UFC Fight Night 29 preview: 45 pre-fight facts for 'Maia vs. Shields' in Brazil

The UFC is back in Brazil again this Wednesday for “UFC Fight Night 29: Maia vs. Shields” from Jose Correa Arena in Barueri, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

In what is now the norm for fight cards in the South American country, UFC matchmakers have loaded the event from top to bottom with local talent pitted against international foes, and to date the success rate of fighters from Brazil fighting for the UFC in their home country has been lopsided.

With a phenomenal 54 wins to just 16 losses, Brazilian fighters are handily dominating the competition, and with all six main-card bouts pitting a home fan favorite hero against a foreign challenger, that margin could spread even wider.

Taking the headlining role in the organization’s 10th overall event in Brazil will be a welterweight contenders matchup featuring two of the sport’s top grappling practitioners in Demian Maia and Jake Shields.

Both men enter the fight undefeated in their past three bouts, and the stakes are high as UFC President Dana White recently said the winner of the scheduled five-round contest will be in a “good position” at 170 pounds.

Will Maia (18-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) defend the honor of his home country and thwart his opponent? Or will Shields (28-6-1 MMA, 3-2 UFC) enter hostile territory and send the fans home with a sour taste in their mouth?

The answers to these questions will soon be revealed, but before then it’s time, with the help of FightMetric, to dig a little deeper into the numbers surrounding not just Maia and Shields, but all 20 fighters set to compete at UFC Fight Night 29.

MAIN EVENT

Maia is undefeated (3-0) since dropping to the welterweight division.

Maia’s six UFC submission wins are tied with Chris Lytle and Cole Miller for third most in the modern era.

Maia’s four “Submission of the Night” bonuses are tied with Terry Etim for third most in UFC history. Only Nate Diaz and Joe Lauzon have earned more submission bonuses.

Maia’s 13 submission attempts in his UFC middleweight career are tied for third most in the division’s history.

Maia’s five consecutive submission victories to start his UFC career are a modern-era record.

Maia is 12-0 in UFC fights in which he lands at least one takedown.

Shields’ average fight time of 14:13 is the third longest in welterweight history behind Georges St-Pierre (15:10) and Carlos Condit (14:48).

Shields has not been submitted in his 36-fight career.

Shields’ 280 total strikes landed against Dan Henderson in their 2010 Strikeforce bout are a single-fight record for the now-defunct organization. For comparison’s sake, Chael Sonnen‘s 320 total strikes landed against Anderson Silva at UFC 117 is the single-fight UFC record.

Shields has landed 40.3 percent of his significant strikes to the body, the second largest proportion in UFC history (minimum of 350 significant strike attempts). Fabio Maldonado, who also fights on the card, leads the category at 41.1 percent.

Shields averages 11.4 takedown attempts per 15 minutes of fighting, the second highest rate in welterweight history (minimum of five UFC fights). Justin Edwards leads the category at 12.1 attempts. Shields has attempted six or more takedowns in each of his previous five fights that went to a decision.

CO-MAIN EVENT

Erick Silva (15-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) has finished his opponent by first-round knockout or submission in all three of his UFC victories.

Silva owns the shortest average fight time of any active UFC fighter at 4:23.

Silva averages 3.43 submission attempts per 15 minutes of fighting, the second highest average in welterweight history (minimum of five UFC fights). T.J. Waldburger leads the category with 6.36 attempts.

Silva’s last victory against Jason High at UFC on FUEL TV 10 was just the fourth fight in UFC history to feature zero strikes landed by either fighter.

Dong Hyun Kim (17-2-1 MMA, 8-2 UFC) has earned seven of his eight UFC victories by decision. He has not finished an opponent since a knockout of Jason Tan in his octagon debut at UFC 84 in May 2008.

Kim’s 54.66 percent significant strike accuracy is the second best rate in welterweight history behind Matt Brown (56.67 percent). Kim absorbs just 1.42 strikes per minute, the sixth lowest rate in divisional history.

Kim has controlled his opponents for 54.2 percent of his total fight time, the third largest proportion in welterweight history (minimum of five UFC fights).

Kim’s takedown defense rate of 80.6 percent is the third highest among active welterweights and fifth highest in the division’s history (minimum of five UFC fights and 20 opponent attempts).

