UFC on FOX 23 pre-fight facts: Donald Cerrone approaching several key records

The UFC returns to Denver for the first time in more than three years on Saturday when UFC on FOX 23 takes place at Pepsi Center.

A matchup of female bantamweight contenders headlines the FOX-televised main card, which follows prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass. Valentina Shevchenko (13-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) and Julianna Pena (8-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) continue their pursuit of the 135-pound title and champion Amanda Nunes when they face off in a five-round main event.

Four solid main-card matchups close the bill this weekend. For more on the numbers behind the octagon’s return to the city that hosted UFC 1 in 1993, check below for 65 pre-fight facts about UFC on FOX 23.

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Main event

Valentina Shevchenko

Shevchenko competes in her second consecutive FOX-televised main event. She defeated Holly Holm in her first headliner at UFC on FOX 20 in July.

Shevchenko’s lone UFC defeat came against current UFC women’s bantamweight champion Nunes at UFC 196.

Shevchenko has earned both of her UFC victories by decision.

Pena’s four-fight UFC winning streak in women’s bantamweight competition is tied with Raquel Pennington for the second longest active streak in the division behind Nunes (five).

Julianna Pena

Pena has earned six of her eight career victories by stoppage.

Pena’s two knockout victories in UFC women’s bantamweight competition are tied for third most in divisional history behind Nunes (four) and Ronda Rousey (three).

Pena is one of 11 fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout victory at the 4:59 mark of Round 1. She accomplished the feat against Jessica Rakoczy at The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale.

Co-main event

Donald Cerrone

Donald Cerrone (32-7 MMA, 19-4 UFC) competes in his second UFC bout in a 49-day stretch. He defeated Matt Brown at UFC 206 in December.

Cerrone makes his 34th UFC/WEC appearance, the most in the combined history of the two organizations.

Cerrone’s 34 appearances in UFC/WEC/PRIDE/Strikeforce competition are fourth most in combined organizational history behind Wanderlei Silva (40), Dan Henderson (40) and Mirko Filipovic (35).

Cerrone’s 19 victories in UFC competition are tied with Georges St-Pierre for second most in company history behind Michael Bisping (20).

Cerrone’s 25 victories in UFC/WEC/PRIDE/Strikeforce competition are tied with Henderson for the second most in combined organizational history behind W. Silva (27).

Cerrone is 4-0 since he moved up to the UFC welterweight division in February 2016.

Cerrone’s four-fight UFC winning streak in welterweight competition is tied with Vicente Luque for the second longest active streak in the division behind Demian Maia (six).

Cerrone has earned all four of his UFC welterweight victories by stoppage.

Donald Cerrone

Cerrone’s four-fight stoppage streak in UFC competition is tied for the longest one among active fighters.

Cerrone’s 13 stoppage victories in UFC competition are tied for third most in company history behind Vitor Belfort (14) and Anderson Silva (14).

Cerrone’s 17 stoppage victories in UFC/WEC competition are the most in combined organizational history.

Cerrone’s 17 stoppage victories in UFC/WEC/PRIDE/Strikeforce competition are tied for third most in combined organizational history behind Filipovic (21) and W. Silva (20).

Cerrone’s six knockout victories stemming from a head kick in UFC competition are the most in company history. No one else has more than four.

Cerrone’s 14 knockdowns landed in UFC competition are tied with Chuck Liddell for second most in company history behind A. Silva (18).

Cerrone’s 18 fight-night bonuses in UFC/WEC bouts are the most in combined organizational history.

Cerrone’s 13 fight-night bonuses in UFC bouts are tied with A. Silva for third most in company history behind Nate Diaz (15) and Joe Lauzon (15).

Jorge Masvidal

Jorge Masvidal (31-11 MMA, 8-4 UFC) competes in his second UFC bout in a 56-day stretch. He defeated Jake Ellenberger by TKO at the TUF 24 Finale in December.

Masvidal is 3-2 since he returned to the welterweight division in July 2015.

Masvidal has fought to a decision in 14 of his past 17 bouts.

Masvidal has landed a greater number of significant strikes than his opponent in 12 of his past 14 fights to end in a decision.

Masvidal is one of five fighters in UFC history to finish a bout by submission at the 4:59 mark of Round 2. He accomplished the feat against Michael Chiesa at UFC on FOX 8.

Remaining main card

Andrei Arlovski

Andrei Arlovski (25-13 MMA, 14-7 UFC), 37, is the oldest of the 24 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.

