UFC 169 preview: 60 pre-fight facts about 'Barao vs. Faber' in Newark

It has been more than a month since the UFC held a pay-per-view event, but this Saturday the organization is back with a loaded card as “UFC 169: Barao vs. Faber” is set to go down from Newark, N.J.’s Prudential Center.

The event features the 20th championship doubleheader in UFC history, as both the bantamweight and featherweight belts will be up for grabs in “The Garden State.”

In the headliner, undisputed 135-pound kingpin Renan Barao (31-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) looks to keep his incomparable undefeated streak alive when he faces Urijah Faber (30-6 MMA, 6-2 UFC) for a second time just 18 months after their first meeting at UFC 149, a fight the Brazilian won by decision.

That’s not all, though, as Jose Aldo (23-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) – another champion on a tremendous winning streak – puts his featherweight strap on the line for the sixth time against top contender Ricardo Lamas (13-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC), who earned his shot at the belt with four consecutive wins.

The UFC’s first pay-per-view event of 2014 is shaping up to be a good one, and with the help of FightMetric’s (www.fightmetric.com) research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll, here are 60 pre-fight facts about UFC 169.

MAIN EVENT

Barao is just the second fighter in UFC history to be promoted from interim to undisputed champion. Former heavyweight titleholder Andrei Arlovski is the other. During his reign as interim titleholder, Barao made two successful title defenses, a UFC record.

Barao’s 21-fight MMA winning streak is tied with Khabib Nurmagomedov for the longest among active UFC fighters. The Brazilian is undefeated (30 wins and one no-contest) in his past 31 bouts.

Barao’s six-fight UFC winning streak is the longest active streak in the bantamweight division.

Barao’s eight wins in UFC/WEC bantamweight competition are tied with Miguel Torres and Takeya Mizugaki for the third most in history behind Scott Jorgensen (10) and Dominick Cruz (nine).

Barao has dominated opponents in the striking department throughout his Zuffa tenure, as the Brazilian has never been outstruck in eight UFC/WEC fights.

Defense has a major role in the previous statistic, as Barao’s 67.8 percent significant strike defense rate is the third best in UFC bantamweight history behind Raphael Assuncao (72.3 percent) and Francisco Rivera (68.7 percent).

Barao’s 420 total strikes landed in UFC bantamweight competition are the fourth most ever behind Mizugaki (699), Faber (559) and Alex Caceres (537).

Barao’s 95.2 percent takedown defense rate in UFC/WEC bantamweight competition is the best in history (minimum of five fights and 20 opponent attempts). The 26-year-old has never been taken down in UFC competition.

Barao’s submission of Michael McDonald at 3:57 of Round 4 at UFC on FUEL TV 7 marked the fifth latest submission in UFC history.

Barao is one of just three fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a spinning back kick, as he stopped Eddie Wineland with the technique at UFC 165. Barao is the only one of the three to land the technique to the head.

Barao is one of just three UFC/WEC bantamweights to earn at least one “Fight of the Night,” “Knockout of the Night,” and “Submission of the Night” bonus (McDonald, Brad Pickett).

Faber will compete in his third UFC championship bout since debuting in the organization in March 2011. A loss to Barao would make him just the fourth fighter in UFC history to go 0-3 in championship fights along with Chael Sonnen, Kenny Florian and Pedro Rizzo.

Faber is 0-5 in his past five UFC/WEC title fights, losing to Barao, Cruz, Aldo and Mike Brown twice. “The California Kid” has found tremendous success in non-title fights, though, as he has never been defeated in a non-title bout throughout his career.

Faber’s four-fight UFC winning streak is the tied for the third longest in the bantamweight division behind Barao (six) and Assuncao (five).

Faber had a banner year inside the octagon in 2013, as he was the only fighter in the organization to go 4-0. His busy schedule continues in 2014, as the fight with Barao will be Faber’s fifth in 343 days.

Faber’s five submission wins at bantamweight are the most in UFC/WEC history, while his four finishes in UFC competition are the most in 135-pound history.

Faber’s 11 submission victories in UFC/WEC competition are tied with Royce Gracie for the most in the combined history of the two organizations. In terms of his overall career, Faber has 17 submission victories to his name, with 15 of them coming by rear-naked or guillotine choke.

Faber’s 11 fight-night bonuses under the Zuffa banner are tied for the fourth most in history behind Donald Cerrone (13), Joe Lauzon and Anderson Silva (12). He stands alone when it comes to “Submission of the Night,” honors, though, as his six bonuses for impressive tapouts are more than any fighter ever.

Faber’s 388 significant strikes landed are the second most in UFC bantamweight history behind Mizugaki (476). On the flip side, the 34-year-old has the fourth highest significant strike defense rate in the history of the UFC’s 135-pound weight class (67.3 percent).

CO-MAIN EVENT

Aldo enters the event on a 16-fight MMA winning streak, including a 13-0 run over the course of his combined UFC and WEC careers, the second longest run of victories in Zuffa history behind Silva (16). Aldo’s 5-0 start to his UFC career is tied for the longest acting winning streak in the featherweight division.

Aldo’s five consecutive UFC title defenses are tied with Tito Ortiz for the fourth longest defense streak in UFC history behind Silva (10), Georges St-Pierre (nine) and Jon Jones (six).

Aldo had no problem racking up stoppages in the WEC, as seven of his eight wins with the now-defunct organization came by way of knockout. It has got a little more difficult in the UFC, though, as Aldo has fought to a decision in three of his five featherweight title defenses.

With that said, Aldo is still owner of the most knockdowns (seven) and knockouts (nine) in UFC/WEC featherweight history. “Scarface” has also never been on the receiving end of a knockdown in his UFC/WEC career.

