The second year of FightMetric's Strength in Numbers campaign came to a close with the end of Fight Night: Machida vs. Dollaway. We pledged $2.50 for every minute UFC fighters spent competing in the Octagon during 2014. In total, we saw 5,418 minutes, 50 seconds of Octagon time. This is a new record for the UFC and represents a 35% increase over 2013. It means that FightMetric will donate $13,545 to the Fisher House Foundation to benefit the families of wounded warriors.
Here are some notes from a year's worth of UFC fights and how they affected the charity campaign:
The longest event of the year was Fight Night: Machida vs. Mousasi on February 15. Fighters that night raised $433.83 with 10 of 12 fights going to decision and total fight time of 173 minutes, 32 seconds. It set a new record for longest event in UFC history. In fact, the three longest events in UFC history occurred in 2014, with UFC 169 and UFC 171 also breaking the 170 minute mark.
The shortest event of the year was Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Bisping, which only raised $159.63. There were no decision on the card and only one fight made it to the third round. It was all over in 63 minutes, 51 seconds.
New champion Robbie Lawler earns the honor of raising the most of any fighter. Lawler spent 88 minutes, 6 seconds in his four fights in 2014, raising $220.25 for Fisher House. Lawler's 2014 sets the modern era record for most fight time by a fighter in a single year. It's only topped by Oleg Taktarov's ridiculous 1995 when he fought nine times and lasted 107 minutes, 50 seconds.
The top three earners in 2014 were:
1. Robbie Lawler - 88 minutes, 6 seconds
2. Neil Magny - 65 minutes, 12 seconds
3. Dustin Ortiz - 60 minutes
The shortest 2014 of any UFC fighter belonged to Doo Ho Choi. He raised a paltry $0.75 for his 18 seconds of work.