10:54 AM ET  11.19 | After watching Rafael Dos Anjos and Josh Hendricks get KO'd in their UFC debuts at 91, it got me wondering how newcomers fared when they were matched against fighters who'd already been in the Octagon. I reviewed all the fights that met the criteria beginning with UFC 91 and working back to UFC 80, the promotions first event of the year. The numbers are pretty interesting:

 

Total Events:                 16

Overall record:             14-21

 

Submission wins:           5

Submission losses:        7

 

(T)KO wins:                    7

(T)KO losses:                 9

 

Decision wins:               2

Decision losses:            5

 

Combined record of beaten opponents when they suffered the loss:       22-17

 

Interesting Statistics

 

• During UFC 86 no fights met the criteria of a UFC newcomer fighting an opponent with UFC experience.

 

• Only 20% of the bouts ended in a decision.

 

• The newcomers won only two, or 5.7% via decision (35 bouts)

 

• UFC 84 had six fights that met the criteria

 

• The newcomers won five of the six

 

• If UFC 84 is erased from the stats, the newcomers would be only 9-20

 

• UFC 84 and Fight Night 15 were the only events in which more than one newcomer was victorious against opponents with UFC experience

 

• 16 of the 21 newcomers, or 76.2% were stopped by their opponents

 

• At UFC 85 and TUF Finale 7 each event only had one fight to meet the criteria and both newcomers won

 

• Rob Yundt made the list twice - first with a loss as a newcomer, and then he was beaten by a newcomer

 

• Shane Carwin made the list twice - first for a victory as a newcomer, and then he beat a newcomer in his second fight

 

• Chris Wilson made the list twice - first with a loss as a newcomer, and then he beat a newcomer in his second fight

For a complete list of the fights and their results, check out my blog, Sports by the Numbers MMA.