Aldo possesses some of the most deadly and accurate low kicks in the sport, as he has landed 107 of 126 leg-kick attempts (84.9 percent) in his UFC/WEC career, the sixth highest accuracy rate ever among fighters with more than 100 leg-kick attempts.

Aldo has successfully defended 61 of 66 takedown attempts (92.4 percent) in his UFC/WEC career, the best takedown defense rate in UFC/WEC featherweight history. His 89.7 percent defense rate under the UFC banner is the fourth highest in history.

Lamas’ enters the event off a 371-day layoff following UFC on FOX 6 knockout of Erik Koch, his longest break from competition in more than six years as a professional.

Lamas’ four-fight UFC winning streak is the fifth longest active streak in the featherweight division behind Chad Mendes, Dennis Bermudez, Cub Swanson and Aldo (five).

Lamas is undefeated (4-0) since dropping to the UFC featherweight division.

Lamas is a perfect 5-0 in UFC/WEC competition when he lands at least one takedown.

Lamas has committed to 10 submission attempts in UFC/WEC competition. Of those 10 attempts, seven have been guillotine chokes.

REMAINING MAIN CARD

Frank Mir (16-8 MMA, 14-8 UFC) enters the event on a career-worst three-fight losing streak, as he was defeated by Junior dos Santos, Daniel Cormier and Josh Barnett in consecutive bouts.

Mir will fight in the UFC for the 23rd time since his debut in 2001, the most of any heavyweight in the organization’s history. His 23rd UFC bout will move him into a tie for fourth place all-time behind Tito Ortiz (27), Matt Hughes (25) and Randy Couture (24).

Mir has had his hand raised more than any fighter in the history of his weight class, as his 14 UFC heavyweight victories are the most in company history.

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

Mir is one of two fighters in UFC history to earn more than one submission victory in less than one minute (Rousimar Palhares). He has accomplished the feat three times and is owner of the two quickest submissions in heavyweight history. Moreover, Mir is also one of just five fighters in the modern era to earn three sub-minute knockout or submission wins.

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

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

Mir has been knocked out in seven of his eight professional defeats.

Mir’s three knockdowns of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 92 are tied for the most in a single heavyweight fight.

Alistair Overeem (36-13 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has finished his opponent by knockout or submission in all but two of his 36 professional victories (94.4 percent). Of his 15 career knockout wins, 11 have stemmed from either a kick or knee strike.

Thought of primarily as a kickboxer, Overeem has actually ended more fights by submission (19) than by knockout (15). Of his 19 submission victories, eight are by guillotine choke.

Overeem enjoys a career takedown defense proficiency of 77 percent (UFC average is 59 percent). Since his departure from PRIDE in 2007, he’s successfully defended 19 of his opponents’ 21 takedown attempts.

Overeem has been on the losing end of the third and fourth largest statistical comeback finishes in UFC heavyweight history. He out-landed Antonio Silva by 30 significant strikes before being knocked out at UFC 156 and out-landed Travis Browne by 27 significant strikes before his demise at UFC Fight Night 26.

Overeem was the one and only heavyweight champion of the now-defunct Strikeforce organization.

Overeem has been knocked out in eight of his 13 professional defeats.

John Lineker (23-6 MMA, 4-1 UFC) enters the event with 17 victories in his past 18 MMA fights; the only loss came to Louis Gaudinot in his UFC debut.

Lineker is one of two fighters in UFC history to score three knockdowns of a single opponent in two different fights, dropping both Phil Harris and Azamat Gashimov on three separate occasions. The other fighter to accomplish the rare feat twice is Anderson Silva, who did so against both Rich Franklin and Forrest Griffin.

Lineker is currently landing 6.56 significant strikes per minute, the highest rate in UFC history (minimum of five fights).

Ali Bagautinov (12-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) enters the event on a 10-fight MMA winning streak, including a 2-0 start to his UFC career.

Jamie Varner (21-8-1 MMA, 3-3 UFC) is 2-2 in UFC competition since making his return to the organization in May 2012. Varner has accepted three of those four matches on short notice.

Varner averages 5.39 takedowns landed per 15 minutes of fighting in his UFC career, the fourth highest rate in UFC history (minimum of five fights). His 37 takedowns landed in UFC/WEC competition are the sixth most in lightweight history.

Varner was on the losing end of the third largest statistical comeback in UFC history. “The Worm” out-landed Joe Lauzon by 38 significant strikes at UFC on FOX 4 before being submitted in the third round. The greatest single-fight comeback belongs to Anderson Silva, who came back from a deficit of 60 significant strikes to submit Chael Sonnen in the fifth-round at UFC 117.

Abel Trujillo (11-5 MMA, 2-1 UFC) will compete in his second UFC bout in a 49-day span. “Killa” defeated Roger Bowling by knockout at UFC on FOX 9 in December.

Trujillo was taken down a UFC record 21 times in his unanimous decision loss to Nurmagomedov at UFC 160.

PRELIMINARY CARD

John Makdessi (12-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) is one of two fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a spinning back fist.
Makdessi has avoided 76.1 percent of his opponents’ significant strike attempts, the third highest defense rate in UFC history (minimum of five fights and 350 opponent attempts).

Chris Cariaso (15-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC) is 2-2 since dropping to the UFC flyweight division in July 2012.

Nick Catone (9-4 MMA, 3-4 UFC) has registered just two victories in his past six UFC appearances.

Kevin Lee (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his UFC debut just 22 months after his first professional fight.

Clint Hester (9-3 MMA, 2-0 UFC) is one of nine fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a standing elbow strike.

For the latest on UFC 169, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.