Behind the UFC on FUEL TV numbers: Diego Sanchez vs. Jake Ellenberger fight complete statistical breakdown

Tonight (Feb. 15, 2012), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) top welterweight contenders Diego Sanchez and Jake Ellenberger will take to the cage for the main event of UFC on FUEL TV in Omaha, Nebraska.

The "dream" match up will see Sanchez doing his best to notch his third win in a row. Most recently, he picked up a unanimous decision victory over Martin Kampmann at UFC on Versus 3 back on March 3, 2011, in Louisville, Kentucky.

A win for his opponent, Ellenberger, would make a whopping sixth in a row. In his last outing, "The Juggernaut" put a serious beatdown on Jake Shields en route to a first round technical knockout win at UFC Fight Night 25 on Sept. 17, 2011, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

All of the momentum will come to a head when the two meet in the Octagon tonight. Something's got to give.

After the jump, we'll examine who will hold the statistical edge when the cage door is closed at UFC on FUEL TV: "Sanchez vs. Ellenberger."

The mixed martial arts (MMA) numbers fanatics at CompuStrike took the time to analyze 16 of Diego Sanchez's fights, as well as six of Jake Ellenberger's and collect the data so we could share it with you here on MMAmania.com.

An MMA bout is comprised of many different disciplines and facets. The new breed of mixed martial artist has to be prepared for any place the fight may take him (or her).

Every MMA fight starts in the standing position. Let's take a look at who may have the advantage in this portion of the fight:

Total Strikes:

Sanchez -- 49 of 111
Ellenberger -- 38 of 72

Percentage:

Sanchez -- 44 percent
Ellenberger -- 53 percent

Total Power Strikes Landed:

Sanchez -- 34
Ellenberger -- 17

Total Non-Power Strikes Landed:

Sanchez -- 15
Ellenberger -- 21

Most of those numbers are pretty even. Ellenberger gets the nod for accuracy, while Sanchez eeks him out in the power category. However, it's important to note that Ellenberger holds 17 (technical) knockout wins in his career. Sanchez has six.

Let's break down the striking picture a bit further and look at the arm strikes:

Total Arm Strikes Landed:

Sanchez -- 24 of 70
Ellenberger -- 10 of 26

Percentage of Arm Strikes Landed:

Sanchez -- 34 percent
Ellenberger -- 39 percent

Power Strikes Landed:

Sanchez -- 16
Ellenberger -- 5

Non-Power Strikes Landed

Sanchez -- 8
Ellenberger -- 5

This looks about the same as the overall striking statistics. More power strikes for Sanchez, but again, Ellenberger has far more knockouts.

The striking comparison starts to make a bit more sense when we look at the leg striking aspect of each fighter.

Let's check it out:

Total Leg Strikes Landed:

Sanchez -- 3 of 7
Ellenberger -- 7 of 9

Percentage of Leg Strikes Landed:

Sanchez -- 43 percent
Ellenberger -- 78 percent

Power Leg Strikes Landed:

Sanchez -- 2
Ellenberger -- 3

Non-Power Leg Strikes Landed:

Sanchez -- 1
Ellenberger -- 4

Ellenberger has knees and kicks that are always potentially dangerous. Though he may not be knocking guys out with head kicks, he uses his leg strikes well to set up punches that have been known to put many a fighter to sleep.

Finally, there's the ground game. One would assume that this fight will be a stand up brawl, but you never know. Anything can happen in MMA, right?

Who has the edge on the ground? Let's see:

Ground Strikes Landed:

Sanchez -- 22 of 34
Ellenberger -- 21 of 37

Percentage:

Sanchez -- 65 percent
Ellenberger -- 57 percent

Power Ground Strikes Landed:

Sanchez -- 16
Ellenberger -- 9

Non-Power Ground Strikes Landed:

Sanchez -- 6
Ellenberger -- 12

Takedowns:

Sanchez -- 22 of 92 (24 percent)
Ellenberger -- 13 of 19 (68 percent)

Submission Attempts:

Sanchez -- 17
Ellenberger -- 3

Dominant Positions:

Sanchez -- 18
Ellenberger -- 1

Ellenberger has been shown to be more accurate with his takedowns, but Sanchez is attempting to shoot much more frequently.

Once it gets to the canvas, Sanchez continues to be much busier and should be the more comfortable of the two if this fight heads south.

It's also important to note that Sanchez owns nine submission wins to Ellenberger's mere one.

It looks like the key to this fight for Ellenberger is to keep things standing and try to avoid playing into Sanchez's frenetic and chaotic pace.

Sanchez certainly won't be afraid to stand in the pocket and trade, but don't be surprised if we see him shoot fairly early in this fight.

What do you think, Maniacs? Do these numbers sway you at all? Who will you be staking your reputation and hard-earned money on in this high level welterweight match up?

For everything else you need to know about the clash between Diego Sanchez vs. Jake Ellenberger, be sure to check out our complete fight archive right here.