Cain Velasquez and the UFC's All-Time Best in Significant Strike Accuracy
Cain Velasquez has been nothing short of dominant since entering the UFC.
Velasquez' five knockout victories in the organization has led him to becoming the organization's heavyweight champion and has him set to headline the inaugural UFC on Fox event in November.
However, the American Kickboxing Academy-trained heavyweight doesn't lead the pack as the No. 1 fighter in significant strike accuracy in UFC history.
The top spot goes to a fellow champion and future Hall of Famer; additionally, making the list are three former champions and five fighters who are currently booked for fall fights.
10. Johny Hendricks
1 of 10Johny Hendricks (8-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) comes in at No. 10 with 54.4 percent.
At 27 years old, Hendricks presents a dangerous challenge for anyone in the UFC welterweight division.
Hendricks striking accuracy combined with his amateur wrestling skills has paved the way for victories over Amir Sadollah, Charlie Brenneman and most recently Mike Pierce.
Since his Octagon debut in August 2009, Hendricks owns three knockout victories.
Hendricks' next opponent has been rumored to be Jon Fitch, but the matchup has yet to be confirmed.
9. Caol Uno
2 of 10While Caol Uno's second stint in the organization was far from perfect, his stint from 2001-2003 was much more successful.
Uno (26-14-5 MMA, 3-5-2 UFC) fought Jens Pulver to a decision loss at UFC 30 in 2001, but the five rounds of action helped set the tone for his ninth place ranking.
Six decisions have provided Uno with ample time to land on the significant strike accuracy list at 54.6 percent.
The 36-year-old southpaw is no longer employed by the UFC, but the veteran placed himself alongside some nice company during his tenure in the organization.
8. Matt Hughes
3 of 10It's no secret that Matt Hughes (45-8 MMA, 18-6 UFC) has utilized his wrestling to his advantage over his 13 year career.
The majority of Hughes strikes have taken place while on the mat for an significant strike accuracy rating of 55.2 percent.
Hughes is a UFC Hall of Famer and owns multiple six-fight win streaks in the organization.
While Hughes was quickly knocked out B.J. Penn in his last outing, the former welterweight champion was on a three-fight win streak that saw him display his striking against Renzo Gracie and Ricardo Almeida.
Hughes is a legend in the sport, and he'll look to improve on this statistic when he faces Diego Sanchez in the co-main event of UFC 135 on September 17.
7. Matt Brown
4 of 10Matt Brown (12-10 MMA, 5-4 UFC) takes the seven spot, even though he's only been competing in the UFC for three years.
However, Brown's fought nine times and has been an aggressive fighter with his striking.
In his fight at UFC 96 against Pete Sell, Brown's significant strike percentage was 77 percent.
Brown most recently defeated John Howard this past June and landed 96-of-145 total strikes over three rounds.
The Ohio-based welterweight will be looking to put his 57.3 percent significant strike accuracy to use when he faces John Hathaway at UFC 138 in November.
6. Randy Couture
5 of 10Randy Couture's 58 percent significant strike accuracy ranks him sixth in UFC history.
"The Natural" or "Captain America", whichever you choose to call him, lands in this spot due to his ability to utilize his dirty boxing while in the clinch.
Couture (19-11 MMA, 16-8 UFC) was a master at ground-and-pound, which he used in winning both the light heavyweight and heavyweight championships.
His victories against Chuck Liddell (UFC 43), Tito Ortiz, Gabriel Gonzaga and Tim Sylvia were simply pure displays of dominance by Couture.
5. Lyoto Machida
6 of 10Lyoto Machida's trademark Karate style ranks fifth in the organization's history at 58.2 percent.
Machida (17-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) won his first eight fights under Zuffa to capture the light heavyweight championship.
While he's no longer champion, the Brazilian proved that he's still capable of delivering devastating knockouts at UFC 129 when he knocked out the aforementioned Couture.
Machida's has been in the Octagon for 28 rounds since making his debut against Sam Hoger in 2007. Needless to say, he's had plenty of time to implement his striking heavy style.
At UFC 76, Machida landed an incredible 79 percent of his significant strikes in defeating Kazuhiro Nakamura.
Needless to say, Machida's opponents don't often walk away unscathed. His next opponent has yet to determined, but one should expect to see him back in the coming months.
4. Evan Tanner
7 of 10Evan Tanner (32-8 MMA, 11-6 UFC), a former UFC middleweight champion comes in at the four spot with 59 percent significant strike accuracy.
Tanner won nine fights in the first round with five victories coming by way of knockout, which makes his high ranking even more impressive.
The former champion twice had three-fight win streaks and a four-fight win streak in capturing the middleweight title.
In his prime, he was dominant in defeating David Terrell, Phil Baroni (twice), Robbie Lawler and Elvis Sinosic.
Tanner made his organizational debut in 1999 and last competed in 2008 before passing away at 37 years of age.
3. Cain Velasquez
8 of 10Cain Velasquez (9-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) has taken fighters down, put them on their backs and battered them until they can no longer take the punishment.
At UFC 104, Velasquez did just that in stopping former IFL heavyweight champion Ben Rothwell by second-round knockout.
Additionally, Velasquez used his superior striking to claim a knockout victory over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in 2010.
The win ultimately earned him a title shot against Brock Lesnar, which he again used crisp striking in dethroning Lesnar to claim the championship.
Combined with his well-rounded game, Velasquez' 60.9 percent significant strike accuracy will make him the toughest test to date for challenger Junior dos Santos at UFC on Fox 1 in November.
2. Cheick Kongo
9 of 10With an 82 inch reach, Cheick Kongo (16-6-2 MMA, 9-4-1 UFC) can land strikes from a much farther distance than most of his opponents.
Case in point, a 2007 victory against Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic in which he landed 61 percent of his significant strikes.
At the inaugural UFC on Versus event, Kongo used wrestling to his advantage by taking the Paul Buentello down frequently and battering him strikes.
In his most recent trip to the Octagon, Kongo showed resilience in overcoming Pat Barry's heavy strikes and landing a perfect counter punch to win by knockout.
At UFC 137 in October, Kongo faces fast-rising heavyweight Matt Mitrione, and he'll need to use 61.3 percent significant strike accuracy in order to claim victory.
1. Anderson Silva
10 of 10Who'd you expect to be the most successful striker in UFC history?
Anderson Silva (28-4 MMA, 14-0 UFC) owns a perfect record in the organization and owns an amazing 68.5 percent significant strike accuracy.
At this stage in his career, there are few things to say that you don't already know about the pound-for-pound king.
In his home country of Brazil, Silva outclassed Yushin Okami en route to a knockout victory, which saw him land 70 percent of his significant strikes.
With 14 consecutive victories and nine coming by knockout, Silva has proved that he's the most lethal and accurate striker in the history of the UFC.
Stats are based on mininum 5 UFC fights and 350 significant strike attempts.
For additional information, follow Joshua Carey on Twitter


.jpg)