REMAINING MAIN CARD

Thiago Silva‘s (15-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) six total finishes in modern light heavyweight history ranks third behind only Chuck Liddell and Jon Jones. The Brazilian has finished his opponent in all of his UFC victories.

Matt Hamill (11-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) can tie former 205-pound champion Lyoto Machida for the third most wins in light heavyweight history with his 11th UFC victory.

Hamill’s 28 completed takedowns in UFC competition are the third most in light heavyweight history behind Tito Ortiz (33) and Rashad Evans (49).

Hamill’s 857 total strikes landed in UFC competition are the second most among active light heavyweight fighters behind Jon Jones (878).

Hamill’s 70 significant ground strikes landed against Roger Hollett at UFC 152 are the fifth most ever landed in a single UFC bout.

Silva and Hamill each own five UFC knockout victories, which is tied for the second most in light heavyweight history behind Liddell.

Joey Beltran (14-8 MMA, 3-5 UFC) returns from a nine-month suspension due to a positive drug test that forced his UFC on FX 6 victory over Igor Pokrajac to be overturned into a no-contest.

Beltran is winless in his past four UFC fights and is 1-5 with one no-contest in his last seven trips to the octagon.

Beltran landed 206 total strikes against Pokrajac at UFC on FX 6, the third most ever landed by a light heavyweight in a single bout. Beltran landed 185 total strikes against Aaron Rosa at UFC 131, the third most by a heavyweight. “The Mexicutioner” is the only fighter in UFC history with a top-five striking total in two weight classes.

Fabio Maldonado’s (19-6 MMA, 2-3 UFC) 63.45 percent significant strike accuracy is the best in light heavyweight history and the second highest percentage overall in UFC history behind Anderson Silva (67.45 percent).

Maldonado’s 5.7 strikes landed per minute are the second most in light heavyweight history behind Glover Teixeira (6.35).

Raphael Assuncao (20-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC) and T.J. Dillashaw‘s (8-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) four-fight UFC winning streaks are the second longest in the bantamweight division behind interim champion Renan Barao.

Assuncao and Dillashaw have defended all takedown attempts against them in the UFC.

Assuncao is undefeated (4-0) since dropping to the UFC bantamweight division.

Dillashaw has been controlled by his opponents for a total of three seconds, which is tied with Chris Weidman for the smallest amount of time in UFC history (minimum of five UFC fights). Right behind them is Assuncao, who has been controlled for just 10 seconds in the UFC.

Dillashaw’s 4.82 strikes landed per minute is the highest rate in UFC bantamweight history. His rate of 1.64 strikes absorbed per minute is the lowest rate in 135-pound history.

Dillashaw’s 3.18 strike differential rate is the third largest margin for any fighter in UFC history and largest margin in bantamweight history.

Dillashaw’s average fight time of 5:51 is the second shortest in bantamweight history behind John Albert (4:24).

Dillashaw’s 76 significant ground strikes landed against Walel Watson at UFC on FUEL TV 1 are the most ever by a fighter in a single UFC bout.

Mike Pierce‘s (17-5 MMA, 9-3 UFC) four-fight UFC winning streak is the fourth longest in the welterweight division.

Pierce’s 10 slam takedowns are the third most in UFC history. One-third of his 30 UFC takedowns are slams, giving him the second highest slam rate in UFC history (minimum of 15 takedowns landed). Tyson Griffin and Nate Diaz are tied for the lead in the category with 40 percent of their takedowns coming via slam.

Rousimar Palhares (14-5 MMA, 7-4 UFC) will make his welterweight debut after competing in his first 19 career MMA bouts as a middleweight.

Palhares’ four leg lock submission wins are the most in UFC history, and the most in UFC/PRIDE/WEC/Strikeforce combined history. His 11 leg lock submission attempts are the most in UFC/PRIDE/WEC/Strikeforce history as well.

Palhares’ 45-second submission of Tomasz Drwal at UFC 111 is the second fastest in middleweight history. Rory Singer‘s 44-second submission of Ross Pointon at The Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale leads the category.

PRELIMINARY CARD

Yan Cabral (10-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will compete in his first MMA bout since a second-round submission of Kazushi Sakuraba in September 2011. Cabral has earned all 10 of his career victories by submission.

Chris Cariaso (14-5 MMA, 4-3 UFC) enters the event on the first two-fight losing streak of his career.

For the latest on UFC Fight Night 29, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Dong Hyun Kim)