Playing Six Degrees of Separation with Some of MMA's Biggest Stars

MMA math. We've all done it at one point or another. But have you ever taken two fighters who appear to be completely unrelated and attempted to connect them?

In this slideshow you will find some of the most seemingly unrelated fighters and the connections they have through their wins and losses.

So check it out, and astound your friends with your incredible knowledge of who's beaten who in the MMA world.

Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow him on twitter @TimMcTiernan.

Dominick Cruz to Junior Dos Santos

First off, we'll connect the current UFC bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz, to the current heavyweight champion, Junior dos Santos.

Dominick Cruz beat Urijah Faber by unanimous decision at UFC 132.

Urijah Faber beat Jens Pulver by guillotine choke at WEC 38.

Jens Pulver beat Dennis Hallman by unanimous decision at UFC 33.

Dennis Hallman beat Matt Hughes by submission at UFC 29.

Matt Hughes beat BJ Penn by TKO at UFC 63.

BJ Penn beat Diego Sanchez by TKO at UFC 107.

Diego Sanchez beat Karo Parysian by unanimous decision UFC Fight Night 6.

Karo Parysian beat Nick Diaz by split decision at UFC 49.

Nick Diaz beat Frank Shamrock by TKO at Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz.

Frank Shamrock beat Tito Ortiz by submission at UFC 22.

Tito Ortiz beat Forrest Griffin by split decision at UFC 59.

Forrest Griffin beat Mauricio Rua by submission at UFC 76.

Mauricio Rua beat Lyoto Machida by knockout at UFC 113.

Lyoto Machida beat Sokoudjou by submission at UFC 79.

Sokoudjou beat Joaquim Ferreira by TKO at Impact FC 1.

Joaquim Ferreira beat Junior dos Santos by submission at MTL-Final.

Therefore, Junior dos Santos has a "Cruz Number" of 16.

Demetrious Johnson to Stefan Struve

Next up, we'll connect one of the UFC's smallest fighters, Demetrious Johnson, to its tallest, Stefan Struve.

Demetrious Johnson beat Kid Yamamoto by unanimous decision at UFC 126.

Kid Yamamoto beat Genki Sudo by TKO at K-1 PREMIUM 2005 Dynamite!!

Genki Sudo beat Mike Brown by submission at UFC 47.

Mike Brown beat Leonard Garcia by submission at WEC 39.

Leonard Garcia beat Chan Sung Jung by split decision at WEC 48.

Chan Sung Jung beat Michihiro Omigawa by unanimous decision at DEEP: Gladiator.

Michihiro Omigawa beat Hatsu Hioki by split decision at Sengoku 11.

Hatsu Hioki beat Bart Palaszewski by unanimous decision at UFC 144.

Bart Palaszewski beat Anthony Pettis by split decision at WEC 45.

Anthony Pettis beat Jeremy Stephens by split decision at UFC 136.

Jeremy Stephens beat Marcus Davis by knockout at UFC 125.

Marcus Davis beat Chris Lytle by split decision at UFC 93.

Chris Lytle beat Matt Serra by unanimous decision at UFC 119.

Matt Serra beat Georges St-Pierre by TKO at UFC 69.

Georges St-Pierre beat Jake Shields by unanimous decision at UFC 129.

Jake Shields beat Dan Henderson by unanimous decision at Strikeforce: Nashville.

Dan Henderson beat Fedor Emelianenko by knockout at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson.

Fedor Emelianenko beat Andrei Arlovski by knockout at Affliction: Day of Reckoning.

Andrei Arlovski beat Roy Nelson by knockout at EliteXC: Heat.

Roy Nelson beat Stefan Struve by TKO at UFC Fight Night 21.

Therefore, Stefan Struve has a "Johnson Number" of 20.

Benson Henderson to Mark Coleman

At first glance, you may think that there's absolutely nothing that links these two fighters. However, Benson Henderson is the UFC's newest champion, and Mark Coleman is the UFC's first—official—champion. Here we go.

Benson Henderson beat Jim Miller by unanimous decision at UFC on Versus 5.

Jim Miller beat Melvin Guillard by submission at UFC on FX 1.

Melvin Guillard beat Gleison Tibau by split decision at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale.

Gleison Tibau beat Thiago Alves by submission at Champions Night 2.

Thiago Alves beat Josh Koscheck by unanimous decision at UFC 90.

Josh Koscheck beat Paul Daley by unanimous decision at UFC 113.

Paul Daley beat Martin Kampmann by TKO at UFC 103.

Martin Kampmann beat Carlos Condit by split decision at UFC Fight Night 18.

Carlos Condit beat Frank Trigg by submission at Rumble on the Rock 9.

Frank Trigg beat Mayhem Miller by TKO at Icon Sport—Mayhem vs. Trigg.

Mayhem Miller beat Robbie Lawler by submission at Icon Sport—Mayhem vs. Lawler.

Robbie Lawler beat Scott Smith by TKO at EliteXC: Unfinished Business.

Scott Smith beat Cung Le by knockout at Strikeforce: Evolution.

Cung Le beat Frank Shamrock by TKO at Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Lee.

Frank Shamrock beat Jeremy Horn by submission at UFC 17.

Jeremy Horn beat Chuck Liddell by submission at UFC 19.

Chuck Liddell beat Randy Couture by knockout at UFC 57.

Randy Couture beat Mark Coleman by submission at UFC 109.

Mark Coleman has a "Henderson Number" of 18.

Diego Brandao to Royce Gracie

Up next we'll look at the tournaments. We'll be connecting the UFC's first tournament champion, Royce Gracie, to the most recent "tournament" winner, Ultimate Fighter 14 winner Diego Brandao. Let's do it.

Diego Brandao beat Brian Foster by knockout at TAP Entertainment: Fight Night.

Brian Foster beat Matt Brown by submission at UFC 123.

Matt Brown beat Pete Sell by TKO at UFC 96.

Pete Sell beat Phil Baroni by submission at UFC 51.

Phil Baroni beat Ryo Chonan by knockout at PRIDE Bushido 5. (I bet you know what's next.)

Ryo Chonan beat Anderson Silva by submission at Pride Shockwave 2004.

Anderson Silva beat Dan Henderson by submission at UFC 82.

Dan Henderson beat Wanderlei Silva by knockout at Pride 33.

Wanderlei Silva beat Kazushi Sakuraba by TKO at Pride 13.

Kazushi Sakuraba beat Royce Gracie by TKO at Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals.

Therefore, Royce Gracie has a "Brandao Number" of 10.

Jon Jones to Anderson Silva

Now we'll take the UFC's youngest-ever champion, Jon "Bones" Jones, and connect him to the UFC's oldest current champion, Anderson "The Spider" Silva. Let's go.

Jon Jones beat Rampage Jackson by submission at UFC 135.

Rampage Jackson beat Dan Henderson by unanimous decision at UFC 75.

Dan Henderson beat Rich Franklin by split decision at UFC 93.

Rich Franklin beat Yushin Okami by unanimous decision at UFC 72.

Yushin Okami beat Anderson Silva by DQ at Rumble on the Rock 8.

So Anderson Silva has a "Jones Number" of 5.

Any Other Suggestions?

Any other connections you'd like to see made?

Or maybe there's an easier way to connect two fighters that I didn't find?

Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading!