7 stats that made UFC 200 awesome
The insane stretch of three events in three days during International Fight Week culminated with the biggest card in UFC history on Saturday night at UFC 200. And the monumental card didn't disappoint.
The main event saw the women's bantamweight belt change hands for the third time in less than a year, the victorious return of former champion Brock Lesnar and plenty of other significant moments and storylines that helped the event carve out its place in history.
Check out seven stats that made UFC 200 great:
UFC 200 will officially go down as the biggest UFC ever held in Nevada, hosting 18,202 fans in the stands while earning a $10.7 million gate. The gate surpasses the previous record of $10.1 million set at UFC 194: Aldo vs. McGregor. The attendance at that event, however, was estimated at 16,516.
Frankie Edgar spent 25 minutes in the Octagon with Jose Aldo for the second time in his career, but by the midway point of the second round, he'd already become the first UFC fighter to log six hours of Octagon time. Last night was Edgar's 20th fight under the UFC banner, nine of which have gone a full five rounds.
Cain Velasquez is back and in a big way after his win at UFC 200. Velasquez battered one of the division's best strikers with an assortment of punches and kicks that forced Travis Browne to constantly fight going backward. Velasquez poured it on as time expired in the first round, but with Browne sprawled flat on his stomach and Cain unloading, referee Herb Dean had no choice to call with fight with only 2 seconds left in the round.
They often say good defense is the best offense, but with Velasquez, it's the complete opposite. The former champion was so effective in his standup, he rendered Browne's offense nearly to nothing. The 6-foot-7 striker landed just six total strikes over nearly five minutes against Velasquez before he succumbed to strikes at the end of the first round.
Joe Lauzon walked away from UFC 200 $50K richer after finishing Diego Sanchez in the first round of their fight. In total, Lauzon has won 14 Performance of the Night bonuses, tying him with lightweight Nate Diaz for the most in promotion history.
Welterweights beware, there is a new contender on the block. Kelvin Gastelum put on his best performance to date Saturday at UFC 200. The Ultimate Fighter Season 17 winner landed a career-high 124 significant strikes as he picked apart the former champion over three rounds.
Jose Aldo reminded the world last night that he's still one of the very best fighters in the world. Aldo was masterful against Frankie Edgar, also one of the best fighters to ever take the Octagon.
Edgar attempted 11 takedowns at UFC 200. Aldo defended all of them.
Edgar threw 264 significant strikes. He only landed 29% (79 of 264) of them, far below his career striking accuracy of 39%.
Aldo also landed more significant strikes (79) against Edgar than anyone had since Benson Henderson landed 87 in 2012.
