UFC on FOX 11 pre-fight facts: Thiago Alves returns from career-long layoff

The UFC heads to FOX for the second time this year on Saturday night with a stacked card headlined by a No. 1 contenders bout in the heavyweight division.

Top title contenders Fabricio Werdum (17-5-1 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and Travis Browne (16-1-1 MMA, 7-1-1 UFC) are set to collide in the UFC on FOX 11 headliner at Orlando’s Amway Center with a shot at divisional kingpin Cain Velasquez on the line.

Along with the main event, FOX’s 11th UFC showcase features several bouts of significance; seven fighters on the card will put win streaks of at least three fights on the line.

To dig into some of the statistics behind all 13 fights scheduled for the UFC’s first trip to the state of Florida since June 2012, here are 75 pre-fight facts going into UFC on FOX 11.

MAIN EVENT

Werdum’s three-fight UFC winning streak is tied with Browne for the second longest active streak in the heavyweight division behind champion Cain Velasquez (four).

Werdum’s current winning streak is tied for his longest in MMA competition since 2005. His longest run of consecutive victories spans five fights.

Werdum is the only fighter in MMA history to submit both Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Fedor Emelianenko. Dan Henderson is the only man aside from Werdum to hold wins over both Nogueira and Emelianenko.

Werdum’s only defeats in the past 10 years are to fighters who once held the UFC, PRIDE or Strikeforce heavyweight championship.

Werdum lands 4.38 significant strikes per minute, the fourth highest rate among active UFC heavyweights and seventh highest in divisional history (minimum of five fights).

Werdum has landed 55.5 percent of his significant attempts, the second highest accuracy among active heavyweights and fourth highest in heavyweight history (minimum of five fights and 350 significant attempts).

With a striking rate of 4.38 per minute and absorption rate of 2.01, Werdum’s striking differential of +2.37 is the second highest in UFC heavyweight history behind Velasquez (+4.52).

Werdum has committed to 21 submission attempts in his past 21 fights. He’s also landed 26 takedowns in the same amount of time (since 2003). He’s 11-3 in fights in which he lands at least one takedown.

Browne’s three-fight UFC winning streak is tied with Werdum for second longest active streak in the heavyweight division behind Velasquez (four).

Browne has earned all the victories in his current streak by first-round knockout. He has needed just 6:19 of cage time to record all of those finishes. Browne’s average fight time of 5:40 is the shortest among active heavyweights and fourth shortest in modern heavyweight history (minimum of five fights).

Browne has earned five first-round knockout victories under the UFC banner, the second most in heavyweight history behind Roy Nelson (six).

Browne is the only fighter in UFC history to earn two knockout victories stemming from standing elbow strikes. He used the technique to finish Josh Barnett at UFC 168 and Gabriel Gonzaga at the TUF 17 Finale.

Browne has successfully defended all eight takedown attempts by his opponents in UFC competition.

Browne has been controlled on the ground for just 45 seconds throughout his UFC career, the third shortest amount of time in UFC heavyweight history behind Shawn Jordan (0:16) and Stipe Miocic (0:18) (minimum of five fights).

Browne’s five UFC fight-night bonuses are tied with Stefan Struve for the second most in heavyweight history behind Roy Nelson (six).

At 6-7, Browne is the second tallest fighter on the UFC roster (Struve).

CO-MAIN EVENT

Miesha Tate (13-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC) enters the event on the first two-fight losing streak of a professional career that dates back to 2007. “Cupcake” is 1-3 in her past four fights overall, and all of those losses have come by stoppage.

Tate has earned at least one takedown in all 10 of her UFC/Strikeforce appearances.

Tate’s 3.46 takedowns per 15 minutes of fighting in her Strikeforce career is the fourth highest rate for any fighter in the now-defunct organization’s history. Her 18 takedowns overall in Strikeforce competition are tied for the fifth most in history.

Tate’s 11 submission attempts in Strikeforce competition are the fourth most by any fighter in company history.

Tate is the only fighter in combined Strikeforce/UFC/WEC/PRIDE history to come back from being knocked down three times in a fight to finish their opponent. She accomplished the feat against Julie Kedzie at “Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman.”

Liz Carmouche (9-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) will become the first woman to compete inside the octagon four times.

Carmouche enters the event with a 3-4 record in her past seven professional bouts.

Carmouche’s 238 total strikes landed in a Strikeforce bout against Marloes Coenen are the second most in organizational history. Jake Shields’ 280 total strikes against Dan Henderson lead the category.

