A deep show (in our opinion) is one that features matches between fighters that are BOTH ranked at the time of the match.  These first-half shows had the most of these matches.

1st Place: UFC 97 [11]

T-2nd Place: Affliction 2, UFC 95, UFC 98, Sengoku Seventh [9]

Rounding out the Top 10

T-6th: UFC Fight Night 17, UFC 94, UFC 96 [8]

T-9th: Sengoku No Ran, UFC 99, WEC 40, Dream 8, UFC UF 9 Finale [7]

Note:  The above list was calculated after the fact, using our current ranking limits (Top 150, 100, etc).  Although approximate, it should be extremely accurate.

Note #2: List was updated as current ranking limits were not being used.

The most important match is calculated by added both fighters’ pre-fight ranks together, then sorting it by the lowest amount first.

1st Place: Georges St. Pierre vs. BJ Penn II

T-2nd Place: Mike Brown vs. Urijah Faber II

T-2nd Place: Shinichi Kojima vs. Yuki Shoujo

Rounding out the Top 10

4th: Lyoto Machida vs. Rashad Evans

T-5th: Mike Brown vs. Leonard Garcia

T-5th: Miguel Torres vs. Takeya Mizugaki

7th: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski

8th: Dan Henderson vs. Rich Franklin

9th: Jake Shields vs. Robbie Lawler

10th: Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites

Note:  The above list was calculated after the fact.  Although approximate, it should be extremely accurate.

Credit to CrowCrucifix for the idea.. Blame me for the medal colors.  Its ashame I couldn’t break out bronze due to the tie.

At UFC 97, former lightheavyweight champion Chuck Liddell will break a UFC record as soon as he steps into the Octagon for the twenty-second time in his career. Liddell will pull ahead of his long-time rival Tito Ortiz, with whom he currently shares the record at 21 UFC bouts.  Matt Hughes will also have 21 UFC bouts to his name when he faces Matt Serra this summer, while Liddell’s other old rival – Randy Couture – will fight in the UFC for the twentieth time. With sixteen victories, Liddell already holds the record for most wins in the UFC.

In the main event, the defending middleweight champion Anderson Silva is also looking to break or tie a couple records.  Should he succesfully defend his title against Thales Leites, Silva will become the first fighter in UFC history with nine consecutive wins. He will also tie Matt Hughes and Tito Ortiz with five consecutive title defenses, and tie with Ortiz for the second-most wins in UFC title bouts (Matt Hughes and Randy Couture are tied for the first, with nine title victories each!)

Some additional UFC records:

Most Wins in the UFC

Most Consecutive Wins in the UFC

Most UFC Bouts

Most UFC Title Wins

Most Consecutive UFC Title Defenses

Most UFC Title Bouts

Leland Roling of MMA-Analyst posted some strength of schedule statistics on BloodyElbow.  He went two layers deep, and included the winning percentage of fighters’ opponents, as well as the opponents’ opponents.

Although his efforts were more than noteworthy, after taking a closer look, I felt the combination of the two layers was a bit subjective in nature.  Furthermore, the statistics included the entire careers of all fighters involved, which I felt was overkill.

Update: Posted a Top 50 list.

Keep Reading

We posted the original last June, and you can find the link at the bottom of this post.  Since then, we’ve had more bouts occur, we’ve improved the formulas, and added quite a bit of data,.

The significance of the upsets on this list is measured not by the betting odds, but by the difference in the Fightmatrix.com point standing between the two fighters, normalized by division.  The list is ranked on total difference, not proportional difference, so newer results tend to take precedence, as there is a growing gap between the top notch fighters, and the bottom of the barrel.

1. Gabriel Gonzaga W Mirko Filipovic (UFC 70, Apr 21 2007)
2. Frank Mir W Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (UFC 92, Dec 27 2008)
3. Matt Serra W Georges St. Pierre (UFC 69, Apr 7 2007)
4. Mark Hunt W Wanderlei Silva (Pride Shockwave 2004, Dec 31 2004)
5. Quinton Jackson W Chuck Liddell 2 (UFC 71, May 26 2007)
6. Mark Coleman W Mauricio Rua (Pride 31, Feb 26 2006)
7. Keith Jardine W Chuck Liddell (UFC 76, Sep 22 2007 )
8. Cheick Kongo W Mirko Filipovic (UFC 75, Sep 8 2007)
9. Junior dos Santos W Fabricio Werdum (UFC 90, Oct 25 2008)
10. Sergey Golyaev W Takanori Gomi (Sengoku 6th, Nov 1 2008)

Initial Story

Diego Sanchez (A) beat Kenny Florian (B) on 4/9/2005
Kenny Florian (B) beat Joe Stevenson (C) on 11/15/2008
Diego Sanchez (A) ??? Joe Stevenson (C) on 2/21/2009

Rory Markham (A) beat Pat Healy (B) on 4/7/2007
Pat Healy (B) beat Dan Hardy (C) on 10/30/2004
Rory Markham (A) ??? Dan Hardy (C) on 2/21/2009

In both instances, the involved matches are not very close in terms of date.  The Sanchez/Stevenson path agrees with the current ratings, while the Markham/Hardy path does not.

