(Click chart for full-size version. For previous Databombs, click here.)

By Reed Kuhn, @Fightnomics

It’s almost time for the interim bantamweight championship fight between Renan Barao and Michael McDonald. But first, let’s examine the whole UFC bantamweight division in several key striking metrics. As one of the youngest divisions with quite a few newcomers, there were several chart busters who have performed either really well in a certain metric, or in Mike Easton’s case, really poorly, so those outliers are noted. Usually those fighters will regress towards the mean, but they’re worth keeping an eye on. A full explanation of the chart and variables is included at the end of this post.

As a group, the 135’ers are the hardest to hit, as illustrated by their lowest power head striking accuracy of any UFC division. But they manage to maintain a high pace of action, with the second-highest significant strike attempts per minute average. (Flyweights have the highest.) So which fighters get the awards in this frenzied group?

The Winners

Sniper Award: Rangy southpaw Alex Caceres leads the division with 48% power head striking accuracy. Though he has yet to score a knockdown in the UFC, the Bruce Lee superfan has definitely put on entertaining fights including sharp striking, rapid pace, and some very retro body suits.

Energizer Bunny Award: Johnny Bedford has been outstriking his UFC opponents more than 2:1 on his way to two finishes. Bedford’s size has been an advantage for him in one of the smallest weight classes, and we’ll see if he can continue his streak.

Biggest Ball(s) Award: In addition to outworking his opponents, double award winner Johnny Bedford is 2-0 in the UFC with two knockout finishes. But an honorable mention also goes to knockout machine Michael “Mayday” McDonald, who has landed four knockdowns during his 5-0 streak with Zuffa. McDonald gets his biggest test yet against higher volume striker and interim champ Renan Barao, in an interesting contrast of power and finesse.

The Losers

Props: bpatelphoto.com

By CagePotato Contributor Michael Sanchez

Bantamweights beware. Radames Garcia is looking to destroy your dreams. Ranked number one in the nation and sporting an amateur record of 9-1, all he is waiting for is a chance to make his pro debut.

“My last two opponents pulled out. My coach said one of them thought I was too big,” Garcia said.

The 29-year old native of Miami, Florida is fighting out of Cung Le’s gym in San Jose, California. In a little more than two years, Garcia managed to win two state titles in the amateur leagues of both California and Nevada.

Garcia first learned about MMA from a conversation with his co-worker. He invited Garcia to train with him at Tribull Mixed Martial Arts Center.

“At first, I thought it was illegal. I wanted to make sure it was legit. I had no clue about it at the time and I didn’t want the cops to bust down the doors and end up in jail,” Garcia laughed.

No caption needed, really.

Well people, hopefully you are enjoying a day off with some barbecued animal carcass and a nice cold beer (or some grilled zucchini and tofu scramble, whatever scratches your itch).  Join us as we look back on the action from UFC 132 and what we can take away from a card as wild and unpredictable as this one.  If a story comes out that some guy hit an eleven fight parley, we’re going to track him down and burn him as a sorcerer.  Seriously, there’s playing a hunch, and then there’s invoking demons to influence the reality on our plane of existence.

First, some things must not be spoken of.

Like Wanderlei Silva losing, or Tito Ortiz winning.  Sometimes, great reflection is required to glean the lessons of life from events that at first seem incomprehensible.  Sometimes, understanding must elude us forever.

Come on in and let’s talk five things.

(All this talk of finances is really harshing Urijah’s mellow. Pic: CageToday)

Props to our BFFs over at Bloody Elbow for pointing out an odd little singularity in the early UFC 132 betting lines this morning. After bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz and challenger Urijah Faber opened at matching -120 odds, early money appeared to push Faber to as much as a -160 favorite before Cruz stormed back to flip-flop the line. As is it stood in the a.m. on Monday, Cruz was now a -160 favorite, while Faber was a +120 dog, exactly the opposite of where they’d been less than 24 hours earlier.

But what does it all mean, you ask? Well, one of two things: Either the knee-jerk, hair-trigger gamblers blew their wad on Faber only to have opportunists go heavy on Cruz as soon as he became an underdog … or the chimpanzees who get paid to do data entry at these gambling sites screwed it up to begin with. Either way, we know you’re dying to hear more …

(Torres celebrates a victory; Benavidez mourns a fallen hero.)

Seven months after finding himself on the business end of the 11th-greatest knockout of 2009, former WEC bantamweight ruler Miguel Torres will return to the cage at WEC 47 (March 6, Columbus), according to a new report by MMA Mania. Torres is likely to face off against Team Alpha Male product Joseph Benavidez (11-1), who recently defeated Rani Yahya by first-round TKO at WEC 45. Benavidez’s sole loss came in August against Dominick Cruz, who is now slated to take on Bowles for the 135-pound strap at WEC 47.

Torres has been laying low since his loss to Bowles, but according to his Twitter page, he’s been splitting his time between training, watching It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and working it. In other words, when it’s time to throw down with Benavidez, he’ll be ready.

(Props: MMA Mania)

In part one of a new video feature from the WEC, bantamweight king Miguel Torres gives us a look at his fight preparation, his family (including his father, the true originator of the Torres Mexi-Mullet), and the sacrifices he makes to guide the next generation of martial artists. Torres will make his next belt defense at WEC 40 (April 5th, Chicago), where he’ll be welcoming Shooto/GCM standout Takeya Mizugaki to the U.S.

Below: On a recent episode of Sports Science, Fedor Emelianenko out-choked a python, then choked-out the show’s host. ("You’ll be okay, don’t worry," says Fedor, trying in vain to console the human test dummy.) It’s an interesting look at the mechanincs behind how fighters get choked out, and how little effort it really takes to make that happen. For the beginning of Fedor’s segment click here. Sorry for the video quality; please turn up your sound.

(Props: TheGarv)

(Takeya Mizugaki vs. Daichi Fujiwara, 6/22/08. Fight starts at the 1:08 mark; Mizugaki’s in the white trunks. Videos of two more Mizugaki wins are after the jump.)

MMA Weekly reports that the WEC‘s #1 bantamweight contender Brian Bowles has suffered an "undisclosed injury" [update: it was a back injury suffered during a training session at ATT] and has been forced to pull out of his title scrap with #4 P4P fighter Miguel Torres at WEC 40 (April 5th, Chicago). It’s an incredibly tough break for the undefeated Bowles, but on the bright side, the WEC has managed to pull a very credible replacement directly out of their asses. Stepping in for Brian will be Takeya Mizugaki, an 11-2-2 veteran of Shooto and GCM Cage Force who’s on a five-fight win streak, and who MMA Weekly currently ranks as the #6 bantamweight in the world. Mizugaki is expected to sign a five-fight contract with the WEC.

Speaking of which: WEC 39 is this Sunday in Corpus Christi, and will be broadcast live on Versus. The card will feature the featherweight title fight between Mike Brown and Leonard Garcia, Jose Aldo vs. Chris Mickle in a featherweight contender match, and lightweight bouts between Bart Palaszewski and Ricardo Lamas, and Rob McCullough vs. Marcus Hicks.

Can’t the WEC provide a box for the bantamweights to stand on when Frank Mir interviews them?