The UFC has a history of bringing strong fight cards to Toronto, and it’s no different with UFC 231, which takes place Saturday at Scotiabank Arena with a main card that airs on pay-per-view following a strong preliminary-card lineup on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.
The prelims alone feature a former strawweight title challenger, two top women’s flyweight contenders and three winners of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series. There’s no shortage of talent scheduled. For more, check below for 20 pre-fight facts about the UFC 231 preliminary card.
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Featured FS1 prelim
Claudia Gadelha (16-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) competes in her ninth UFC strawweight bout, tied for the third most appearances in divisional history behind Joanna Jedrzejczyk (11) and Randa Markos (10).
Gadelha has earned four of her five UFC victories by decision.
Gadelha’s 31 takedowns landed in UFC strawweight competition are the most in divisional history.
Gadelha lands 3.94 takedowns per 15 minutes of fighting in UFC strawweight competition, the best rate in divisional history.
Gadelha’s three fight-night bonuses for UFC strawweight bouts are tied for second most in divisional history behind Jessica Andrade (four).
Nina Ansaroff’s (9-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) three-fight UFC winning streak in strawweight competition is tied with four other fighters for the second longest active winning streak in the division behind Tatiana Suarez (four).
Ansaroff defends 80.8 percent of all opponent takedown attempts in UFC strawweight competition, the third highest rate in divisional history.
Other FS1 prelims
Olivier Aubin-Mercier (11-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) has completed at least one takedown against all eight of the UFC opponents he’s attempted one against.
Aubin-Mercier lands 57.3 percent of his significant strike attempts in UFC lightweight competition, the best rate in divisional history.
Aubin-Mercier landed just three significant strikes in his decision victory at UFC Fight Night 74, a record low for a winner of any three-round UFC fight to go the distance.
Gilbert Burns (13-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) has earned 12 of his 13 career victories by stoppage. That includes five of his six UFC wins.
Burns’ three armbar victories in UFC competition are tied for third most in company history behind Royce Gracie (four) and flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson (four).
Katlyn Chookagian (11-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) is 2-0 since she dropped to the UFC flyweight division in January.
Chookagian has earned eight of her 11 career victories by decision. That includes all four of her UFC wins.
Jessica Eye (13-6 MMA, 3-5 UFC) is 2-0 since she dropped to the UFC women’s flyweight division in January.
Eye has earned nine of her 13 career victories by decision.
Eye’s five losses in UFC competition are second most of any female in company history behind Kailin Curran (six).
Elias Theodorou’s (15-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) average fight time of 13:45 in UFC middleweight competition is the second longest among active fighters in the weight class behind Yoel Romero (13:46).
Eryk Anders (11-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) returns to the middleweight division after a one-fight stint at light heavyweight at UFC Fight Night 137 in September.
UFC Fight Pass prelims
Brad Katona (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is the only Canadian to win a domestic version of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Chad Laprise (13-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) is 8-1 in welterweight fights (3-1 in the UFC) during his career.
Dhiego Lima (12-7 MMA, 1-5 UFC) is 0-2 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in July. He hasn’t earned an octagon victory since November 2014.
Lima is the only fighter to reach “The Ultimate Fighter” finals on two seasons.
Aleksandar Rakic (10-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) enters the event on a 10-fight winning streak. He hasn’t suffered a defeat since his MMA debut in October 2011.
Rakic outlanded his opponent 263 to 28 in total strikes at UFC Fight Night 134. The +235 difference is the largest margin in UFC history for a light-heavyweight bout.
Rakic’s scorecard differential of +17 points (30-25, 30-24, 30-24) at UFC Fight Night 134 is the largest margin in UFC history for a three-round fight.
For more on UFC 231, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
FightMetric research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.