‘Crank’ joins top ‘strikers’ list

Frank “The Crank” Camacho, right, attacks Germany’s Nick Hein during the first round of their bout in the UFC Fight Night 153 in Stockholm, Sweden last month. (Contributed Photo)

Marianas warrior Frank “The Crank” made it to the Top 10 list of MMA fighters with the most significant strikes landed per minute in Ultimate Fighting Championship history.

Camacho is at No. 5 with an average of 6.85 strikes connected per minute in his five UFC bouts, according to MMA By The Numbers, one of the many websites taking an in-depth look at the statistics behind the battles on the octagon.

The 30-year-old had his most strikes in his second UFC fight on Nov. 18, 2017 in Australia. He hit Aussie Damien Brown with 154 strikes en route to a split decision win. Camacho also recorded at least 100 strikes in two other bouts with the latest versus Germany’s Nick Hein in UFC Fight Night 153 in Stockholm, Sweden. The Guam-born, Saipan-raised athlete gave Hein a beating with his 100 strikes, while the latter tallied only 37, allowing Camacho to secure a TKO victory at the 4:56 mark of Round 2 of their three-round bout last June 1.

With the impressive triumph over Hein, Camacho improved his UFC record to 2-3. He lost his debut to China’s Li Jingliang (unanimous) in Singapore on June 17, 2017 after Camacho landed only 35 strikes against the 94 of the latter. However, Camacho earned Fight of the Night honors in his first UFC appearance and went on to take similar recognitions in his next two, including his victory over Brown.

For his third fight, Camacho dueled Drew Dober on UFC on FOX 27 in North Carolina and unleashed 106 strikes. Dober connected on more punches with his 145 to register a unanimous decision win in their Jan. 27, 2018 showdown.

About eight months after his second loss in UFC, Camacho closed out its four-fight deal with the promotion company by seeing action in UFC 228 in Dallas Texas. The Marianas bet was pitted against standup fighter Geoff Neal, who brought Camacho down with a solid headkick for the TKO win at the 1:23 mark of Round 2. Before bowing out, Camacho connected on 25 punches against Neal, who in return hit the former with 59 strikes.

After absorbing one of the worst losses in his fabled MMA career, Camacho fought back, trained with Team Oyama in California, and scored his own TKO (punches) on Hein to start the year and a new contract with UFC on a positive note. The recognition from MMA By The Numbers is an added boost to Camacho, who is looking to return to the cage late this year.

“It’s so cool to be a part of the list with these other UFC fighters like Max Holloway, Chris Cyborg, and other amazing fighters,” Camacho said.

“It’s so surreal to be number 5 on the list of all the UFC fighters in the world. A little island boy from the Marianas making history at the world stage—it’s so so humbling—so I urge people to keep working hard and keep chasing their dream and goals!”

Arizona’s Justin Ray Gaethje leads the elite list with his average of 8.50 and is followed by Leslie Smith (7.56), Shane Burgos (7.06), Holloway (6.90), Camacho, Cyborg (6.76), Jessica Andrade (6.55), Cain Velasquez (6.48), Jared Gordon (6.29), and Alex Volkov (6.28).