Looking ahead to next weekend’s UFC 93 card, I discovered two instances of “A vs C” matches that fit the same guidelines as those I analyzed in last week’s study.

Denis Kang (A) beat Marvin Eastman (B) on 10/25/2008
Marvin Eastman (B) beat Alan Belcher (C) on 9/24/2005
Denis Kang (A) ??? Alan Belcher (C) on 1/17/2009

Marcus Davis (A) beat Shonie Carter (B) on 12/13/2006
Shonie Carter (B) beat Chris Lytle (C) on 9/24/2000
Marcus Davis (A) ??? Chris Lytle (C) on 1/17/2009

Although there was a large timegap between A/B and B/C (especially in the Davis/Lytle group), A has a higher rating in each of the UFC 93 matches.  You have to feel good about Kang and Davis winning their respective matches.

UFC 94 has one of these matches, and it is the main event.

Georges St. Pierre (A) beat Matt Hughes (B) on 12/29/2007
Matt Hughes (B) beat BJ Penn (C) on 9/23/2006
Georges St. Pierre (A) ??? BJ Penn (C) on 1/31/2009

As is the case with the previously mentioned matches, St. Pierre carries a higher rating than Penn.  Even though Hughes beat GSP, and Penn beat Hughes, their most recent rematches are what matter the most.

It’s an interesting subject that probably comes up more in boxing than in MMA, but it’s definitely more intriguing in the MMA world due to the large variance in styles.  I ran the analysis with all mixed martial arts bouts that we have on record (over 68,000).

So how often does A beat C?  First, let’s acknowledge the potential issues in analyzing this statistic.

One problem is that sometimes these A/B,  B/C, and A/C bouts take place multiple times, with varying results.   Another problem lies in the timing of said bouts.  So I laid out some guidelines.

• A/B and B/C must both take place before A/C.  This is an obvious one.
• The most recent A/B and B/C results before A/C are acknowledged.  In other words, if A beat B five years before A/C, but A lost to B three months ago in their most recent bout before A/C, then this chain won’t be included in the analysis.
• If multiple A/C results are available and all guidelines are met, then all A/Cs will be counted.

In the end, A prevailed over C at a 71% success rate (2988 of 4210).

When all three bouts occur within a 3 year window, the success rate improves to 72.3%  (2144 of 2967).

Within a 2 year window, 73% (1590 of 2179).

18 months, 74.2% (1211 of 1633).

12 months, 75.2% (732 of 974).

9 months, 77.5% (488 of 630).

6 months, 80.9% (262 of 324).

3 months, 85.6% (77 of 90).

Sample Analysis: Cheick Kongo

Cheick Kongo (A) beat Andre Tete (B) on 6/10/2001
Andre Tete (B) beat Dave Dagliesh (C) on 12/1/2002
Cheick Kongo (A) beat Dave Dagliesh (C) on 12/11/2005

Cheick Kongo (A) beat Christian Wellisch (B) on 8/26/2006
Christian Wellisch (B) beat Dan Evensen (C) on 4/1/2006
Cheick Kongo (A) beat Dan Evensen (C) on 8/9/2008

Cheick Kongo (A) beat Mirko Filipovic (B) on 9/8/2007
Mirko Filipovic (B) beat Heath Herring (C) on 6/8/2003
Cheick Kongo (A) failed to beat Heath Herring (C) on 3/1/2008

Thanks to ltokuda, one of our readers, for the idea!

Our FightMatrix database shows the following rematch-related statistics:

• 2,307 bouts have taken place where the fighters have fought at least once previous.
• 196 bouts where fighters have fought at least twice previous…. and 24 bouts, at least three times previous.
• Two pairs of fighters have fought each other six times! (Travis Fulton & Rory Prazak, Brian Robinson & Nate Kopel)

In instances where fighters meet in their second encounter, the same winner has prevailed only 64.5% of the time.  If the first fight ended in a knockout or submission, this number increases to 67.7%.  These statistics prove that MMA is a very volatile sport compared to boxing, where the percentage of repeat winners after a knockout in the first bout since 1985 is almost 90% (I researched this myself).

Not many rematches have taken place after the first bout ended in disqualification.  In fact, its very rare, as we only have record of 19 said rematches.  The previous winner won 9 out of these 19.

How about when a fighter wins the first two matches by KO or TKO, and then rematches the loser for a third time?  In other words, does Quinton stand a chance on Saturday?  The dataset is extremely small, but the statistics show that the KO/TKO winner of the first two bouts, will win the third bout 89% of the time.

If you focus hard on the FightMatrix divisional rankings, its easy to see that there are less points in the lower weight divisions.  This is mostly because the bout histories there are slim, but its more than just that.  The parity between the fighters competing there causes a lot of close contests.  This is further exacerbated by the Asian organizations more freely utilizing the “even round” scoring.  This makes it harder for the top fighters to “break away” from the rest of the pack.

