The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to network television for the eighth time this Saturday night (July 27, 2013) as UFC on FOX 8: "Johnson vs. Moraga" goes down from KeyArena in Seattle, Washington.
A flyweight championship match up takes headlining role at the event as reigning titleholder Demetrious Johnson puts his belt on the line for the second time against top-ranked contender John Moraga.
Also on the card, welterweight contenders Rory MacDonald and Jake Ellenberger battle for a top spot in the 170-pound pecking order, heavy-handed strikers Robbie Lawler and Bobby Voelker go to war and, finally, in the first-ever female UFC fight on network TV, Liz Carmouche meets Jessica Andrade.
With the event just days away, let's take a few minutes to review some event-related facts about UFC on FOX 8.
Check them out:
- Moraga is just one of nine fighters in UFC history to finish a fight with standing elbows.
- Johnson is one of three fighters in UFC history (Michihiro Omigawa, Benson Henderson) to start his career in the Octagon with seven-straight decisions.
- MacDonald's four-fight UFC win-streak is tied with Mike Pierce and Mike Pyle for fourth longest in the welterweight division.
- Ellenberger has landed eight career UFC knockdowns, tied with Georges St. Pierre for second in welterweight history. Thiago Alves leads the category with nine knockdowns landed.
- Carmouche will become the first female fighter to compete in the Octagon twice.
- Andrade will compete in her eighth mixed martial arts (MMA) fight in an 11-month span.
- Lawler meets Voelker on short notice after originally scheduled opponents Tarec Saffiedine and Siyar Bahadurzada withdrew from the event due to injury.
- Melvin Guillard's average fight time is six minutes and 45 seconds, which is fourth shortest in UFC lightweight history.
- Mac Danzig (5-6 UFC) is one of two (Jonathan Brookins) of the 21 active The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) reality show winners with a sub .500 record in the Octagon.
- Johnson has the second longest average fight time in UFC history at 19 minutes and 17 seconds. Benson Henderson leads the category at 20 minutes and 43 seconds.
- MacDonald (No. 3) is the youngest fighter in the top-10 of the official UFC welterweight rankings.
- Julie Kedzie makes her UFC debut on the heels of back-to-back losses.
- Ed Herman has completed 27 takedowns in his UFC career, tied with Nate Marquardt and Yushin Okami for second in UFC middleweight history behind Chael Sonnen (35 complete takedowns).
- Johnson has landed the most total strikes in flyweight history with 485.
- Aaron Riley competes for the first time since suffering a broken jaw at the hands of Tony Ferguson at UFC 135 in Sept. 2011. Riley has only fought twice in the past three years and eight months.
- Lawler's last 12 victories have come by (technical) knockout or submission. "Ruthless" has not won a fight by decision since a Nov. 21, 2003 win over Chris Lytle at UFC 45.
- Ellenberger owns a 58.1% takedown accuracy, seventh best in UFC welterweight history. His opponent, MacDonald, owns a 57.7% accuracy, eighth in 170-pound history.
- Andrade, 21, will become the youngest female fighter to ever compete in the UFC.
- Johnson's three 125-pound wins are tied with Joseph Benavidez for the most in UFC history.
- Jorge Masvidal has fought to a decision in his last eight fights for a total of 130 consecutive minutes without a stoppage.
- Guillard has the third most knockdowns in UFC history with 12. Chuck Liddell is second at 14 while Anderson Silva leads the category with 17.
- Yves Edwards will compete in his 17th UFC lightweight bout, the most of any fighter in UFC history.
- Kedzie's 27 professional fights are the most of any female currently signed to the UFC roster.
- Herman is one of two fighters to hold a victory over top-ranked UFC light heavyweight contender Glover Teixeira.
- Despite owning five UFC victories, Danny Castillo only holds one win over fighters still signed to the UFC roster.
- Michael Chiesa has won his last five MMA fights by rear-naked choke submission, four in the first round.
- Johnson, 26, is the third youngest male UFC champion behind light heavyweight titleholder Jon Jones and featherweight titleholder Jose Aldo.
- After a five-fight UFC win-streak in 2010-2011, Guillard has lost four of his past five fights.
- Edwards' 19 professional defeats are the most of any fighter currently signed to the UFC roster.
- Three fights on the card pit a fighter coming off a win vs. one coming off a loss (Castillo vs. Means, Carmouche vs. Andrade and Lawler vs. Voelker).
That's a wrap for this set of UFC facts.
Did you learn anything new/interesting? Do any of the facts change your perspective on Saturday night's fights?
Let us know below!
For more news and notes on UFC on FOX 8 be sure to check out our complete event archive right here.
(Some stats courtesy of UFC and Fight Metric)