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TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC FIGHTS: 5687
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 524
The Ultimate Fighting Championship put on a show on Yas Island with a Fight Night card buoyed by big championship rematch. UFC Fight Night 172 featured a staggering smorgasbord of submissions, a dubious distinction for a defeated duelist and charming champion who crushed a crafty challenger.
Break It Up: UFC Fight Night 172 snapped a promotion-long seven-event streak where every headliner went to decision. Deiveson Figueiredo needed less than five minutes to put away Joseph Benavidez.
More Than One Way To Sub A Cat: This event is the third in the UFC’s modern era to feature five different submission maneuvers performed throughout the evening. This first occurred at UFC Fight Night 17 in 2009, while six different moves were landed at UFC on Fuel 10 in 2013.
Leg Up On The Competition: UFC Fight Night 172 is also the second in promotional history to feature multiple leg-based submissions in a single night. This first happened at UFC 228 in 2018, when Aljamain Sterling and Zabit Magomedsharipov both modified kneebars called the “Suloev Stretch.”
Marquee Z’s: Putting Benavidez to sleep with a rear-naked choke in the first round, Figueiredo is the ninth fighter in promotional history to render an opponent unconscious in a main event bout. He is the first since Demian Maia slept Ben Askren with a rear-naked choke at UFC Fight Night 162 in 2019.
Sleep For Cash: Figueiredo earned a “Performance of the Night” bonus after his technical submission victory. Every single headliner that has forced a referee to intervene from a submission throughout organizational history has earned a post-fight bonus.
Figgy Pudding! : By finishing Benavidez, Figueiredo tied his fallen opponent for the second-most finishes of all fighters scheduled in UFC flyweight bouts. They both have six, with Demetrious Johnson holding the most (seven). It took Figueiredo eight victories to notch that many, compared to 15 for both Benavidez and Johnson.
Deus Da Guerra > Daico: Newly minted flyweight king Figueiredo now posts a stellar finish rate of 84 percent, with 16 stoppages all coming within two rounds.
It’s A Team Thing: Unsuccessful in his fourth attempt to win a UFC title, Benavidez ties former teammate Urijah Faber for the most championship defeats without ever taking home UFC gold.
You’re A Superstar: When she hit a kneebar on Luana Carolina, Ariane Lipski became the second female fighter to pull off a leglock submission. The first came one month prior, when Mackenzie Dern tapped Hannah Cifers with a kneebar.
At The Knee Bar: Her vicious kneebar clocking in at 88 seconds, Lipski performed the second-quickest submission in UFC women’s flyweight history. The first came at UFC Fight Night 156 in 2019, when Veronica Macedo armbarred Polyana Viana in 69 seconds.
The Bullet From “Freak On A Leash” : Askar Askarov remained unbeaten as a professional when he captured a decision over Alexandre Pantoja. After starting his career at 9-0 with nine finishes, since signing with the UFC, “Bullet” has gone the distance in each of his three bouts.
The Good Kind Of Roman: Smashing Khadis Ibragimov with a knee and follow-up punches, Roman Dolidze advanced his undefeated record to 7-0 with seven finishes. Dolidze has only fought out of the first round twice.
The KGD Will Wait For No One: Grant Dawson earned just the second decision win of his career when he outworked Nad Narimani. In victory, “KGD” lowered his career finish rate to 87 percent, while extending his win streak to seven.
La Fenomenal Posibilidad: In less than half a round, Joel Alvarez tapped Joseph Duffy with a guillotine choke. All 17 of the Spaniard’s career victories have come by stoppage, with 15 of those 17 by tapout.
He’ll Always Have That Win: With his first-round submission loss and on the heels of a three-fight skid, Duffy retired as a professional. In addition to racking up UFC wins over Reza Madadi and Mitch Clarke inside the Octagon, he holds the fastest finish over Conor McGregor, needing 38 seconds to secure an arm-triangle choke in 2010.
Princely Victory: Pulling off the first triangle choke in 2020 inside the Octagon, Amir Albazi lifted his career finish to 92 percent by submitting Malcolm Gordon. Seven of the 12 stoppage wins for “The Prince” have come in the opening round.
All Fives: Taking a decision over Davi Ramos, Arman Tsarukyan earned his 15th pro win. Across those wins in a career that began in 2015, Tsarukyan sports five wins by knockout, five more by submission and another five on the scorecards.
Hanging Losses On The Bois: Sergey Spivak handed the debuting Carlos Felipe his first career defeat by taking a majority decision in the card opener. “Boi” had previously beaten all eight of his opponents, while recording six first-round knockouts.
Open By Majority: Spivak is the third fighter in UFC history to start the night off by recording a majority decision win. LaVerne Clark took one over Koji Oishi at UFC 25 in 2000, while Aaron Rosa captured a majority verdict over Matt Lucas at UFC on Fox 1 in 2011.
A Majority In The Major Weight: “The Polar Bear” earned the first majority decision victory as a heavyweight since Alistair Overeem edged Fabricio Werdum at UFC 213 in 2017.
Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC Fight Night 172, Benavidez (34 fights) and Gordon (15 fights) had never been submitted, Carolina had never been finished (seven fights) and Ibragimov had never been knocked out (10 fights).
Not So Impossible Anymore: For his last two bouts, Figueiredo has walked out to the Mission Impossible Theme as performed by Adam Clayton & Larry Mullen from U2. The Brazilian has won both fights by stoppage.
Do Another Thing: Benavidez began his UFC career with 14 consecutive walkouts with “Stranglehold” by Ted Nugent, accompanied by a winning percentage of .857 after walking out to the song. Since facing Sergio Pettis in 2018, Benavidez changed to “Do Your Thing” by Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band. Across those six trips to the cage, Benavidez’ winning percentage has plummeted to .500.