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Unlike anything else in this world, mixed martial arts is something that is capable of absorbing me completely. As an avid fan, I spend a great deal of time immersed in the sport, whether it be training, watching, discussing, or simply thinking...

Ultimate Fighting Championship: Crunching The Numbers (Updated)

by Flyin' Hawaiian (Analyst)

19

414 reads

History

January 12, 2009


Unlike anything else in this world, mixed martial arts is something that is capable of absorbing me completely. As an avid fan, I spend a great deal of time immersed in the sport, whether it be training, watching, discussing, or simply thinking. 

Quite often I find myself lying awake at night pondering a wide variety of subjects, ranging from fight predictions and outcomes, to Arianny Celeste, to Dana White's UFC video blog.  In one way or another, I am intrigued by nearly every aspect of the sport.

Just a few days ago, I began thinking from a more statistical point of view.  I started asking questions like:  "How often do fights end in triangle choke?  How about TKO?  How many title fights actually go all five rounds?"  These were questions that needed answers, despite their triviality.

That being said, over the past 72 hours I have collected data from every UFC Pay-Per-View event since UFC 31, and analyzed the statistics.  I chose UFC 31 as a starting point due to it's historical significance.  This event, held on May 4, 2001, was the first PPV put on 100 percent by Zuffa, and was the first time the UFC introduced the five weight-class system.  UFC 31 also marked the MMA debut of a certain 22-year-old Hawaiian prodigy I happen to be a fan of.

Before I begin, I would just like to clarify a few things:

1.  This data is for UFC PPV events only (UFC 31 to UFC 92), and does not include UFC Fight Nights or Ultimate Fighter Finales.

2.  Title fights include title defenses, title unifications, interim title fights, and fights for vacant belts. 

3.  Decisions include unanimous, split, and majority. 

4.  Knockouts include KO's, KTFO's and TKO's (referee stoppage, injury, etc).

5.  Over the years, there have been a handful of catchweight fights due to fighters not making weight.  Instead of creating a catchweight category, I've included these fights in their intended weight divisions.  The 175-lb catchweight fight between Matt Hughes and Royce Gracie at UFC 60 was considered a welterweight fight.

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19 comments Last one added 5 months ago — Leave a Comment

  1. Brian Oswald 5 months ago

    This is a defining article for you man. I really dig it. I used to be a math tutor and love statistics so this article especially appealed to me. I had never thought to do this much statistical research though. I really enjoyed reading all the stats and I am sure you could take this concept even further. POTD.

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  2. Nick Colon 5 months ago

    POTD from me too...great job with the numbers...you did well. Let me add that the only fighter in UFC history to have won all of his fights without hearing a sound is Matt Hamill...take that to the bank...haha. Great job Flyin...

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  3. Dorothy Willis 5 months ago

    How industrious of you! What a unique idea and you have done a great job. ***** & POTD

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  4. Jessy Morris 5 months ago

    WOW, Great job dude, nice concept I liked it alot. Got to tell you I hate maths but those statistics were awesome. Hopefully, like brian said, you can go even further with this concept and I would love (if you can) to do this every year, why not? statistics of all the UFC events of the year, what do you think?

    p.s. By the way, the CB Dollaway/Jess Taylor fight was not at TUF 7 finale, it was at Ultimate Fight Night Silva vs Irvin, which doesn't really matter since it's not counted in your stats, anyway I'll edit it. Great job POTD for me.

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    • Flyin' Hawaiian 5 months ago

      Oh wow, good call w/ C.B. Yeah I could do something like this more often, it's pretty interesting. Thanks for the comment/POTD/edit.

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  5. Roberto Bobert 5 months ago

    If you like looking at fight stats (Which I do) check out the Sherdog stats. http://www.sherdog.com/stats/fightstats

    I did not know Frank Mir had won by Toe Hold. I have to find that fight. Has anyone ever won with just a neck crank?

    I'd like to see how many KO's were by Kick versus punch.

    When did UFC start using weight classes? I wonder what the biggest weight disadvantage for the winner of a fight was? I know Pride had a lot of fights with no weight class. And everyone picked on Bob Sapp.

    Nice article.

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    • Flyin' Hawaiian 5 months ago

      I'd have to look at the data again, but off the top of my head I know there's been one victory by neck crank so far in the UFC. There's also been a victory by just a body triangle, which is pathetic for the guy who tapped to that.

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  6. Stoker Mac 5 months ago

    great job ..potd from me also..

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  7. Mike D 5 months ago

    Holy flyin' hawaiian shit... Toe hold, peruvian neck-tie, more taps due to strikes than triangles. Great F-in' read man. 5 stars, POTD (possibly post of the year, so far)

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  8. Jason Ward 5 months ago

    This is a great article. Well done.
    Here is another stat: Number of times I've read this article: 3.

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  9. Joe Daddy 5 months ago

    This was awesome. I was actually thinking about statistics like this not too long ago, so I'm just happy I didn't have to do the research. Great article, I added it to my picks so if that's what POTD is then, POTD from me. I'm new to this site but this is one of the best articles I've read yet.

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  10. Jared Leatzow 5 months ago

    Good stuff man POTD. I was wondering how did your generate the percentages did you input data in an excel spread sheet or something?

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    • Flyin' Hawaiian 5 months ago

      I just used a calculator. For example, the lightweights had 107 total fights and 50 total decisions (39 unanimous, 10 split, and 1 majority). 50/107 = 47%

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  11. brandon mcclinton 5 months ago

    excellent work. this is worthy of a professional archive. this is really important infor. i wish i could save it personally or something. again, great work.

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    • Flyin' Hawaiian 5 months ago

      I have UFCs 31-92 broken down by year and by weight class, so if anyone wants a copy, I can give you one. It's a Microsoft Word file.

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  12. Jaime Moreno 5 months ago

    Dude you sir did an fabulous job on the article. POTD and *****. great job

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  13. Mike Leanza 5 months ago

    Insane comittment bro. This is the best article Ive read on this site so far. I loved every part about it. Usually I skim through long articles and then comment on what I read through, but I read every word and loved every second. Needless to say 5 stars and POTD, if I could POTY.

    BTW, its insane that GSP and/or Matt Hughes have been involved in every UFC welterweight fight since UFC 31

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