By the Numbers: Derek Brunson vs. Elias Theodorou

Co-main has @DerekBrunson & @EliasTheodorou signing in for fight week! #UFCOttawa pic.twitter.com/oWOQZaN2UJ

— UFC (@ufc) April 30, 2019

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Derek Brunson and Elias Theodorou have been trading barbs on social media, and now it’s time to throw down. Theodorou is coming off three straight victories while Brunson is aiming to get back to the win column following two consecutive losses. They will collide May 4 in Ontario, Canada, for UFC Fight Night 151.

Let these numbers guide you towards the potential outcome of this thrilling encounter.

Wins by knockout

Between the two fighters, Brunson is more of a finisher that prides himself for his 78 percent stoppage rate. Brunson owns 13 finishes, 11 of which were by KO or TKO. He’s also the more dynamic striker, with finishes utilizing not just his fists but also his kicks, knees and elbows. His long list of victims includes Chris McNally, Edward Jackson, Todd Chattelle, Rhomez Brower, Danny Babcock, Ed Herman, Sam Alvey, Roan Carneiro, Uriah Hall, Dan Kelly and Lyoto Machida.

Theodorou hasn’t finished a fight since his UFC 185 TKO over Roger Narvaez. He owns five other victories by knockout, and these were against Tanner Tolman, Rich Lictawa, Mike Kent, Travis Clark and Sheldon Westcott.

Wins by submission

Both Brunson and Theodorou are Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belts. While Brunson is more known for his punching power, he has also utilized his ground game quite well. This has led to three submission victories over John Bryant, Lumumba Sayers and Brian Houston all via rear-naked choke. Meanwhile, Theodorou has tallied one submission win, a rear-naked choke finish of Steve Hodgson.

Common opponents
Sam Alvey

At UFC Fight Night 89, Theodorou outpointed Alvey in a dull bout that afforded him the unanimous decision victory. Brunson met Alvey at UFC Fight Night 73 and knocked him out in the very first round. He relied on his dirty boxing to force the stoppage at 2:19.

Dan Kelly

Once again, Brunson displayed the power of his fists, clobbering Kelly with a straight left that sent him to the ground. He followed it up with a few hammer fists to register a stoppage at the 1:16 mark of the first round. In their UFC Fight Night 121 encounter, Theodorou completely outclassed Kelly to the tune of 30-28, 30-27 and 30-26.

First-round stoppages

With 14 first-round stoppages, Brunson clearly has a knack for finishing fights early. Apart from Alvey and Kelly, he also scored early Octagon finishes of Houston, Herman, Carneiro, Hall and Machida. Theodorou, on the other hand, has two stoppages in the first frame, but both were outside of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Career losses

Brunson owns 25 professional fights, seven of which ended up in losses. He’s suffered defeats to Kendall Grove, Ronaldo Souza (twice), Yoel Romero, Robert Whittaker, Anderson Silva, and Israel Adesanya. The younger Theodorou has only two losses to Thiago Santos and Brad Tavares.