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TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC FIGHTS: 6,051
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 557
The Ultimate Fighting Championship made it to the finish line with a barnburner of a card that delivered in spades. Thrilling knockouts, dazzling performances and wild results made UFC 260 one for the record books. This event featured an amazing African accolade, a dubious D’Arce distinction and a modicum of monetary monuments.
Afrika Bambaataa: The UFC now has three champions from the continent of Africa after Francis Ngannou leveled Stipe Miocic in the second round. Ngannou joins Kamaru Usman and Israel Adesanya as the only African-born fighters to hold UFC gold. There are currently more champs in the UFC from Africa than any other continent.
And Not the Last: Ngannou’s knockout was his 10th with the promotion. This ties him with past knockout victims Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez for the second-most in UFC divisional history. Derrick Lewis stands above with 12.
Check Out the Chin on Stipe: Although it was Ngannou’s 10th knockout as a UFC heavyweight, it was the first time he needed to score two knockdowns to secure it. Both Velasquez and dos Santos needed multiple knockdowns to notch knockouts more than once in the past.
Old Dog, New Deadly Tricks: For the first time in his 13-fight UFC tenure, Ngannou scored a takedown. He had only attempted one in the past, and it was against Miocic in 2018.
Revolving Gold: Now the champion at heavyweight, Ngannou is the 17th man to hold this distinction throughout promotional history. There have been more champs in that division than any other by a wide margin – light heavyweight, which opened ten months after heavyweight, has seen just 13 carry the 205-pound strap.
Bricks for Fists: Across his 16 career wins, Ngannou has still never needed to involve the judges. Three-quarters of his victories have come by knockout, including each of his last seven.
Vive la France: Each of the last three victories, and four of five, have seen the French-Cameroonian fighter take home “Performance of the Night” honors for a knockout.
Stale Matchmaking: In his last five bouts, Miocic has faced two opponents in that span: Ngannou and Daniel Cormier. He is the first fighter in UFC history to engage in five consecutive matches and meet just two different foes.
Keeping Up with the Matts: During a breakneck opening stanza, Vicente Luque choked out Tyron Woodley. The finish for Luque was his 12th as a welterweight on the UFC roster, tying him with Matt Hughes for the second-most in company history. Matt Brown holds the most, with 13.
Why Not Tony vs. Vicente at 165: Luque’s brabo choke – also known as a D’Arce choke named after Joe D'Arce – was his third inside the Octagon. In doing so, he tied Tony Ferguson for the most victories using this maneuver in UFC history.
Bang for His Buque: For the fifth time in seven fights, Luque earned post-fight bonus money from his bout. It was his fourth “Fight of the Night” award in that span.
Checking the Competition: The post-fight bonus check was Luque’s seventh overall, tying him with Carlos Condit, Erick Silva and Stephen Thompson for the second-most in UFC welterweight history. Chris Lytle is the only man to take home more, as “Lights Out” snared 10 post-bonuses in his 170-pound UFC career.
Silent, But Deadly: As a pro, “The Silent Assassin” has recorded finishes in 18 of his 20 career wins. He advanced his stoppage rate to 90 percent by tapping Woodley, while earning his 12th victory in the opening frame.
Live by the D’Arce, Die by the D’Arce: With his submission loss coming from a brabo choke, Woodley is now the second fighter in organizational history to both win and lose with this move, joining Dustin Poirier. Woodley previously submitted Darren Till with one at UFC 228 in 2018.
Sugar Rush: Torching Thomas Almeida late in the third round, Sean O'Malley took home a POTN bonus for his victory. Each of the last four triumphs for “Sugar” has been accompanied by a $50,000 check.
Red Pulls Ahead: Though she lost to Miranda Maverick by decision, Gillian Robertson competed for the 10th time as a UFC flyweight. She now holds the record for most appearances in the division’s short history, breaking a tie with Katlyn Chookagian and Roxanne Modafferi.
The Key is Punching: In 46 seconds, Jamie Mullarkey put Khama Worthy away with punches. The Aussie’s finish rate advances to 92 percent with his win, and he has finished his foes in each of his last 11 victories.
Zon Flue: Pulling off the Von Flue choke on Fabio Cherant in just over a minute, Alonzo Menifield became the fourth fighter in UFC history to land this maneuver. Jason Von Flue was the first, followed by Ovince St. Preux multiple times and Jordan Rinaldi.
General Atomics: By tapping out Cherant, Menifield retained his 100 percent career finish rate. It was just his second by submission, as “Atomic” previously landed a rear-naked choke on Brice Ritani-Coe at LFA 33 in 2018.
Texas Two Step: Each of the Texan’s 10 stoppage wins have come in the opening two rounds. Menifield has never needed more than 5:32 to dispatch a foe, with both of his career setbacks coming after the 32-second mark of Round 2.
Refilling His Power Bar: With four seconds left on the clock, Marc-Andre Barriault registered a technical knockout of Abu Azaitar to officially earn his first win after five UFC bouts. Across all UFC three-round middleweight bouts, it is the second latest, trailing only Garreth McLellan’s stoppage at 4:58 of Bubba Bush at UFC Fight Night 76 in 2015.
Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC 260, Woodley (26 fights) and Cherant (eight fights) had never been submitted, Azaitar had never been stopped with strikes (17 fights, one doctor stoppage) and Modestas Bukauskas had never lost on the scorecards (14 fights).
Last-Minute Audio Audible: Shortly before the event, Ngannou changed his walkout song choice from new selection “Started From The Bottom” by Drake to one of his past picks, “God’s Plan” by the same Canadian rapper. The swap served him well, as he prevailed in the rematch.
Same Bat Song, Same Bat Channel: All 16 of Luque’s UFC bouts have been accompanied by the music of “Baby Baby” by Tropkillaz. The song now posts a stellar winning percentage of .813 inside the Octagon.