I’m a stats nerd. I have been since I was a kid, and it hasn’t faded at all since I grew up. In fact, while most Canadian kids were dreaming about playing in the NHL as a child, I had a more realistic dream – I was going to be a statistician for the NHL. Hey, I grew up on Vancouver Island and couldn’t skate. Leave me alone.
Anyway, the reason I said that is because I like to focus on MMA stats now. Yes, I realize that they mean very little and that the sample size is always going to be small. And no, I don’t put an abundance into actual fight stats, because they’re only one variable of many when it comes to assessing fights. But what I do like is keep track of won-loss records and stuff like that.
With that in mind, I wrote a post early last month showing how Strikeforce fighters have done in the UFC since their promotion was closed. That was written after UFC 159 and they were 16-17 in thirty total fights, with three being SF vs. SF fights. You can look at how all the stats break down in that post.
Well since then there have been four UFC events, and Strikeforce fighters have done pretty horribly in them. Here’s a brief tundown of what went down for them, and I’ll update the stats afterwards. Also, one of the past results needs to be updated – Pat Healy vs. Jim Miller is now a no-contest due to Healy’s positive test.
At UFC on FX 8, two of the best Strikeforce fighters to come over both made their debut. SF middleweight champ Luke Rockhold faced off with Vitor Belfort, and former champ Ronaldo Souza met late replacement Chris Camozzi. As we all remember, Rockhold was knocked out with a crazy spinning kick and some followup punches, while Jacare quickly won by submission. That was it for that event.
Next up was UFC 160. K.J. Noons was battered by Donald Cerrone, Nah-Shon Burrell lost his sophomore UFC effort to Stephen Thompson, and Estavan Payan dropped a decision to Jeremy Stephens. UFC on Fuel 10 followed that, and things didn’t get much better. Former LHW champ Rafael Cavalcante was knocked out by Thiago Silva, Jason High was submitted by Erick Silva, Mizuto Hirota lost his second straight to Rodrigo Damm, and Anthony Smith was stopped early by the debuting Antonio Braga Neto.
Finally we had UFC 161 last weekend. Tyron Woodley lost a lackluster decision to Jake Shields, and Alexis Davis (she counts, similar to Liz Carmouche in the first post) defeated Rosi Sexton by decision.
So over the last four events, Strikeforce fighters went a total of 2-9 over 11 fights. Two were against debuting fighters (Braga Neto/Smith, Davis/Sexton). Not a good run at all.
Most top Strikeforce fighters have made their debuts by now, with the exception of the last SF welterweight champion Tarec Saffiedine. Tim Kennedy and Roger Gracie will also be debuting at UFC 162, but they’re facing each other for some reason. Brian Melancon will also debut at that event, while Trevor Smith, Germaine de Randamie, Amanda Nunes, and Sarah Kaufman will debut later in the year.
Here’s a look at the updated statistics:
Overall Strikeforce fighter record since closure through UFC 161: 17-26, 1 NC
Strikeforce fighter vs. established UFC fighter record: 15-24, 1 NC
Strikeforce fighter vs. debuting non-SF UFC fighter record: 2-2 (Mousasi def. Latifi, Zingano def. Tate)
SF fighter record by division:
HW: 1-0
LHW 2-2
MW: 3-3
WW: 5-9*
LW: 4-6, 1 NC
FW : 0-4
Women: 2-2
* – Nah-Shon Burrell vs. Yuri Villefort was technically a catchweight fight, but I’ve included it at 170
Fights between two Strikeforce fighters – 3 (Rousey/Carmouche, Amagov/Spang, Burrell/Villefort)
Method of victory/defeat for Strikeforce fighters:
Wins by KO/TKO – 5
Wins by Submission – 3
Wins by Decision – 9
Losses by KO/TKO – 9
Losses by Submission – 3
Losses by Decision – 14
Number of Strikeforce fighters officially cut from the UFC – 3 (Fodor, Spang, Holobaugh)
Strikeforce fighters officially scheduled for debuts after today: 7 (plus Saffiedine)
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