimum of five fights).

For more on UFC 164, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Benson Henderson)