The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale preview: 17 fun facts about ‘Nelson vs. Mitrione' in Las Vegas on Dec. 15

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) makes an overdue return to Las Vegas with arguably the most stacked TUF Finale to date.

The main event will see husky heavyweights collide as TUF 10 winner Roy Nelson takes on TUF 10 cast member Matt Mitrione. Along with The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 16 welterweight final, fun match ups fill the undercard with familiar names such as Pat Barry, Melvin Guillard and Dustin Poirier.

With the event just days away and anticipation growing with every passing second, let's take a few minutes to review some hard-hitting event-related facts about The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale.

1. Matt Mitrione is one of three current UFC fighters along with Amir Sadollah and Matt Riddle who has fought all of his professional bouts under the UFC banner.
2. Vinc Pichel has won all seven of his professional fights by (T)KO.
3. Roy Nelson will attempt to win a second consecutive fight for the first time since 2009-2010.
4. The five-month, eight-day break between UFC 148 and The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale is the longest timeframe between UFC events in Las Vegas since UFC 49 and UFC 51 in 2004-2005.
5. After fighting his first 12 professional bouts as a middleweight, Nick Catone makes his welterweight debut against T.J. Waldburger.
6. Jamie Varner has never been knocked out in his 30-fight career.
7. Matt Mitrione has five victories under the UFC banner. All of those opponents are either no longer with the organization or no longer compete at heavyweight.
8. Mike Ricci has the chance to become the first Canadian winner of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) reality show.
9. The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale is the only TUF Finale in UFC history to only feature the show's finalists.
10. Matt Mitrione competes for the first time since a unanimous decision defeat to Cheick Kongo at UFC 137 in October 2011.
11. In a combined 50-career victories, Jamie Varner and Melvin Guillard have finished 39 opponents by (T)KO or submission.
12. At 37 years old, Mike Pyle is the third oldest fighter on the UFC welterweight roster behind former champions Matt Hughes and Matt Serra.
13. Shane Del Rosario and Pat Barry have only gone to a decision once in 24 combined fights.
14. Hugo Viana has fought to a decision in all six of his professional fights.
15. Twelve of the 24 fighters on the card were once featured on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) reality show.
16. Standing 5'10", Johnny Bedford is the tallest fighter in the UFC bantamweight division.
17. Marcos Vinicius Borges Pancini has won 13 of his 20 fights by submission. His opponent, Johnny Bedford, has lost eight of his nine fights by submission.

That's a wrap for this set of fun UFC facts.

Did you learn anything new/interesting? Do any of the facts change your perspective on Saturday's fights?

Let us know below!