Donald Cerrone vs. Jorge Masvidal Stats & Facts
Returning to the place where his MMA career started, Donald Cerrone faces Jorge Masvidal in Denver, Colorado. ‘Gamebred’ is a dangerous fight for anyone in the 170-pound division, but ‘Cowboy’ is on a red-hot streak. Moving up to 170 pounds in February 2016, Cerrone rapidly built up a four-fight/finish spree. Trademark knockouts against Patrick Cote, Rick Story and Matt Brown highlighted a great year for ‘Cowboy.’
Recent form has been solid for Masvidal, who rides two straight wins in to UFC on FOX 23. Taking a decision against Ross Pearson and a bizarre TKO over Jake Ellenberger, Masvidal will face the toughest test of his recent career in ‘Cowboy.’ Let’s take a look at some stats and facts involving the UFC Denver co-main event duo.
Stats we’ll be looking at:
SLpM – Significant Strikes Landed per Minute Str. Acc. Significant Striking Accuracy
SApM – Significant Strikes Absorbed per Minute Str. Def. – Significant Strike Defence (the % of opponents strikes that did not land)
TD Avg. – Average Takedowns Landed per 15 minutes TD Acc. – Takedown Accuracy
TD Def. – Takedown Defense (the % of opponents TD attempts that did not land)Â Sub. Avg. – Average Submissions Attempted per 15 minutes
Donald Cerrone
SLpM: 4.16Â TD Avg.: 1.38 Â HEIGHT: 6′ 1″Â REACH:Â 73″
TD Acc.: 42%Â TD Def.: 70%Â RECORD:Â 32-7-(1) (16 KO 8 SUB)
Sub. Avg.: 1.7Â Str. Acc.: 47%Â RANKS:Â BJJ/Gaidojutsu black belt
SApM: 3.90Â Str. Def: 54% TEAM: Jackson Wink MMA Academy
Although he’s only been fighting at welterweight for a year, Donald Cerrone already debuts as a top 10 stats leader. Just one place behind Tyron Woodley, Cerrone is currently ranked 10 for knockdowns scored in the division. Four fights in to his 170-pound career, ‘Cowboy’ has landed six knockdowns. Cerrone has a great work rate as we see from his 4.16 SLpM, but he absorbs almost as many in doing so. Against a puncher like Masvidal, that might be ill-advised.
Cerrone’s takedown defense is excellent, and although he only attempts 1.7 subs per three rounds, he has razor-sharp Jiu Jitsu. At lightweight, Cerrone is ranked third for significant strikes landed and knockdowns landed in divisional history. Among active fighters, he is number two in both departments, and ranks in the top 10 for total strikes landed at 155 pounds.
Jorge Masvidal
SLpM: 4.20Â Str. Acc.: 46%Â HEIGHT: 5′ 11″Â REACH: 74″
SApM: 2.89Â Str. Def: 69%Â RECORD:Â 31-11 (12 KO 2 SUB)
TD Avg.: 1.98Â TD Acc.: 61%Â RANKS:Â Black belt in freestyle fighting system
TD Def.: 79%Â Sub. Avg.: 0.5Â TEAM:Â American Top Team
Similar to his opponent in Denver, Jorge Masvidal has fought both at lightweight and welterweight. In terms of striking, he is also almost identical to ‘Cowboy’ on a statistical level. Masvidal absorbs less significant strikes per minute with better defense, and actually is ever so slightly more active in strikes landed per minute. Among active UFC welterweights, the former street fighter is top 10 with strikes landed per minute and also a 1.48 strike differential.
There’s not much to say of either man’s grappling, apart from they are seldom taken down. Masvidal attempts less than one submission per 15 minutes fought, so expect a technical striking battle in this 170-pound co-main event.
UFC on FOX 23 Fight Card
Event: UFC on FOX 23: “Shevchenko vs. Pena”
Date: Sat., Jan. 28, 2017, on FOX
Location: Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado
UFC on FOX 23 Main Event:
135 lbs.: Valentina Shevchenko vs. Julianna Pena
FOX Main Card  UFC Fight Pass):
170 lbs.: Donald Cerrone vs. Jorge Masvidal
265 lbs.: Andrei Arlovski vs. Francis Ngannou
135 lbs.: Alex Caceres vs. Jason Knight
FOX Sports 1
135 lbs.: Raphael Assuncao vs. Aljamain Sterling
185 lbs.: Sam Alvey vs. Nate Marquardt
185 lbs.: Eric Spicely vs. Alessio Di Chirico
155 lbs.: J.C. Cottrell vs. Jason Gonzalez
125 lbs.: Alexandre Pantoja vs. Eric Shelton
135 lbs.: Alex Caceres vs. Jason Knight
205 lbs.: Henrique da Silva vs. Jordan Johnson
155 lbs.: Li Jingliang vs. Bobby Nash
UFC Fight Pass Prelims
205 lbs.: Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. John Philipps
125 lbs.: Alexandre Pantoja vs. Eric Shelton
Stats harvested from FightMetric.com
