UFC Fight Night 48 pre-fight facts: Michael Bisping near unflattering UFC record

Another UFC doubleheader goes down this weekend, and the first half is set to kick off in Macau, as UFC Fight Night 47 touches down at The Venetian Macao’s CotaiArena.

The event, which streams on UFC Fight Pass, features a significant middleweight matchup in the main event as Michael Bisping (24-6 MMA, 14-6 UFC) looks to get back in the win column against former Strikeforce champion Cung Le (9-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC).

Bisping is among the most successful fighters in octagon history, but with a win, he’ll take sole possession of a rather unflattering record: most UFC victories without earning a championship fight.

There is no question Bisping’s passion to earn a title shot is strong, but “The Count” has never reached that No. 1 contender position. A loss to Le could erase those aspirations for good.

While Bisping is staring down the barrel of a UFC record he may not enjoy, he is also approaching several others he can be proud of. For more, here are 40 pre-fight facts about UFC Fight Night 48.

MAIN EVENT

Bisping will compete in his 16th UFC middleweight bout, tied with Ed Herman for the third most of any fighter in divisional history behind Chris Leben (22) and Yushin Okami (18).

Bisping’s 10 victories in middleweight competition are tied for the fifth most in divisional history behind Anderson Silva (13), Okami (13), Leben (12) and Nate Marquardt (11).

Bisping’s 14 victories under the UFC banner are tied with Gleison Tibau for the most by any fighter to never compete in a UFC championship bout.

Bisping’s 14 UFC victories are tied with Rashad Evans and Diego Sanchez for the most by any winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series.

Bisping’s 21st UFC appearance overall will tie Sanchez for the most of any “TUF” winner.

Bisping’s total cage time of 3:02:52 during his UFC middleweight career is the third most in divisional history behind Okami (3:40:20) and Leben (3:18:55).

Bisping has earned eight knockout victories in his UFC career, tied for the seventh most in organizational history.

Bisping has landed 804 significant strikes in his 15 fights as a UFC middleweight, the most in divisional history. His 987 significant strikes landed overall during his UFC tenure are the third most in company history behind Georges St-Pierre (1,254) and Frankie Edgar (998).

Bisping is the only middleweight in UFC history to land 100 or more significant strikes in two different bouts. He accomplished the feat against Jason Miller at the TUF 14 Finale and Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 120.

Bisping lands 4.4 significant strikes per minute, the highest rate among active middleweights. He averages 3.32 per minute in Round 1. The rate climbs to 5.35 in Round 2, and 5.5 in Round 3, the highest second- and third-round rates among active middleweights.

Bisping has avoided 70.8 percent of his middleweight opponents’ strike attempts, the highest defense rate in UFC middleweight history among fighters minimum of five bouts and 350 opponent attempts.

Bisping has alternated wins and losses in his past six UFC fights.

Le, 42, is the oldest of the 20 fighters scheduled to compete at the event. He is also the oldest active fighter in the UFC middleweight division.

Le enters the event on the heels of a 651-day layoff. His longest break from competition in a professional career that dates back to March 2006.

Le has earned eight of his nine career victories by knockout. His seven knockout victories under the now-defunct Strikeforce banner were the most in company history.

Le has scored 11 knockdowns during his 11-fight professional career. His 10 knockdowns landed in Strikeforce were the most in promotional history.

Le lands 40.3 of his significant strikes to the body, more than double the UFC average of 19.7 percent.

CO-MAIN EVENT

Dong Hyun Kim‘s (19-2-1 MMA, 10-2 UFC) four-fight UFC winning streak is tied with Ryan LaFlare and Gunnar Nelson for the longest active streak in the welterweight division.

Kim has earned seven of his 10 UFC victories by decision.

Kim enters the event on the heels of consecutive stoppage wins for the first time in the UFC.

Kim recorded the first spinning-back-elbow knockout in UFC history when he stopped John Hathaway at UFC Fight Night 34. The finish was just the third knockout in company history to stem from a spinning arm strike, putting him on a list with Shonie Carter (UFC 31) and John Makdessi (UFC 129) as the lone fighters to accomplish the feat.

Kim’s 51.1 percent significant strike accuracy is the second best rate among active welterweights behind Matt Brown (54.2 percent). Kim absorbs just 1.6 strikes per minute, the most favorable average among active welterweights with a minimum of five bouts.

Kim has controlled his opponents on the ground for 47.3 percent of his total fight time, the fourth largest proportion in UFC history among fighters with a minimum of five bouts.

Kim’s takedown defense rate of 81.1 percent is the fourth best among active UFC welterweights with a minimum of five bouts and 20 opponent takedown attempts.

Tyron Woodley (13-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) has earned all three of his UFC victories by some form of knockout.

Woodley has defended 95 percent of all opponent takedown attempts during his UFC career, the highest rate of any fighter in welterweight history.

Woodley landed 202 significant strikes during his Strikeforce career with 40.1 percent in the clinch, the largest clinch strike proportion among Strikeforce fighters. Through five UFC fights, Woodley’s landed 40.9 percent of his strikes from the clinch, more than double the UFC average of 20.3 percent.

REMAINING MAIN CARD

Zhang Lipeng (7-7-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) became the first Asian-born fighter in UFC history to win a six-figure contract stemming from “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series when he won “TUF: China.”

Jianping Yang (6-3-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and Guangyou Ning (3-2-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) have never won a fight by decision in nine combined professional victories.

PRELIMINARY CARD

Wang Sai (6-5-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has earned all six of his career victories by knockout (four) or submission (two).

Sai has alternated losses and wins over his past seven fights.

Alberto Mina (10-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will compete in just his second bout in a more than three-year stretch. The 32-year-old sports an undefeated professional record and has earned all 10 of his career victories by submission (six) or knockout (four).

Shinsho Anzai (8-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his UFC debut on just six days’ notice. He stepped in as a last-minute injury replacement for Sheldon Westcott.

Roland Delorme (9-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) enters the event on the first two-fight losing streak of his career. He has just one victory in his past four octagon appearances overall.

Delorme’s two submission victories in UFC bantamweight competition are tied for the third most in divisional history behind Urijah Faber (five) and Bryan Caraway (three).

Delorme has suffered all three of his career losses by decision.

Yuta Sasaki (17-1-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his UFC debut on an 11-fight undefeated streak.

Sasaki, 24, is the youngest of the 20 fighters scheduled to compete on the card.

Anying Wang (2-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has earned both of his career victories by doctor stoppage following the first round.

Royston Wee (3-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is the only Singaporean fighter to ever earn a UFC victory. He registered the feat with a UFC Fight Night 34 victory over Dave Galera.

Yao Zhuikui (1-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his UFC debut with just two professional bouts to his name. He has not fought since a May 2013 submission of Daoyuan Wang at RUFF 9.

Milana Dudieva (10-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has earned nine of her 10 career victories by submission (six) or knockout (three).

For more on UFC Fight Night 48, stay tuned to 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.