On a whim, I decided to do some math, and see how many of the bouts taking place in each division were either draws, split decisions, or majority decisions.  The results are quite astounding.

Percentage of “Close Bouts”

Heavyweight – 4.3%

Light Heavyweight – 5.6%

Middleweight – 4.3%

Welterweight – 6.6%

Lightweight – 10.1%

Featherweight – 12.7%

Bantamweight- 10.9%

Flyweight – 14.6%

With his 61-second knockout of James Irvin, Anderson Silva made a successful transition to 205 lbs, and also achieved something that very few fighters have done before him: seven consecutive victories in UFC bouts.  Every single one of Silva’s seven UFC fights has been the main event, and every time he put his opponent away in under two rounds.

The record for most consecutive wins in the UFC is currently shared by Royce Gracie and Jon Fitch, at eight victories in a row each.  Fitch’s streak is still active, however he will have to defeat the seemingly unstoppable Georges St. Pierre to pull ahead of Gracie.  Should Fitch lose, Anderson Silva stands an excellent chance of achieving the record nine wins in his next two bouts.

The only other UFC fighter to hold seven consecutive Octagon wins is Chuck Liddell, who has accomplished it on two separate occasions.  Former champions Randy Couture, Rich Franklin, and Pat Miletich have all won seven straight UFC bouts as well, but suffered losses in other organizations within the same time frame.

Most Consecutive Wins in the UFC

We’ve compiled a list of the 10 biggest MMA upsets in recent history. The significance of upsets on this list is measured not by the betting odds, but by the difference in the Fightmatrix.com point standing between the two fighters, normalized for weight class differences.

1. Gabriel Gonzaga W Mirko Filipovic (UFC 70, Apr 21 2007) @ -186.18
2. Matt Serra W Georges St. Pierre (UFC 69, Apr 7 2007) @ -155.02
3. Quinton Jackson W Chuck Liddell (UFC 71, May 26 2007) @ -142.45
4. Mark Hunt W Wanderlei Silva (Pride Shockwave 2004, Dec 31 2004) @ -140.3
5. Keith Jardine W Chuck Liddell (UFC 76, Sep 22 2007 ) @ -127.90
6. Mark Coleman W Mauricio Rua (Pride 31, Feb 26 2006) @ -126.49
7. Cheick Kongo W Mirko Filipovic (UFC 75, Sep 8 2007) @ -114.57
8. Forrest Griffin W Mauricio Rua (UFC 76, Sep 22 2007) @ -108.48
9. Eduardo Dantas W Shinichi Kojima (Shooto, Nov 8 2007) @ -103.79
10. Sokoudjou W Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Pride 33, Feb 24 2007) @ -98.48

Interesting to note that with exception of 2 fights, this list is all comprised of heavy and light-heavyweights. Also, Mirko Filipovic, Chuck Liddell, and Mauricio Rua were all victims of huge upsets on more than one occasion.

Though Tito Ortiz lost his UFC 84 bout to Lyoto Machida, he still managed to get a one-up on his long time rival Chuck Liddell.  In what Ortiz claimed to be his last UFC fight, he became the only man with 21 bouts inside the Octagon.  Liddell is not far behind with 20 bouts, and Matt Hughes will also be at 20 after UFC 85. 

Check out more UFC records:

Most Wins in the UFC

Most Consecutive Wins in the UFC

Most UFC Bouts

Most UFC Title Wins

Most Consecutive UFC Title Defenses

Most UFC Title Bouts

So far in 2008….

• 79.4% of wins have been by knockout, technical knockout, or submission.
• 1.8% of bouts have been declared draws.
• 61 fighters have had 3 or more bouts, while 16 of these fighters have had 4!
• 57.9% of bouts have ended in round 1.
• 3.2% of men’s bouts have taken place at 131 pounds or less, while 10.9% have taken place at 210 or over.

With a hard-fought decision victory over Chris Wilson, Jon Fitch did not only assure himself a shot at the UFC’s Welterweight title.  He also reached an important milestone in the MMA history by becoming the first fighter in the post-tournament era to achieve eight consecutive wins in the UFC (read about why this record may be disputed). 

Following not far behind Fitch is UFC’s Middleweight champion Anderson Silva.  Silva posted his 6th straight victory in the Octagon, defending his belt for the third time.   The current record for most consecutive title defenses is shared by former champions Matt Hughes and Tito Ortiz, with five each.  Silva would have been within an earshot of joining them, had Travis Lutter made weight for their UFC 67 bout (Silva defeated Lutter by triangle choke in the second round of what ended up being a non-title match.)

See other impressive accomplishments inside the octagon:

Most Wins in the UFC

Most Consecutive Wins in the UFC

Most UFC Bouts

Most UFC Title Wins

Most Consecutive UFC Title Defenses

Most UFC Title Bouts