UFC 149 Preview: Interesting Facts About Urijah Faber vs. Renan Barao

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UFC 149 is set to take place this Saturday from the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, and headlining the event, pending any last-minute injuries, will be a interim bantamweight title fight between Urijah Faber and Renan Barao.

Faber is no stranger to fighting for MMA titles, having held championships in the WEC as well as King of the Cage promotions. In addition, he has previously fought for the UFC bantamweight title, dropping a unanimous decision to Dominck Cruz in that contest.

For his part, Barao has never fought for a title, but don't let that fact lead you to believe that he is undeserving of the honor. Barao is currently riding a 29-fight unbeaten streak, with the only loss of his career coming in his first professional bout back in April 2005.

In order to get you primed for the upcoming title scrap, here are a few interesting facts about the fighters.

Faber Is a Record Setter

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In his 12 fights in the WEC, Faber put together a record of 9-3 with nine of those fights being featherweight championship bouts. Of those bouts, five were successful title defenses, a WEC record for any weight class in the promotion.

During his 12 fights in the WEC, Faber ran up 2:04:38 of fight time, again a WEC record.

Of his nine victories with the WEC, seven came by way of submission, giving Faber the record for most submission victories with the promotion.

Barao's Name Is in the Record Books as Well

Renan Barao first fought under the Zuffa banner in 2010, debuting with a win over Anthony Leone at WEC 49. In all, Barao has fought five times in the WEC and UFC and has won three of those fights by submission and the other two via unanimous decision.

Although Barao's tenure in the WEC/UFC has been brief, that hasn't stopped him from putting a gold star next to his name as Barao holds the bantamweight record for most significant strikes per minute, with 4.3 per minute, besting Miguel Torres' 3.94 per minute.

Don't Think That Faber Has the Wrestling Advantage

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Urijah Faber may come from a wrestling background, graduating from UC-Davis as the winningest wrestler in the school's history, but he'll have a hard time using those skills when he faces Barao on Saturday night.

Barao has proven to be adept at stopping takedowns; in fact, he has only given up one in his WEC/UFC career, thwarting the other 13 attempts, for a 93% takedown defense rate.

And in case you think Barao faced scrub wrestlers, it should be noted that his last opponent, Scott Jorgensen, was a three-time PAC-10 champion at Boise State and he was unsuccessful on all seven of his takedown attempts on Barao.

When Faber Outstrikes His Opponents, He Wins

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Urijah Faber is 11-4 in the WEC/UFC. In those 11 victories, he has delivered more significant strikes than his opponent; while in each of his four losses, he has been outstruck by his opponents.

The most significant strikes that Faber landed was during his WEC 34 bout against Jens Pulver, peppering Pulver with 95 significant strikes.

In his losses, the most significant strikes Faber ate was during his UFC 132 loss to Dominick Cruz, where Cruz landed 90 significant strikes to Faber's 50.

As far as Barao, he is pretty free and easy with his strikes, outstriking his WEC/UFC opponents 217 to 136.

A Look at Their UFC Numbers

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The below numbers are only for UFC fights.

Striking	Faber	Barao

Avg. Fight	15:29	11:23

Strikes Landed Per Minute	2.91	5.48

Striking Accuracy	39.60%	38.60%

Striking Defense	69.80%	65.70%

Strike Differential	0.45	2.2

Grappling	Faber	Barao

Takedown ave per 15 min	1.29	2.64

Takedown Accuracy	23.50%	75%

Takedown Defense	68.80%	100%

Submission attempt avg per 15 min	0.32	0.44