UFCal
2008 MMA by the Numbers
Every completed fight of 2008 across all organizations we track, distilled into the numbers that tell the year's story. Updated automatically as events finish.
24
Events
244
Fights
66%
Finish rate
14
Title fights
How fights ended
- KO/TKO39% · 96
- Submission27% · 65
- Decision34% · 82
- Other0% · 1
Finish rate by division
| Division | Fights | KO/TKO | SUB | Finished |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavyweight | 21 | 76% | 10% | 86% |
| Light Heavyweight | 29 | 66% | 14% | 79% |
| Middleweight | 45 | 38% | 38% | 76% |
| Welterweight | 45 | 44% | 18% | 62% |
| Lightweight | 55 | 22% | 33% | 55% |
Divisions with at least 10 fights in 2008.
Fastest finishes
- 0:08James Irvin def. Houston Alexander · TKO · UFC Fight Night: Florian vs Lauzon · Apr 2, 2008#1
- 0:12Rob Emerson def. Manvel Gamburyan · TKO · UFC 87: SEEK AND DESTROY · Aug 9, 2008#2
- 0:16Marcus Aurelio def. Ryan Roberts · SUB · UFC Fight Night: Florian vs Lauzon · Apr 2, 2008#3
- 0:17Antoni Hardonk def. Colin Robinson · TKO · UFC 80: RAPID FIRE · Jan 19, 2008#4
- 0:33Mike Swick def. Jonathan Goulet · TKO · UFC Fight Night - Fight for the Troops · Dec 10, 2008#5
- 0:33Chris Lytle def. Kyle Bradley · TKO · UFC 81: BREAKING POINT · Feb 2, 2008#6
- 0:36Wanderlei Silva def. Keith Jardine · TKO · UFC 84: ILL WILL · May 24, 2008#7
- 0:36Melvin Guillard def. Dennis Siver · TKO · UFC 86: JACKSON vs GRIFFIN · Jul 5, 2008#8
Biggest upsets
- 30%Pete Sell def. Joshua Burkman · UFC 90: Silva vs Cote · Oct 25, 2008
- 31%Brock Lesnar def. Randy Couture · UFC 91: COUTURE vs LESNAR · Nov 15, 2008
- 32%Heath Herring def. Cheick Kongo · UFC 82: PRIDE OF A CHAMPION · Mar 1, 2008
- 33%Goran Reljic def. Wilson Gouveia · UFC 84: ILL WILL · May 24, 2008
- 33%Francis Carmont def. Lukasz Jurkowski · KSW - Extra · Sep 13, 2008
- 33%Wanderlei Silva def. Keith Jardine · UFC 84: ILL WILL · May 24, 2008
- 34%Fabricio Werdum def. Gabriel Gonzaga · UFC 80: RAPID FIRE · Jan 19, 2008
- 34%Luiz Cane def. Jason Lambert · UFC 85: BEDLAM · Jun 7, 2008
Pre-fight win probability from UFCal Elo ratings at the time of the fight. Elo ratings →
Breakout fighters
| Fighter | Fights | Elo |
|---|---|---|
| Michal Fijalka | 4 | +141 |
| Dave Dalgliesh | 3 | +129 |
| Demian Maia | 3 | +124 |
| Antoni Hardonk | 3 | +106 |
| Luiz Cane | 2 | +95 |
| Jan Blachowicz | 5 | +91 |
| Gray Maynard | 3 | +90 |
| Cain Velasquez | 2 | +85 |
Largest UFCal Elo rating gains across 2008.
Busiest fighters
| Fighter | Fights | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| Jan Blachowicz | 5 | 5 |
| Maciej Gorski | 5 | 4 |
| Michal Fijalka | 4 | 4 |
| Josh Koscheck | 4 | 3 |
| Wilson Gouveia | 4 | 3 |
| Antoni Chmielewski | 4 | 3 |
| Petr Ondrus | 4 | 2 |
| Jason MacDonald | 4 | 2 |
Most controversial decisions
- Alan Belcher def. Ed Herman · UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs Neer · Sep 17, 2008
- Heath Herring def. Cheick Kongo · UFC 82: PRIDE OF A CHAMPION · Mar 1, 2008
- Dong Hyun Kim def. Matt Brown · UFC 88: BREAKTHROUGH · Sep 6, 200836% of 25 fan cards scored it for Matt Brown
- Nate Diaz def. Josh Neer · UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs Neer · Sep 17, 2008
- Patrick Cote def. Ricardo Almeida · UFC 86: JACKSON vs GRIFFIN · Jul 5, 2008
Scored from real fan and media scorecards on MMA Decisions. Robbery Index →
Events by organization
| Organization | Events | Fights |
|---|---|---|
| UFC | 20 | 201 |
| KSW | 4 | 43 |
Events by country
| Country | Events |
|---|---|
| United States | 5 |
| Poland | 4 |
| United Kingdom | 2 |
Busiest judges
| Judge | Fights scored |
|---|---|
| Jeff Mullen | 15 |
| Cecil Peoples | 15 |
| Douglas Crosby | 15 |
| Nelson Hamilton | 14 |
| Glenn Trowbridge | 11 |
Official scorecards recorded in 2008. Judges →
Sources: official results, ufcstats.com, fan and media scorecards from mmadecisions.com, and the UFCal Elo model.
These numbers are free to cite — link back to this page as the source.