Issue 122

December 2014

Powerful percentages and show-stopping stats from mma’s past month

16

Bellator MMA confirmed it will stage just 16 events in 2015. It promoted around 22 in 2014.

13

The number of days between UFC wins for Chas Skelly. The featherweight got a 2:35 rear naked choke win at UFC Fight Night 49 and then a decision at Fight Night 50. It's a record for a non-tournament participant.

5

Tamdan 'The Barn Cat' McCrory didn't have an MMA fight for a full five years after being cut by the UFC in 2009. His return, at Bellator 123 in September, was still triumphant, though: a knockout in 21 seconds.

10

Alistair Overeem went from seventh to 10th in the UFC heavyweight rankings when he got KO'd by unranked Ben Rothwell at UFC Fight Night 50 in September.

1st

Despite being a Brazilian who's had a nine-year, 24-fight career, 'Bigfoot' Silva's September UFC main event with Andrei Arlovski was his first-ever bout in Brazil. He started his career competing in the UK.

84%

Ahead of fighting against grappler Roy Nelson at UFC Fight Night 52 in Japan, Mark Hunt had the second-best UFC takedown defence in the heavyweight division. Behind only Andrei Arlovski at 84%.

3,000

The UFC and Bellator staged events on the same night and state in August. Reportedly, Bellator's Pat Curran vs. Patricio 'Pitbull' card in Uncasville, a 20-minute drive from the UFC's 'Jacare' Souza vs. Gegard Mousasi event in Ledyard, drew around 7,000 spectators – 3,000 more than the UFC.