Saturday’s UFC 130 may not have been the most exciting show, but we did learn a few things. Rampage Jackson and Frank Mir are still top-tier competitors, while Matt Hamill and Roy Nelson have some work to do. And we’ve got some new up-and-coming contenders in Travis Browne, Rick Story and Brian Stann.
But there was one result from UFC 130 which, if not controversial, was close enough that had some people split.
The Miguel Torres-Demetrious (Mighty Mouse) Johnson bout was won by unanimous decision, with all three judges giving Johnson the 29-28 edge. I personally had it the other way, as did a number of other fans, media and others who voiced their thoughts on Twitter.
Let’s break down the fight statistically. (Before I begin, take a quick peak at our glossary of MMA statistical terms.)
Overall, Torres had a higher volume of total strikes (both thrown and landed) than Johnson.
Torres: 95 of 115
Johnson: 63 of 92
However, Johnson had the slightly better advantage in the significant striking area.
Torres: 10 of 19 (53%)
Johnson: 13 of 23 (57%)
The biggest aspect Johnson had going for him coming in was his wrestling, and he definitely made it count. Mighty Mouse was 5 for 5 overall in takedown attempts. That’s not an overwhelming amount, but considering he was perfect on his tries shows that he timed his shots and executed well, and Torres could not hold him off.
However, Torres was much busier in the grappling department, working for submissions throughout the bout, even if not all his efforts showed up in the statistical summary. (A fighter only gets credit for a submission attempt if he is able to lock it and apply pressure, not just “seek” the submission.)
Let’s break it down even further statistically by round.
First round, striking was practically equal, and each had just one takedown attempt (Johnson was successful, while Torres wasn’t in his only attempt on the night). Each had a reversal, but Torres had three passes while Johnson had just one. I gave it to Torres.
Second round, striking was again almost identical in the significant department, while Torres had much higher volume in total strikes. Johnson had two takedowns and a pass; Torres had one sub attempt. This could have gone either way. I gave it to Johnson.
Third round again produced no meaningful edge in the striking, but Johnson had another two takedowns and another pass, while Torres had a reversal, a pass and two more submission attempts. I gave the final round Torres.
Overall, it was three very close rounds, but I gave two of three to Torres.
Obviously, numbers don’t tell the whole story. You have to consider the actual damage the strikes inflict — and that can be subjective — not to mention take into account things like aggression and Octagon control. Indeed, I personally felt Torres did more to try to finish the fight than Johnson.
But a look at the stats at least indicates he was not robbed of the decision, as some may have felt.
Now let’s take a quick look at the main and co-main events.
Quinton (Rampage) Jackson vs. Matt Hamill
Virtually all the striking was of the significant variety — they spent no time on the ground and little time in the clinch — so let’s just stick with that.
Jackson didn’t completely outclass him, but he did have a significant enough edge in volume landed (55 vs. 32) and accuracy (43 per cent vs. 38 per cent).
The first round was close enough that you could have made an argument for giving it to Hamill. He was slightly more efficient with his strikes and definitely pushed the action by attempting (unsuccessfully) a takedown five times. But Rampage did more damage, drawing blood near the end, and I gave it to him.
However, the final two rounds were so one-sided — he was so much more accurate in the second and threw twice as many strikes in the third — that it easily gave Rampage a 30-27 victory.
Some argue Rampage didn’t impress enough to earn him the title shot. While it may be moot considering he suffered a hand injury, in my opinion Rampage did what he needed to do against a potentially dangerous opponent.
And it’s worth noting Rampage he did what he does best — or certainly among the best in the UFC — which is stuff takedowns. Hamill was a glaring 0 for 17 on takedown attempts, and with that, Jackson moved up to fifth on the UFC’s all-time leaderboard for takedown defence at 84.4 per cent.
Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson
Of course, if Rampage-Hamill was one-sided, then Mir-Nelson was a downright thrashing. I think anyone who watched the fight knows how dominating it was for Mir (and embarrassing for Nelson), but the numbers here speak for themselves.
Striking
Mir: 82 of 103 (80%) total; 46 of 65 (71%) significant
Nelson: 46 of 77 (60%) total; 21 of 51 (41%) significant
Takedowns and ground movement
Mir: 6 of 8 (75%); 6 passes
Nelson: 0 of 1 (0%); 0 passes
The only thing Nelson was able to do was hang in there for the full 15 minutes. By failing to finish Nelson, Mir dropped out of the top-10 in the UFC’s list of shortest average fight time, which was about the only negative thing for Mir on the night (if you would even call that negative).
Again, the stats don’t reveal everything. But they also don’t lie. Or, at least, they don’t lie in the case of the final two fights.