This article is part of our Fight Stat Wrap series.
The UFC returned to the Brazilian capital for the second time for UFC Fight Night 95. There were no huge surprises on the card, but from a statistical perspective, there were several noteworthy takeaways. The following is a by-the-numbers recap that highlights the stats and milestones that stood out on the main card, with stats courtesy of FightMetric.com.
Despite longer fight, same result for "Cyborg"
Against Lina Lansberg, Cyborg had her longest fight since 2013, but she was in no way less dominant. Lansberg lasted into the second round, but she landed only 14 significant strikes while absorbing 84. After two UFC fights, Cyborg is landing 12.45 significant strikes per minute, while her opponents have only managed to land 1.81.
In a lot of ways, Lansberg seemed like an overmatched opponent. That being said, the fact that "Cyborg" is well ahead of the rest of the world's featherweights should not be held against her. Prior to this fight, Lina Lansberg was ranked No. 7 at featherweight by Fight Matrix. The only fighters ranked ahead of her, who are not signed to Bellator, were Charmaine Tweet and Megan Anderson. Anderson is still working her way up in Invicta FC, and Cyborg already blasted Tweet in 46 seconds.
Renan Barao continues path back to the top
Considering Phillipe Nover went into this fight with a 1-4 UFC record, the expectation was that Barao would look extremely impressive and get back on track after three losses in his last four fights. The former bantamweight champion was able to pick up his first featherweight win, but he did not appear to be as dominant as expected. While Nover has struggled in the UFC, he is actually a decent standup fighter. His issues have come mostly on the ground. In five previous UFC fights, Nover had been outstruck 110 to 74 in terms of significant strikes, but at distance, that is not in the clinch or on the ground, he has actually gotten the better of his opponents (47 to 32).
While Barao did land three takedowns, this was mostly a standup fight, which he controlled. At distance, he outlanded Nover 58 to 32 and took home the decision victory. It might not have been a vintage performance from "the Baron," but he defeated Nover where he is at his best.
Roy Nelson has scored eight knockouts in nine UFC wins
In 18 UFC fights, Nelson has scored eight knockouts. In the other 10 fights, he has a 1-9 record. His only decision victory in the UFC came over Jared Rosholt last February. It is safe to say, for Nelson, it is almost always knockout or bust. The same was true on Saturday. He was not doing terrible against "Bigfoot" before securing the knockout, but he was outstruck at distance 24 to 20. Nevertheless, he scored the knockout and took the win.
Silva has really struggled lately. He is only 1-6-1 in his last eight fights, and he has been knocked out in six of those bouts. Since his famous first match against Mark Hunt, Silva has landed only 59 significant strikes and absorbed 104.
Francisco Trinaldo's increased offensive output yields results against Paul Felder
Trinaldo has really upped his offensive striking output since losing to Michael Chiesa in 2014. Up until that point, he was landing only 2.54 significant strikes per minute. Since that defeat, he has been landing 3.97 significant strikes per minute and has won seven straight fights.
Eric Spicely picks up fifth career first-round submission
Spicely was a huge underdog heading into this event, but he was able to score the first-round submission. Of his nine professional wins, five have come via submission. When he does get the tap, it comes early in the fight. All of his submission wins have come in the first round, and his average submission time is 2:38.
Thiago Santos has struggled to land shots in his last two fights. Before fighting Gegard Mousasi, the Brazilian was landing 4.40 significant strikes per minute. Against Mousasi and Spicely, he is landing only 0.93.
Godofredo Pepey implements aggressive ground game
Pepey picked up his third submission win the UFC against Mike De La Torre. He has always been an active submission threat averaging 1.9 submission attempts per 15 minutes. That is actually more than any ranked featherweight, save for Charles Oliveira (2.6).
