The fate of the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight crown will hang in the balance when Kamaru Usman defends his undisputed title against Leon Edwards in the UFC 278 main event on Saturday at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City. Meanwhile, former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold returns to the Octagon for the first time in more than three years to face Paulo Costa in the three-round co-headliner at 185 pounds.
52: Rounds completed by Usman as a professional mixed martial artist. He has gone the distance on 10 different occasions and carries a perfect 10-0 record in those bouts.
8: Seconds needed for Edwards to punch out “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 11 quarterfinalist Seth Baczynski at UFC Fight Night 64 on April 11, 2015. More than seven years later, it still ranks as the third-fastest finish in the history of the welterweight division.
10: Consecutive calendar years in which Costa has fought at least once. The former Jungle Fight champion went 1-0 in 2012, 2-0 in 2013, 1-0 in 2014, 2-0 in 2015, 2-0 in 2016, 3-0 in 2017, 1-0 in 2018, 1-0 in 2019, 0-1 in 2020 and 0-1 in 2021.
.710: Cumulative winning percentage between the six opponents—David Branch, Chris Weidman, Lyoto Machida, Michael Bisping, Tim Boetsch and Costas Philippou—Rockhold has beaten since he joined the UFC roster in 2014. They boast a combined record of 127-52.
17: Jose Aldo wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 55% of his career total (31). His list of UFC victims: Renato Carneiro, Jeremy Stephens, Chan Sung Jung and Chad Mendes. Aldo confronts Merab Dvalishvili in a three-round bantamweight showcase.
1,582: Days since Dvalishvili last experienced a setback. Seven straight victories have followed the Serra-Longo Fight Team standout’s technical submission loss to Ricky Simon at UFC Fight Night 128 in April 2018.
6: Countries in which Lucie Pudilova has plied her mixed martial arts trade. She has gone 9-2 in her native Czech Republic, 1-3 in the United States, 2-0 in Finland, 1-0 in Singapore, 0-1 in England and 0-1 in Sweden. Pudilova toes the line against Yanan Wu in a three-round women’s bantamweight feature.
30: Significant strikes by which Wu outlanded Mizuki Inoue in a contentious split decision defeat to the Japanese karateka at UFC Fight Night 157 in 2019. She connected with 123 such strikes—a high-water mark for the Tiger Muay Thai export.
5: Tyson Pedro wins by submission, accounting for 63% of his career total (eight). His methods of choice: three rear-naked chokes, one guillotine choke and one kimura. Pedro battles Harry Hunsucker in a three-round light heavyweight attraction.
3: Sub-minute stoppages on the Hunsucker resume. He submitted Kevin Powers with a rear-naked choke in 44 seconds at a Warrior Fighting Championship show on Nov. 21, 2015, put away Billy Swanson with punches in 50 seconds under the Valor Fighting Challenge banner on Jan. 19, 2019 and brought down Cory Moon with punches in 45 seconds at a Hardrock MMA event on Feb. 27, 2021.
42: Years of age for Leonardo Santos. The oldest fighter on the card, he was born on Feb. 5, 1980 in Rio de Janeiro. Santos meets Jared Gordon in a three-round lightweight prelim.
25: Years of age for welterweight A.J. Fletcher. The youngest fighter on the bill, he was born on Feb. 18, 1997 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Fletcher takes on Ange Loosa as part of the seven-bout undercard.
350: Combined victories between the 24 fighters booked to compete at the show. Aldo owns the most wins (31) of anyone on the card while Qileng Aori has been saddled with the most losses (nine). Aori draws Syndicate MMA’s Jay Perrin in a three-round bantamweight prelim.