UFC on Fuel 10: Key Statistics from Brazil Event

The UFC's latest trip to Brazil is in the books, and what a trip it was.

UFC on Fuel 10 took place in Fortaleza, Brazil at the Ginasio Paulo Sarasate, and the Brazilian crowd witnessed one of the most entertaining cards in the history of the UFC. 

The 12-fight card featured a record-breaking number of submissions, an intese main card void of decisions, and a heavyweight clash between jiu-jitsu legends Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Fabricio Werdum in the evening's main event. 

While those watching the card on Fuel TV had to sit through more than their fair share of commercials, making the breaks between fights seem unending, the card delivered.

Here are the top statistics from the highly successful event. 

The stats included focus on individual performances, such as most significant strikes and takedowns, while also focusing on the event and its place in comparison to past Fuel TV cards and other cards in 2013. Lastly, the most impressive stat lines from all the card's winners will be highlighted. 

All stats courtesy of FightMetric.com

Stoppage Parade: 8 Submissions Good for UFC Record

The Brazilian fans witnessed a jiu-jitsu spectacle last Saturday night, as a total of eight fights ended by way of submission. That number sets the new mark for most submissions in a UFC event.

A staggering five of the eight submissions took place on the main card, including Fabricio Werdum's armbar submission against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Leonardo Santos also finished his opponent, William Macario, by submission to become the winner of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil's second season in the co-main event.

But the stoppage parade didn't just include submissions; a pair of brutal knockouts led to a 10-stoppage card, with only two fights going the distance. 

The 83 percent stoppage rate is the highest for any card in 2013, topping the 75 percent clip from the TUF 17 finale, while also topping the stoppage rate for any previous UFC on Fuel event. Here are the rankings:

1. UFC on Fuel 10: 83 percent (10/12)
2. UFC on Fuel 2: 67 percent (8/12)
3. UFC on Fuel 5: 64 percent (7/11)
4. UFC on Fuel 4: 54.5 percent (6/11)
5. UFC on Fuel 9: 54 percent (7/13)
6. UFC on Fuel 1: 44 percent (4/9)
7. UFC on Fuel 3: 33 percent (4/12)
8. UFC on Fuel 8: 27 percent (3/11)
9. UFC on Fuel 7: 25 percent (3/12)
10. UFC on Fuel 6: 11 percent (1/9)

One last fun fact: This was the seventh UFC on Fuel main event to end by way of stoppage. Just one of the last eight has gone the distance (Mousasi vs. Latifi at UFC on Fuel TV 9).

All Main Card Fights Ended Via Stoppage

Considering 10 of the 12 fights ended by way of stoppage, it shouldn't come as a total shock that all six of the main card fights delivered finishes. Five of those finishes were (unsurprisingly) submissions.

Here are the results from the main card:

• Fabricio Werdum def. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira via submission, Round 2
• Leonardo Santos def. William Macario via submission, Round 2
• Thiago Silva def. Rafael Cavalcante via knockout, Round 1
• Erick Silva def. Jason High via submission, Round 1
• Daniel Sarafian def. Eddie Mendez via submission, Round 1
• Rony Jason def. Mike Wilkinson via submission, Round 1

This was the first event in 2013 to feature an all-stoppage main card.

The last decision-less main card was that of UFC on Fox 4 back in August of 2012. But that main card included just four fights, headlined by Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Brandon Vera, compared to the six televised fights for UFC on Fuel 10.  

Silva, Magalhaes Victories Were the Card's Lone Upsets

Two of the 10 stoppage victories featured underdog fighters notching wins over their favored counterparts. 

On the preliminary card, Caio Magalhaes battled with Karlos Vemola for just over 1.5 rounds to earn the submission victory against the six-fight UFC veteran.

Magalhaes was just a slight underdog, according to Bovada Sportsbook, coming in at +116. His relentless submission attack—he had five attempts in the fight—yielded him the win over Vemola, who was -140 heading into the contest.

The other upset was a bit more shocking considering Thiago Silva entered his contest against Rafael Cavalcante, the former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion, as almost a 2:1 underdog. 

