By the Numbers: Gegard Mousasi vs. Lyoto Machida

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Gegard Mousasi and Lyoto Machida first crossed paths in a blockbuster showdown at UFC Fight Night 36, with the latter taking the victory via unanimous decision. They have since moved on to Bellator MMA and are once again pitted against each other. Who will win the rematch on Sept. 28 in Inglewood, California, at Bellator 228? The numbers below could provide the answer.

Active winning streak

Since losing to Derek Brunson in the main event of UFC Fight Night 119, Machida has piled up four straight victories, decisioning Eryk Anders and Rafael Carvalho and knocking out Vitor Belfort and Chael Sonnen. Two of those fights happened in the UFC and the other two were in Bellator. Meanwhile, Mousasi is coming off a loss to Rafael Lovato, Jr., which cost him the Bellator light heavyweight title. Before that, however, “The Dreamcatcher” went on an eight-fight winning streak, three of which occurred in Bellator and five of which occurred in the UFC.

Longest winning streak

Impressively, that eight-fight winning streak wasn’t the longest in Mousasi’s career. From Nov. 5, 2006, to Dec. 31, 2009, he went on a 15-fight winning run, beating the likes of Mark Hunt, Hector Lombard, Ronaldo Souza, Evangelista Santos and Melvin Manhoef. That impressive streak included stints in Pride, Dream, Bodog Fight, M-1 and other promotions.

For his part, Machida started his career off with a 16-fight winning streak. During that long stretch, he faced and defeated the likes of Stephan Bonnar, Rich Franklin and BJ Penn. Then, upon entering the UFC, he extended his streak by beating former champions Tito Ortiz, Rashad Evans and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

Bellator record

Against Mousasi, Machida will be gunning for his third Bellator win in as many appearances. He debuted on Dec. 15, 2018, defeating Carvalho at Bellator 213, after which he defeated Sonnen at Bellator 222. Between the two of them, however, Mousasi is the Bellator veteran. He debuted against Alexander Shlemenko at Bellator 185 on Oct. 20, 2017. Since then, Mousasi has fought for the organization four times, with a record of 3-1.

Knockout rate

With 26 knockouts in 45 fights, Mousasi boasts a 58 percent knockout rate. He’s stopped some big names, which makes him a real threat in any division or organization. His most notable victims include Ronaldo Souza, Thiago Santos, Vitor Belfort, Chris Weidman and Rory MacDonald.

Like Mousasi, Machida has also stopped a host of top-level talent, including Rich Franklin, Rashad Evans, Randy Couture, Ryan Bader, Vitor Belfort and Chael Sonnen. In all, he owns 11 triumphs via KO or TKO, and with 26 career wins, he registers a 42 percent knockout rate.

Submission rate

Machida is jiu-jitsu black belt but it’s Mousasi who has more wins by submission with 12, giving him a 27 percent submission rate. Machida, on the other hand, has only two submission wins, making for an eight percent submission rate.