UFC Fight Night 86 pre-fight facts: Ben Rothwell out to extend stoppage streak

Croatia finally sees its first UFC event on Sunday when the octagon touches down in Zagreb for UFC Fight Night 86, which takes place at Zagreb Arena and airs on FOX Sports 1 before early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

A heavyweight headliner is the featured contest at the event. Former UFC champion Junior dos Santos (17-4 MMA, 11-3 UFC) attempts to rebound from three losses in his past five fights when he takes on surging contender Ben Rothwell (36-9 MMA, 6-3 UFC).

Heavyweight fights are the theme of the card; outside of the headliner, an additional four heavyweight matchups are set to take place.

For more on the numbers behind the UFC’s Croatian debut, check out 40 pre-fight facts about UFC Fight Night 86.

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Main event

Junior Dos Santos

Dos Santos has alternated wins and losses over his past six UFC appearances.

Dos Santos has suffered both of his UFC stoppage losses by knockout.

Dos Santos’ eight knockout victories in UFC heavyweight competition are tied for third most in divisional history behind Cain Velasquez (nine) and Andrei Arlovski (nine).

Dos Santos’ 12 knockdowns landed in UFC heavyweight competition are the most in divisional history and tied for fifth overall in company history.

Dos Santos and Stipe Miocic combined for 222 significant strikes landed at UFC on FOX 13, a single-fight UFC heavyweight record.

Dos Santos defends 80.5 percent of all opponent takedown attempts in UFC heavyweight competition, the second highest rate in divisional history behind Arlovski (87.5 percent).

Rothwell has earned 33 of his 36 career victories by stoppage. That includes his past five wins under the UFC banner.

Ben Rothwell

Rothwell’s four-fight stoppage streak in UFC competition is second longest among active fighters behind middleweight champ Luke Rockhold (five).

Rothwell’s four-fight UFC winning streak in heavyweight competition is the second longest active streak in the division behind Fabricio Werdum (six).

Rothwell enters the event on his on his first four-fight winning streak since 2006. He’d never won consecutive fights under the UFC banner prior to his current run.

Co-main event

Derrick Lewis

Derrick Lewis (14-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) makes his eighth UFC heavyweight appearance since 2014, the most in the division. No heavyweight has more than four bouts in that timeframe.

Lewis has earned 13 of his 14 career victories by knockout. That includes all five of his wins under the UFC banner.

Lewis’ five knockout victories in UFC heavyweight competition since 2014 are the most in the division.

Lewis is the only fighter in UFC history to have his first seven appearances end in a knockout.

Gabriel Gonzaga (17-10 MMA, 12-9 UFC) competes in his 22nd UFC heavyweight bout, the second most appearances in divisional history behind Frank Mir (27).

Gonzaga is 5-4 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in January 2012.

Gabriel Gonzaga

Gonzaga’s 12 victories in UFC heavyweight competition are third most in divisional history behind Mir (16) and Arlovski (14).

Gonzaga’s 11 stoppage victories in UFC heavyweight competition are tied for second most in divisional history behind Mir (13).

Gonzaga’s 17-second knockout of Dave Herman at UFC 162 is tied for the third-fastest knockout in UFC heavyweight history.

Gonzaga’s 23 takedowns landed in UFC heavyweight competition are tied for fourth most in divisional history behind Velasquez (29), Randy Couture (25) and Cheick Kongo (24).

Gonzaga’s four submission victories in UFC heavyweight competition are tied for second most in divisional history behind Mir (eight).

Gonzaga’s 11 submission attempts in UFC heavyweight competition are tied for third most in divisional history behind Mir (21) and Stefan Struve (19).

Remaining main card

Francis Ngannou

Francis Ngannou (6-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has earned all six of his career victories by stoppage.

Jan Blachowicz (18-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC) is one of two light heavyweights in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a body kick. He accomplished the feat against Ilir Latifi at UFC Fight Night 53.

Igor Pokrajac (28-12 MMA, 4-7 UFC), 37, is the oldest of the 26 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.

Pokrajac returns to the UFC for a second stint after he was released from the promotion following a December 2014 loss.

Pokrajac earned three consecutive victories outside the UFC to earn a second stint with the promotion.

Pokrajac is 0-4 with one no-contest in his past five UFC appearances. He hasn’t earned an octagon victory since May 2012.

Pokrajac was outlanded by 57 significant strikes when he faced Fabio Maldonado at UFC on FUEL TV 3, but still won a decision. That’s the second largest disparity in UFC history for a fighter to win a decision.

Cristina Stanciu (5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC), 21, is the youngest of the 26 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.

Preliminary card

Zak Cummings

Zak Cummings (18-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has earned 14 of his 18 career victories by stoppage. That includes two of his three UFC victories.

Cummings is one of 13 fighters in UFC history to finish a fight via D’arce choke. He accomplished the feat against Ben Alloway at UFC Fight Night 27.

Mairbek Taisumov (24-5 MMA, 4-1 UFC) has earned 22 of his 24 career victories by stoppage. That includes three of his four victories under the UFC banner.

Taisumov’s three-fight stoppage streak in UFC lightweight competition is longest among active fighters in the division.

Ian Entwistle (9-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since Dec. 13, 2014. The 484-day layoff is the longest of his nearly six-year career.

Entwistle has earned all of his career victories by first-round stoppage.

Luca Martins

Lucas Martins (15-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) is one of five fighters in UFC history to earn victories in three different weight classes. Diego Sanchez, Kenny Florian, George Roop and Manny Gamburyan also accomplished the feat.

Martins is the only fighter in UFC history to earn victories in three different weight classes in consecutive fights. He’s also the only fighter to earn stoppage victories in three different divisions.

Martins’ submission win over Junior Hernandez at the 1:10 mark of Round 1 at UFC Fight Night 28 stands as the second fastest submission by a debuting UFC bantamweight behind Yuta Sasaki’s win at UFC Fight Night 48.

For more on UFC Fight Night 86, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

FightMetric research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.