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TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC FIGHTS: 5,960
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 549
The Ultimate Fighting Championship blew the doors off with a rare pay-per-view card without a belt on the line. Title be darned, the headliners delivered in spectacular fashion, sending shockwaves through the sport. Lightweights told the story of UFC 257, which featured a game-changing knockout, the emergence of a new star and an unusual alphabetical occurrence.
Draw of Draws: In the last five years, among the 61 pay-per-view cards, the promotion has only booked five main events without a belt on the line. Conor McGregor has headlined four of those five, with Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal for the fictional “BMF” “title” the other. While UFCs 225 and 234 did not have a winner take home a belt, they were both scheduled for championships on top.
Pettis Tapped: By putting away McGregor, Poirier earned his sixth knockout as a UFC lightweight, placing him one shy of the record held by Edson Barboza and Melvin Guillard (seven each). Despite the broadcast claiming Poirier has seven, his 2017 finish of Anthony Pettis was a tapout.
That New, Old Calf Kick: “The Diamond” recorded his 20th career stoppage when he knocked out McGregor, lifting his finish rate to 74 percent in victory.
Diamond Merchant: Picking up a “Performance of the Night” bonus for wrecking McGregor, Poirier has now earned seven post-fight bonuses in his last nine bouts. The two that did not get him bonus cash were a no-contest against Eddie Alvarez, and a submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The Last Laugh: Through a 12-year professional career during which he has notched 19 knockouts of his own, UFC 257 marked the first time McGregor had ever suffered a knockout or even an official knockdown. Poirier put him down with calf kicks and punches to record the finish in Round 2.
Straight Facts: McGregor last won a fight at lightweight when he topped Alvarez to become a two-division champ at UFC 205 in November 2016. At that time, 10 of the other 21 fighters that competed on UFC 257 had yet to join the roster.
Crossover Star: Chandler departed Bellator MMA with the record for the most fights in company history (23), and he sports one fewer win (18) than Bellator leader Patricio Freire. Before smashing Dan Hooker, he was far and away the most accomplished Bellator fighter to leave the promotion and join the UFC ranks, as the only man to notch at least 10 wins before crossing over.
Jojo With Mojo: Joanne Calderwood earned her fifth win as a flyweight, tying her with Lauren Murphy for the fourth-most in women’s 125-pound history. Katlyn Chookagian, Gillian Robertson and Valentina Shevchenko each hold the most, with six apiece.
The Evil Eight: Eye suffered her eighth defeat on the UFC roster, putting her in third place for the most losses among all women to step inside the Octagon. Angela Hill and Randa Markos sit atop the list with nine each.
Mach One: A whopping eighty percent of Makhmud Muradov’s wins have come by stoppage, following his flying knee knockout of Andrew Sanchez.
Like a Lumberjack Felling a Tree: With the finish coming in the third round, Sanchez has suffered three defeats in Round 3 throughout his UFC career. The only fighter with more is Mirko Filipovic, with four.
Hawaiian Avenger: Hawaii’s Brad Tavares picked up his 13th win on the roster, with all 13 coming at middleweight. The only two fighters with more are Anderson Silva (14) and Michael Bisping (16).
Sneaking Up on Bisping’s Cage Time Record: Eleven of Tavares’ 13 wins have come by decision after taking home a decision over Antonio Carlos Jr. This victory on the scorecards extends his lead for the most in divisional history, with only three fighters posting at least three: Yushin Okami and Krzysztof Jotko (eight each), and Bisping (nine).
McMuscle: Scoring three takedowns before her submission loss to Julianna Pena, Sara McMann extended her lead for the most takedowns landed in UFC women’s bantamweight history (23). At 135 pounds, Amanda Nunes trails her with 19.
Silver Medal in Wrestling, White Belt in BJJ: The loss to Pena marked the fourth time McMann has surrendered by submission. More women have tapped her out than any other female fighter in company history.
How Upsetting: Marcin Prachnio (+335) sprang a significant upset by beating the heavily favored -420 Khalil Rountree via unanimous decision. If stacked up against 2020 UFC results, the upset would have sat in the top five of all to take place last year.
Instant Contender, Just Add Power: Movsar Evloev is now perfect as a pro after 14 bouts, after taking a split decision over Nik Lentz. Half of Evloev’s wins, including all four in the UFC so far, have gone to the scorecards.
Packing Up the Carnival: After his loss to Evloev, Lentz hung up his gloves. “The Carny” underwent eye surgery following a bad eye poke in 2020. In his 45-fight career, Lentz won 30 times, with victories over Gray Maynard, Will Brooks, Danny Castillo and Tyson Griffin, to name a few.
A Princely Win: Needing the full 15 minutes to defeat Zhalgas Zhumagulov, Amir Albazi lowered his finish rate to 86 percent in his triumphant card-opening bout.
Alphabet Wars: Albazi vs. Zhumagulov marked the first time a fighter with the initials A.A. ever faced off against an opponent whose initials spelled Z.Z. in the Octagon.
Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC 257, Hooker had never lost in the first round (29 fights), Sanchez (17 fights) and McMann (17 fights) had never competed outside of North America (17 fights) and Matt Frevola had never lost on the scorecards (10 fights).
Hall of Fame Run for The Boss: The last seven matches for Poirier have seen him walk out to “The Boss” by James Brown each time. In that span, Poirier has won six, overcoming names like McGregor, Max Holloway, Alvarez, Justin Gaethje, Hooker and Pettis along the way.
Come On! Sanchez is the second recorded UFC fighter to walk out to “The Final Countdown” by Europe, joining Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos. The track maintains a positive record of 7-2 through UFC walkout music history.
Your Translation May Vary: Both Zhumagulov and teammate Sergey Morozov walked out to the same track this week, selecting a song translated as “I am the Son of Kazakh” by a group named The Board. Both lost their fights.