10 UFC Records That We Want to See Broken

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How do you determine the best of the best? Do you look at their competitive records? Do you look at their title runs? Do you look at the quality of opposition?

There are a lot of statistics in mixed martial arts that have prompted fans to have tremendous debates regarding everything from the best knockout artist of all time to the worst weight cutter. Oftentimes, those fans will point to the record books to help make their cases.

For that reason, we here at Bleacher Report MMA have decided to open the record books and see which feats of inhuman ability are most impressive.

Today, we look at the 10 UFC records that fans want to see broken.

Youngest UFC Champion

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Twenty-three years and 242 days.

That's how old Jon Jones was when he captured the UFC Light-Heavyweight championship from Mauricio Shogun Rua. It is an amazing feat that put him in the record books as the youngest champion in UFC history.

Who is both young enough and talented enough to break this record? UFC bantamweight Michael McDonald turned 21 years old in January and quickly dispatched of former champion Miguel Torres in brutal fashion.

With champion Dominick Cruz out for a year, it's likely that McDonald will get a crack at the interim championship by the end of 2012. Could he win gold before his 22nd birthday?

Featherweight Charles Oliveira might also be able to pull this off, but he's got to act quickly. Do Bronx is 2-0 since dropping down to 145 pounds. If he has an active 2012, he could wind up at 4-0 by the end of the year.

Oliveira may be a long shot, but he has until June 16, 2013, to make history.

Most Career Wins

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Everybody loves a winner.

Matt Hughes currently holds the record for most wins inside the Octagon, with a remarkable total of 18.

While three fighters are currently nipping at his heels, only Georges St. Pierre is an active fighter. The other fighters who have scored 16 wins are Hall of Fame fighters Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell.

The only other fighters likely to hit 18 are Josh Koscheck (15) and Frank Mir (14). Each man is in the younger half of his 30's and holds a remarkable amount of skill. If they fight every five months, both men could break the record by the end of 2013.

Sorry, Anderson Silva fans. The Spider has 14 wins, too, but it's unlikely that he will fight four more times before the end of his storied career. Anything is possible.

Fastest Knockout

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Bigger. Stronger. Faster. That's how fans of MMA like their action.

When Todd Duffee knocked out Tim Hague to (briefly) earn the fastest KO in UFC history record, fans were abuzz over this hot new prospect.

It's not like knocking out Tim Hague is a feat worthy of garnering mainstream attention. After all, Matt Mitrione did the same in under three minutes to much less acclaim. The fact remains that knocking someone out in only a few seconds is a major sign of pure domination.

If someone can come along and break "Bang" Ludwig's current six-second record, fans will have a new powerhouse to worship.

Most Knockout of the Night Awards

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Can anyone finally break the glass ceiling of three KO of the night bonuses? Anderson Silva, Chris Leben and Lyoto Machida have each won the award three times. Does Dana White simply decide to stop giving away this prestigious award after a pugilist has collected it in triplicate?

Winning this award can be tricky. Michael McDonald nearly killed Miguel Torres at UFC 146, but the award still didn't go in his pocket. If it had, the youngster would have two at only 21 years of age.

Eventually someone will break this record. Who will it be? 

Fastest Submission

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Has this record truly been held by Oleg Taktarov for 17 years? In July of 1995, Oleg Taktarov was able to cinch in a guillotine choke that forced his opponent to tap out in only nine seconds.

Not only is that record amazing, it's nearly impossible to break. In the Zuffa era of mixed martial arts, it is hard to surprise most fighters with techniques that they have yet to see. Wrestlers of the early days may not have known how to defend a guillotine choke, just as they didn't know that a little man in pajamas named Royce was going to make them cry.

In a world with flying triangles, flying armbars and flying heel hooks, someone is bound to catch their opponent off guard in the opening moments of a contest. When it happens, fans will cheer and immediately cite it as the greatest of all time.

Most Submission of the Night Awards

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Joe Lauzon, Nate Diaz and Demian Maia have all scored an incredible four Submission of the Night awards. No one in the history of the UFC has ever been able to match such an impressive feat of grappling aptitude. 

Chris Lytle would be another member of this prestigious club, although his incredible inverted mounted triangle/straight armbar combination at UFC 116 was overlooked in favor of Brock Lesnar performing an arm-triangle on Shane Carwin.

With each man tied for the record, it only takes one more in order for someone to stand above the pack. It's not an issue of "if," but rather "when."

Most Fight of the Night Awards

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Do you know why people want to see this record broken? Because it means that we get to see a fighter emerge as someone we can rely on to consistently put on incredible and entertaining fights.

Chris Lytle currently holds this award, with six Fight of the Night honors. Right on his heels, however, is UFC Lightweight contender Nate Diaz.

The younger Diaz brother has won five Fight of the Night awards since 2008, and considering that his next matchup will be against either Frankie Edgar or Benson Henderson, it's hard to imagine the Cesar Gracie fighter trailing Lytle for much longer.

Most Total Fight Night Awards

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Chris Lytle is the king of Fight Night Awards. With six Fight of the Night, three Submission of the Night and one Knockout of the Night, "Lights Out" was able to achieve the trifecta of awards in consecutive UFC appearances in 2007 and 2008.

For those of you playing the home game, you've already noticed that Nate Diaz sits right behind Lytle with nine awards—four SotNs and five FotNs. A KotN bonus has eluded Diaz, but I don't think he is losing any sleep over it.

At the age of 27 and in possession of a fan-friendly style, it's unlikely that Nate Diaz won't break this record and smash it into pieces before his career is done.

Let's just enjoy the ride.

Highest Selling UFC Pay-Per-View

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UFC 100 is the biggest event in MMA history. With two title fights and the coaches fight from The Ultimate Fighter, it was a fight fan's dream come true. 

The pay-per-view pulled in an unprecedented 1,600,000 buys and made UFC 100 the most purchased non-boxing event in PPV history.

Only seven UFC events have ever broken the 1,000,000 threshold, and UFC 148 was originally a card that could have broken those numbers. Unfortunately, a series of injuries removed a title fight between Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber, along with key matchups like Rich Franklin vs. Cung Le, Michael Bisping vs. Tim Boetsch and Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz III.

When the stars align for another mega-event, you'd better be sure that the UFC marketing department will capitalize on it. 1,600,000 is attainable, and with the growth of the sport, it is breakable.

Highest Selling Pay-Per View of All Time

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The highest selling PPV of all time belongs to the world of boxing. In 2007, Floyd Mayweather Jr. squared off against the highest selling PPV fighter in the history of sports, Oscar De La Hoya. Never before had an event received more than 2,000,000 buys, and this event would shatter the previous record.

De La Hoya vs. Mayweather sold 2,400,000 pay-per-views and generated over $120 million in revenue.

Fans of mixed martial arts are territorial when it comes to boxing. We tend to snicker at the thought of boxing being superior in any avenue. After all, the sport only has two stars, right?

However, the gap in purchases between MMA's biggest event and the prized event of boxing is a staggering 800,000.

This is a record that MMA fans want to see broken. With the star power that the UFC has, ultimately it comes down to what kind of card can be created to get more than 2.4 million fans to open their wallets.

What fights would be on a card that draws 2.4 million buys?

JDS vs. Jon Jones and Anderson Silva vs. GSP? Silva vs. Sonnen II, GSP vs. Diaz and Lesnar vs. Mir III? Do you need a heavyweight title fight in there, too? 

Ultimately, it's up to fans to break this record.