UFC Fight Night 96 pre-fight facts: Will Lineker or Dodson finally suffer first knockout loss?

An epic matchup between bantamweight bombers John Lineker and John Dodson tops the UFC’s first event in Oregon since 2009.

Lineker (28-7 MMA, 9-2 UFC) and Dodson (18-7 MMA, 7-2 UFC) will attempt to keep their momentum rolling in the 135-pound division when they cross paths in tonight’s UFC Fight Night 96 headliner, which closes the FS1-televised main card following prelims on FS2 and UFC Fight Pass at Moda Center in Portland.

Neither fighter has suffered a knockout loss in a combined 60 professional fights. However, the numbers show there’s a good chance one man is going to experience a loss of consciousness for the first time in their respective careers. For more on the numbers behind the UFC’s first event in Portland since UFC 102, check out 45 pre-fight facts about UFC Fight Night 96.

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Main event

John Lineker

Lineker is 3-0 since he returned to the bantamweight division in September 2015.

Lineker is 9-1 in his past 10 UFC appearances. He’s earned victories in 22 of his past 24 fights overall.

Lineker has earned five of his nine UFC victories by knockout.

Lineker has 10 knockdowns in UFC competition, but he’s never been knocked down, himself.

Lineker is one of two fighters in UFC history to score three knockdowns in two different fights. Anderson Silva also accomplished the feat.

Lineker’s seven knockdowns landed in UFC flyweight competition are most in divisional history.

Lineker and Francisco Rivera’s 100 combined strike attempts at UFC 191 are the most in UFC history for any fight to last a half-round or less.

Lineker has missed weight ahead of four UFC fights, the most in company history.

John Dodson

Dodson was successful in his return to the UFC bantamweight division when he defeated Manny Gamburyan at UFC on FOX 19 in April. He’s 2-0 in the UFC at the weight class.

Dodson has earned five of his seven UFC victories by knockout.

Dodson lands 1.43 knockdowns per 15 minutes of fighting in UFC competition, the second highest rate among fighters in the bantamweight division or below, ranking only behind Cody Garbrandt (2.38).

Dodson’s six knockdowns landed in UFC flyweight competition are second most in divisional history behind Lineker (seven).

Dodson’s 37-second knockout of Manny Gamburyan in April stands as the fifth fastest knockout in UFC bantamweight history.

Dodson’ defends 84.5 percent of all opponent takedown attempts in UFC flyweight competition, the second highest rate in divisional history behind Ian McCall (90 percent).

Dodson has suffered all six of his career losses by decision.

Remaining main card

Will Brooks

Will Brooks (18-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) enters the event on a career-high nine-fight winning streak. He hasn’t suffered a defeat since February 2013.

Brooks has earned seven of his past eight victories by decision.

Alex Oliveira (14-3-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC) returns to the UFC lightweight division after a 1-1 stint at welterweight.

Josh Burkman

Josh Burkman (28-13 MMA, 6-8 UFC) is 1-3 with one no-contest since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in January 2015.

Burkman is 1-1 since he dropped to the UFC lightweight division in February.

Burkman is one of eight fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a slam. He accomplished the feat against Sam Morgan at The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale.

Burkman’s 21-second knockout of Morgan at the TUF 2 Finale is the fastest slam knockout in UFC history.

Louis Smolka

Louis Smolka’s (11-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) four-fight UFC winning streak in flyweight competition is the third longest in the division behind champion Demetrious Johnson (10) and Joseph Benavidez (five).

Smolka’s seven submission attempts against Ben Nguyen at UFC Fight Night 91 are the single-fight record for a UFC flyweight bout.

Smolka’s 15 submission attempts in UFC flyweight competition are most in divisional history.

Smolka attempts 3.0 submission attempts per 15 minutes of fighting in UFC flyweight competition, the highest rate in divisional history.

Preliminary card

Luis Henrique da Silva (11-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has earned all 11 of his career victories by knockout.

Hacran Dias (23-4-1 MMA, 3-3 UFC) has fought to a decision in all six of his UFC appearances.

Andre Fili (15-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) has alternated wins and losses over his six-fight UFC career. He was defeated in his most recent bout.

Walt Harris (8-4 MMA, 1-3 UFC) has earned all eight of his career victories by knockout.

Keita Nakamura (32-7-2 MMA, 2-4 UFC) has earned his past eight career victories by stoppage.

Nate Marquardt

Nate Marquardt (34-16-2 MMA, 12-9 UFC), 37, is the oldest of the 24 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.

Marquardt competes in his 20th UFC middleweight bout, the third most appearances in divisional history behind Chris Leben (22) and Michael Bisping (21).

Marquardt is 2-6 in his past eight bouts.

Marquardt is 2-3 since he returned to the UFC middleweight division in June 2014.

Marquardt’s eight stoppage victories in UFC middleweight competition are third most in divisional history behind Anderson Silva (11) and Leben (nine).

Marquardt’s 10 knockdowns landed in UFC middleweight competition are second most in divisional history behind Silva (13).

Marquardt’s four knockdowns landed against Dean Lister at UFC Fight Night 8 stand as the most ever in a UFC middleweight fight. His four knockdown performance is also tied for second largest in UFC history, behind only Forrest Petz’s five knockdowns of Sammy Morgan at UFC Fight Night 6.

Marquardt lands 60.4 percent of his takedown attempts in UFC middleweight competition, the highest rate in divisional history.

Tamdan McCrory

Tamdan McCrory (14-5 MMA, 4-4 UFC) is 1-1 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in December.

McCrory is 3-1 since he returned to MMA competition from a five-year layoff in September 2014.

McCrory has earned 13 of his 14 career victories by stoppage, including three of his four UFC wins.

Ion Cutelaba (11-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC), 22, is the youngest of the 24 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.

For more on UFC Fight Night 96, 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.