REMAINING MAIN CARD

Donald Cerrone’s (22-6 MMA, 9-3 UFC) nine UFC lightweight victories are tied for the eighth most in divisional history behind Gleison Tibau (13), Jim Miller (12), Melvin Guillard (11), Yves Edwards (10), B.J. Penn (10), Nate Diaz (10) and Joe Lauzon (10).

Cerrone is one of the UFC’s most consistent fight-night award winners; “Cowboy” has received a fight-night bonus in eight of his 12 UFC bouts.

Cerrone’s fight-night bonuses haven’t been exclusive to his UFC career, though. His 13 UFC/WEC fight-night bonuses (totaling $555,000) are the most in the combined history of the two promotions.

Cerrone’s seven submission victories in UFC/WEC lightweight competition are tied with Joe Lauzon and Kenny Florian for the second most in divisional history behind Nate Diaz (10).

Cerrone’s 10 knockout/submission victories in UFC/WEC lightweight competition are the second most in history behind Diaz (11).

Cerrone is one of seven fighters in UFC history to earn two or more knockout victories stemming from a kick to the head.

Cerrone is one of the division’s most active strikers; he lands 4.87 strikes per minute of fighting, the third best output rate in lightweight history behind Evan Dunham (4.97) and T.J. Grant (6.83). His 50.2 percent significant strike accuracy is the fourth highest in lightweight history.

Cerrone usually won’t fight on the ground unless he wants it there. His 87.5 percent takedown defense rate ranks second in lightweight history behind Gleison Tibau (91.8 percent).

Cerrone’s landed 49 leg kicks landed against Vagner Rocha at UFC 131, the most ever in a three-round UFC fight.

Edson Barboza’s (13-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) is the only fighter in UFC history to earn two knockout victories stemming from leg kicks. He used the technique to stop Rafaello Oliveira at UFC 162 and Mike Lullo at UFC 123. Overall, Barboza’s earned three knockouts in UFC competition stemming from kicks, tying Vitor Belfort for the most finishes stemming from a kick technique in UFC history.

Of Barboza’s 320 significant strikes landed, 36.9 percent of them were landed to his opponents’ legs, the second largest proportion of leg strikes among active UFC fighters behind Lorenz Larkin (41 percent).

Barboza’s landed 91.9 percent of his 320 significant strikes while at distance, the third largest proportion of distance strikes in lightweight history. His seven knockdowns are tied for the third most in 155-pound history.

Barboza’s takedown defense rate of 82.9 percent is fifth highest among active lightweights.

Brad Tavares’ (11-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) five-fight UFC winning streak is the second longest active one in the middleweight division behind champion Chris Weidman (seven).

Tavares has earned all of the victories in his current winning-streak by decision. His last stoppage was a first-round knockout of Phil Baroni at UFC 125 in January 2011.

Tavares’ average fight time of 13:40 is the fourth longest in middleweight history (minimum of five UFC fights).

Tavares’ 3.35 significant strikes landed per minute is the fifth highest rate among active UFC middleweights.

Tavares lands 84.9 percent of his significant strikes from a distance, the second largest proportion among active middleweights behind Chris Camozzi (84.4 percent).

Tavares’ 80.8 percent takedown defense rate is the third best in middleweight history. The Hawaiian has stuffed 21 of 26 takedown attempts inside the octagon.

Tavares’ 116 significant strikes against Riki Fukuda at UFC on FUEL TV 8 are the fourth most ever landed by a middleweight in a single fight.

Yoel Romero’s (7-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) three-fight UFC winning streak is tied for the fourth longest active streak in the middleweight division behind Weidman (seven), Tavares (five) and Vitor Belfort (four).

Romero, 36, is the oldest of the 26 fighters scheduled to compete on the card.

Romero has earned all seven of his professional victories by knockout. That, of course, includes all three of his wins under the UFC banner.

Romero is one of 11 fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout victory stemming from a flying knee strike. He accomplished the feat against Clifford Starks at UFC on FOX 7. That knockout, which came at 1:32 of Round 1, was the second fastest flying knee finish in UFC history.

Romero is the only fighter in UFC history to win back-to-back fights by third-round knockout. He accomplished the feat against Derek Brunson at UFC Fight Night 35 and Ronny Markes at UFC Fight Night 31.

Romero is one of two fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout victory stemming from elbow strikes to the body. He accomplished the feat against Brunson at UFC Fight Night 35. Matt Brown earned a similar finish of Jordan Mein at UFC on FOX 7. It was also just the third finish of its kind in UFC history; Cheick Kongo forced Paul Buentello to submit with elbows to the body at UFC on VERSUS 1.

PRELIMINARY CARD

Khabib Nurmagomedov (21-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) vs. Rafael dos Anjos (20-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC) will mark just the second non-title fight in UFC history in which both fighters are riding five-fight UFC winning streaks. The other time the rare matchmaking feat took place was when Francis Carmont took on Constantinos Philippou at UFC 165.

Nurmagomedov and dos Anjos’ five-fight UFC winning streak is tied with Myles Jury and T.J. Grant for the longest active streak in the lightweight division.

Nurmagomedov’s 21-fight MMA winning streak is the second longest winning streak among active UFC fighters behind bantamweight champion Renan Barao (22).

Nurmagomedov’s 21 completed takedowns against Abel Trujillo at UFC 160 are the most ever in a single UFC bout. Sean Sherk, who completed 16 takedowns against Hermes Franca in a five-round title fight at UFC 73 in July 2007, held the previous record.

Dos Anjos has earned four of the victories on his current five-fight winning streak by decision.

Dos Anjos’ nine UFC lightweight victories are tied for the eighth most in divisional history behind Gleison Tibau (13), Jim Miller (12), Melvin Guillard (11), Yves Edwards (10), B.J. Penn (10), Nate Diaz (10) and Joe Lauzon (10).

Thiago Alves (19-9 MMA, 11-6 UFC) returns from a layoff of more than two years due to injury for his first fight since March 3, 2012 – a span of 777 days. That layoff is the longest of Alves’ professional career, which dates back to his debut in June 2001.

Alves’ 11 UFC welterweight victories are tied with Johny Hendricks and Matt Brown for the fifth most in divisional history behind Georges St-Pierre (19), Matt Hughes (16), Josh Koscheck (14) and Jon Fitch (13).

Alves’ seven knockout victories in welterweight competition are the second most in divisional history behind Matt Brown (eight). Alves has scored 10 knockdowns in his UFC career, tied for the sixth most in UFC history.

Pat Healy (29-18 MMA, 0-3 UFC) is winless in four UFC appearances across two stints with the organization. His current three-fight winless drought is the longest of his 48-fight career.

Healy’s seven victories in the now-defunct Strikeforce lightweight division are the third most in history behind former champions Gilbert Melendez (11) and Josh Thomson (10).

Healy’s 28 completed takedowns under the Strikeforce banner are the most in the promotion’s existence.

Healy’s 12 submission attempts in Strikeforce competition were the third most in organizational history.

Jorge Masvidal (25-8 MMA, 2-1 UFC) is one of just two fighters in UFC history to finish a bout by submission at 4:59 of Round 2, which he did against Michael Chiesa at UFC on FOX 8. Chan Sung Jung also did it against Leonard Garcia at UFC Fight Night 24.

Masvidal has landed a greater number of significant strikes than his opponent in six of his past seven fights that have gone the distance. His 356 significant strikes landed during his Strikeforce career ranked third most in lightweight history.

Masvidal’s 76.8 percent striking defense rate is the third best of any fighter in Strikeforce history.
Masvidal’s 83.3 percent takedown defense rate is the third best in Strikeforce history.

Jordan Mein (27-9 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has earned 22 of his 27 professional victories by knockout (15) or submission (seven).

Mein will compete for the first time since a knockout loss to Matt Brown at UFC on FOX 7 this past April. His 364-day layoff is his longest in nearly eight years as a professional.

Mein is the only fighter to have ever knocked down Brown in UFC competition.

Hernani Perpetuo (17-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) enters the fight on a career-high MMA undefeated streak of nine. He hasn’t suffered a loss since August 2010.

Ray Borg (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his UFC debut just 616 days after his first professional MMA fight.

Mirsad Bektic (7-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC), 23, is the youngest of the 26 fighters scheduled to compete on the card.

Opponents Derrick Lewis (9-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and Jack May (7-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) have fought to a decision a total of just three times in 18 combined professional fights.

Lewis has earned eight of his nine career wins by knockout.

May has earned six of his seven career wins by knockout, all in the first round.

For the latest on UFC on FOX 11, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

FightMetric live statistics producer and research analyst Michael Carroll contributed to this story.

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