The Ultimate Fighting Championship will once again turn to the bursting-at-the-seams approach when it headlines UFC 266 with two title bouts on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Alexander Volkanovski defends his undisputed featherweight crown against Brian Ortega in the main event, while Valentina Shevchenko puts her women’s flyweight belt on the line against Lauren Murphy in the co-feature.
As UFC 266 “Volkanovski vs. Ortega” approaches, a look at some of the numbers the 26 competitors on the card have generated to this point:
419: Total strikes by which Volkanovski has outlanded his eight UFC opponents. He has connected 914 times while absorbing only 495 blows in return.
300,000: Dollars in post-fight bonuses collected by Ortega across his nine appearances inside the Octagon. He has been awarded “Fight of the Night” on four occasions and “Performance of the Night” twice.
7: Shevchenko wins by submission, accounting for 33% of her career total (21). Her methods of choice: four rear-naked chokes, two armbars and one Ezekiel choke. Shevchenko owns seven other wins by knockout or technical knockout and seven more by decision.
6: Bantamweight titleholders, including Murphy, in Invicta Fighting Championships history. Tonya Evinger, Yana Kunitskaya, Sarah Kaufman, Julija Stoliarenko and Taneisha Tennant are the others. Murphy held the title from Dec. 7, 2013 to July 3, 2014.
20: Robbie Lawler victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 71% of his career total (28). His list of UFC victims: Rory MacDonald, Jake Ellenberger, Bobby Voelker, Josh Koscheck, Tiki Ghosn and Steve Berger. Lawler owns one other victory by submission—he put away Jeremy Brown with an armbar under the King of the Cage banner in 2005—and seven more by decision. Lawler tackles Nick Diaz in a long-awaited middleweight rematch more than 17 years after being knocked out by the former Strikeforce champion.
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2,429: Days since Diaz last competed as a professional mixed martial artist. The longtime Cesar Gracie disciple has not fought since he lost a unanimous decision to Anderson Silva in the UFC 183 main event on Jan. 31, 2015. The result was later overturned to a no contest after both men failed post-fight drug screens, Silva for two different anabolic steroids and Diaz for marijuana.
8: Active fighters on the UFC roster, including Curtis Blaydes (59), who have completed at least 50 takedowns inside the Octagon. Frankie Edgar (70), Clay Guida (70), Colby Covington (61), Merab Dvalishvili (59), Rafael dos Anjos (55), Neil Magny (52) and Darren Elkins (51) are the others. Blaydes faces Jairzinho Rozenstruik in a pivotal heavyweight feature.
3: Sub-minute finishes on the Rozenstruik resume. He dismissed Robert McCarthy with punches in 10 seconds at a Team Yvel show on Dec. 27, 2018, wiped out Allen Crowder with punches in nine seconds at UFC Fight Night 154 on June 22, 2019 and punched out Andrei Arlovski in 29 seconds at UFC 244 on Nov. 2, 2019.
4: UFC appearances in which Jessica Andrade has landed at least 100 significant strikes. The Parana Vale Tudo star connected with 206 of them in a unanimous decision over Rosi Sexton at UFC Fight Night 30 in October 2013, 117 of them in a second-round technical knockout of Jessica Penne at UFC 199 in June 2016, 131 of them in a unanimous decision over Angela Hill at UFC Fight Night 104 in February 2017 and 141 of them in a unanimous decision over Claudia Gadelha at UFC Fight Night 117 in September 2017. Andrade takes on Cynthia Calvillo in a three-round women’s flyweight showcase.
1: Draw on the Calvillo ledger. The American Kickboxing Academy rep fought to a 15-minute stalemate with Marina Rodriguez at UFC on ESPN 7 in 2019.
40: Years of age for Shamil Abdurakhimov. The oldest fighter on the card, he was born in Makhachkala, Russia, on Sept. 2, 1981. Abdurakhimov confronts onetime Cage Fury Fighting Championships headliner Chris Daukaus in a preliminary heavyweight battle.
23: Years of age for Nick Maximov. The youngest fighter on the card, he was born on Dec. 23, 1997 in Bend, Oregon. Maximov draws fellow Dana White’s Contender Series alum Cody Brundage in a three-round undercard pairing at 185 pounds.
.763: Cumulative winning percentage between the 26 fighters booked to compete at the event. They boast a combined record of 387-117-3. Lawler holds the most wins (28) of anyone on the card, while Roxanne Modafferi has been saddled with the most losses (18). Modafferi tests her mettle against the once-beaten Taila Santos in a three-round women’s flyweight prelim.