Arlovski competes in his 22nd UFC heavyweight bout, tied with Gabriel Gonzaga for the second most appearances in divisional history behind Frank Mir (27).

Arlovski enters the event on a three-fight losing skid, the second longest drought of his career behind a four-fight stretch from 2009-2011.

Arlovski is 4-3 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in June 2014.

Arlovski’s 14 victories in UFC heavyweight competition are second most in divisional history behind Mir (16).

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

Arlovski’s nine knockout victories in UFC heavyweight competition are second most in divisional history behind Cain Velasquez (10).

Arlovski’s 10 knockdowns landed in UFC heavyweight competition are tied with Velasquez for second most in divisional history behind Junior Dos Santos (12).

Arlovski defends 84.3 percent of all opponent takedown attempts in UFC heavyweight competition, the highest rate in divisional history.

Francis Ngannou

Francis Ngannou’s (9-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) four-fight UFC winning streak in heavyweight competition is tied with champ Stipe Miocic for the second longest active streak in the division behind Derrick Lewis (five).

Ngannou has earned all nine of his career victories by stoppage.

Ngannou’s four-fight stoppage streak in UFC competition is tied with Cerrone, Luque, Miocic, Mairbek Taisumov and Misha Cirkunov for the longest among active fighters.

Alex Caceres (12-9 MMA, 7-7 UFC) is 2-1 since he returned to the UFC featherweight division in January 2015.

Alex Caceres

Caceres is 2-4 in his past six UFC appearances.

Caceres is one of three fighters in UFC/WEC bantamweight history to land 100 or more significant strikes in two different fights. Dominick Cruz and T.J. Dillashaw also accomplished the feat.

Caceres’ submission of Sergio Pettis at the 4:39 mark of Round 3 at UFC on FOX 10 marked the second-latest in a three-round UFC bantamweight fight. Only Bryan Caraway’s tapout of Johnny Bedford at the 4:44 mark of Round 3 at UFC 159 occurred later in a 135-pound fight.

Jason Knight (16-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC), 24, is the youngest of the 24 fighter scheduled to compete at the event.

Preliminary card

Nate Marquardt

Nate Marquardt (35-16-2 MMA, 13-9 UFC) competes in his 21st UFC middleweight bout, the third most appearances in divisional history behind champ Bisping (22) and Chris Leben (22).

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

Marquardt’s 13 victories in UFC middleweight competition are tied with A. Silva and Yushin Okami for second most in divisional history behind Bisping (16).

Marquardt has earned nine of his 13 career victories by stoppage.

Marquardt’s nine stoppage victories in UFC middleweight competition are tied with Leben for second most in divisional history behind A. Silva (11).

Marquardt’s 11 knockdowns landed in UFC middleweight competition are second most in divisional history behind A. 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 62 percent of his takedown attempts in UFC middleweight competition, the second highest rate in divisional history behind Cezar Ferreira (75 percent).

Sam Alvey

Sam Alvey (29-8 MMA, 6-3 UFC) makes his fifth UFC appearance since June.

Alvey has earned five of his six UFC victories by stoppage.

Alvey’s five stoppage victories since 2014 in UFC middleweight competition are tied with Luke Rockhold for most in the division.

Raphael Assuncao (23-5 MMA, 7-2 UFC) is 7-1 since he dropped to the UFC bantamweight division in August 2011.

Assuncao defends 69.9 of all opponent significant strike attempts in UFC bantamweight competition, the third highest rate in divisional history behind Vaughan Lee (71.5 percent) and Cruz (70.9 percent).

Aljamain Sterling

Aljamain Sterling (12-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) absorbs just 0.9 significant strikes per minute in UFC competition, the best rate in company history.

Li Jingliang (11-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) has alternated wins and losses over his five-fight UFC career. He was victorious in his most recent bout at The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale in July.

Marcos Rogerio de Lima’s (14-4-1 MMA, 3-2 UFC) average fight time of 2:06 in UFC competition is the shortest among active fighters in the company.

De Lima has earned 13 of his 14 career victories by stoppage. He’s finished 12 of those wins in Round 1.

De Lima has earned all three of his UFC victories by first-round stoppage in a total fight time of six minutes and 54 seconds.

De Lima recorded the second-fastest knockout by a debuting UFC heavyweight with his 20-second finish of Richardson Moreira at The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Finale. Todd Duffee holds the record with his seven-second knockout of Tim Hague at UFC 102.

For more on UFC on FOX 23, 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.