At -240, Cavalcante was expected to utilize his frightening power to cash in on his first UFC win. But just about everyone was sleeping on the equally formidable power of Silva. Late in the first round, a barrage of strikes against the cage from Silva sent Cavalcante crashing to the floor. 

At +190, Silva rewarded those who had faith in him. Considering he was fighting a UFC rookie with limited experience against elite fighters, I doubt you'll ever find Silva at a better value. 

Mizuto Hirota Landed Most Significant Strikes, Still Lost

Mizuto Hirota landed the most significant strikes at UFC on Fuel 10, but the one-fight UFC veteran still couldn't find a way to win against Rodrigo Damm on the preliminary card.

Instead, Damm controlled the majority of the fight en route to a split-decision victory that probably should have been unanimous in favor of the Brazilian fighter.

Hirota set the high mark for significant strikes landed on the card with 102 (out of the nearly 200 he threw). However, his significant striking percentage fell well short of the leaders of the card: Fabricio Werdum (32-of-37 for 86 percent) and Felipe Arantes (27-of-35 for 77 percent).*

Also, Hirota became the 10th fighter to land 100-plus significant strikes in a UFC fight in 2013, coming in ninth on the list ahead of Fabio Maldonado, who landed 100 at UFC on FX 8 last month. Court McGee still tops the list with his 166 significant strikes at UFC 157. 

Out of the 10 UFC on Fuel events, only two fighters have landed more strikes than Hirota did last weekend. However, those fighters, James Te Huna and Brad Tavares, who landed 122 and 116 strikes, respectively, earned victories in their fights. 

*minimum 30 significant strikes thrown

Erick Silva Landed 0 Significant Strikes, Still Won

UFC welterweight prospect Erick Silva put on a dominant performance on Fuel TV Saturday with a first-round victory over Jason High. The funny thing is he didn't land a single significant strike.

A brief summary of the fight: 

High came out of the gate looking for a takedown, and Silva stuffed the first attempt, maneuvering his way into a commanding position. From there, he easily locked on a triangle armbar to force a tap at 1:11 of the opening round. 

During the 71-second fight, Silva threw just one strike, missing on the attempt. High was 0-of-6 in the striking department. 

Oddly enough, the last time a fighter won a fight without landing a single significant strike, Erick Silva was on the losing end. 

At UFC 142, the Brazilian prospect wrecked Carlo Prater with strikes in the opening round, and it appeared he was on his way to his second UFC victory. Not only that, the 0:29 stoppage time would mark the second time in as many fights in the UFC that he finished his opponent within the first minute.

Instead, referee Mario Yamasaki ruled Prater the winner after disqualifying Silva due to strikes to the back of the head.

Silva landed eight of 10 strikes in the contest, while Prater didn't throw a single strike, let alone land one.

Call it what you want, but that fight, from January 14, 2012, was the last time a fighter won without landing a single significant strike.  

Most Impressive Stat Lines Go to Erick Silva, Fabricio Werdum

Out of the 12 winners from UFC on Fuel 10, Silva boasts the best stat line from the event. It goes something like this: 

• 0/1 in significant strikes
• 0/1 in total strikes
• 0/0 takedowns
• 1 submission attempt
• 1 pass

This line hardly appears remarkable, until you consider the fact that Silva actually won. 

Against Jason High, the Brazilian did not need to landed a single strike, nor earn a takedown, in order to take home the victory. And he needed just one submission attempt to finish the fight.

Any time a fighter can do so little to earn a victory, simply by taking advantage of an opponent's mistake, it's hard not to be impressed. We haven't seen such a small amount of work yield such a dominant victory in some time. 

Meanwhile, Fabricio Werdum had to put in a little more time and effort, going halfway into the second round before finishing Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira via submission in the main event of the evening. 

In 7:41 of cage time, Werdum landed 32 of 37 strikes for an 86 percent clip, the best striking percentage on the card.* He also went 1-of-2 in the takedown department.

However, the five passes and one submission attempt, which led to the finish, make Werdum's stat line one of the card's most impressive, while also sending him deep into the UFC heavyweight title hunt. 

*minimum 30 strikes thrown