By the Numbers: UFC 137

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Trademark aggression and crushing pace carried Nick Diaz, as he made a triumphant return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the expense of former two-division champion B.J. Penn.

Diaz overwhelmed Penn with punches en route to a clear-cut unanimous decision in the UFC 137 headliner on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, as he recorded his career-best 11th consecutive victory and, with it, secured a coveted title shot against reigning welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre.

Beyond the outcome, rests the facts and figures. Here is a by-the-numbers look at UFC 137 “Penn vs. Diaz,” with statistics provided by FightMetric:

150: Total strikes by which Diaz outlanded Penn in their action-packed three-round encounter. The 28-year-old Cesar Gracie disciple connected on 125 punches in the second round alone.

.500: Diaz’s winning percentage in fights that have gone the distance. The former Strikeforce champion started his career 1-5 in bouts involving the judges. Diaz has not lost a decision since bowing to Sean Sherk at UFC 59 in April 2006.

21: Appearances Penn has made inside the Octagon, good for fifth on the all-time list. The Hawaiian trails only Matt Hughes (25), Tito Ortiz (25), Randy Couture (24) and Chuck Liddell. Three of those men are in the UFC Hall of Fame and Ortiz figures to someday join them.

1: Victory for Penn outside of the lightweight division since 2005.

44: Significant strikes landed by French kickboxer Cheick Kongo in his unanimous decision victory over “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 10 alum Matt Mitrione in the co-main event. By comparison, Mitrione connected on only 21.

693: Days Mitrione spent as an undefeated professional mixed martial artist. He had defeated Marcus Jones, Kimbo Slice, Joey Beltran, Tim Hague and Christian Morecraft before falling short against Kongo.

7.5: Pounds “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 10 winner Roy Nelson shed between his UFC 130 defeat to former heavyweight champion Frank Mir and his UFC 137 victory over Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic. Nelson weighed in at 260 against Mir, 252.5 against Filipovic.

6-6: Filipovic’s record since his crowning achievement -- winning the 2006 Pride Fighting Championships open weight grand prix.

100: Percentage of takedowns on which Scott Jorgensen was successful in his unanimous decision over Jeff Curran. Jorgensen -- who wrestled collegiately at Boise State University, where he was a three-time Pac-10 Conference champion -- secured five takedowns in the match.

2,828: Days between Curran’s first UFC appearance -- a decision loss to Matt Serra in 2004 -- and his return against Jorgensen, which also ended in his defeat on points.

5,683: Miles former Sengoku Raiden Championship and Shooto titleholder Hatsu Hioki traveled to make his promotional debut, as he captured a split decision from “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 8 semifinalist George Roop.

42: Total strikes by which Roop outlanded the world-ranked Hioki.

77: Percentage of Donald Cerrone victories that have come via submission. The surging Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts standout put away Russian-born German kickboxer with a first-round rear-naked choke, extending his current winning streak to six fights.

16: Fights in between Siver’s submission loss to Cerrone and his last choke-related tapout -- a May 2006 defeat to Daniel Weichel under the Tempel Fight School banner in Germany.

15: Official first-round finishes in Bart Palaszewski’s career. The 28-year-old WEC import made Tyson Griffin his latest victim, as he stopped the reeling Xtreme Couture Mixed Martial Arts representative with a brutal barrage of punches to the head in the first round.

6: Total strikes on which Griffin connected in his loss to Palaszewski.