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TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC FIGHTS: 6,394
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 586
The Ultimate Fighting Championship ended a lengthy stretch of fight weekends with a sluggish card that lasted about as long as it possibly could. In the 11-bout offering, just one match ended inside the distance, one that broke a chain of eight straight decisions. UFC Fight Night 198 featured a staggering quantity of takedowns at night’s end, an unbeaten contender passing the toughest test of his career and a new walkout tune straight from the hottest new TV show.
Work, Judges, Work: Ten of the 11 fights on the card ended up in the hands of the judges. This tally is one shy of the record set by UFC 263 in June.
Take Me Down to Takedown City: When the night ended, 46 takedowns succeeded over the course of the 11-fight card, with nine bouts seeing at least one fighter getting grounded once. UFC Fight Night 198 tied UFC Fight Night 24 in 2011 with the fifth most at a UFC event – the record stands with UFC 171, when 55 took place that 2014 evening.
A Pace That Could Kill: As only one fight ended by stoppage, and the headliner lasted all five rounds, the average fight time of this card clocked in at 14:59. Just three UFC events featured longer average bout times: UFC 223, UFC Fight Night 186 and UFC 33.
It Happened: Following her win over Miesha Tate, Ketlen Vieira has recorded exactly half of her career victories on the scorecards. The fight marked the first time that the Brazilian had ever fought out of the third round.
Brady-Like Victory: Taking a trio of 29-28 scores over Michael Chiesa, Sean Brady improved his spotless record to 15-0 as a pro. Brady did drop the third round on all three judges’ scorecards to officially lose the first unanimous round of his UFC tenure.
Emerging from the Astra Cocoon: For the first time in five years, Taila Santos finished an opponent. The Astra Fight Team product submitted Joanne Wood in the opening frame to notch the only stoppage on the card, and broke a five-bout decision streak in her own career.
Rani Rolls On: Claiming two rounds to Kyung Ho Kang’s one, Rani Yahya recorded the decision win and lowered his career finish rate to 75%. All of his stoppages have come by submission.
Houston Highlight Machine: Unable to secure a knockout, Yanez settled for a thrilling split decision victory over Davey Grant to take home “Fight of the Night” honors. Each of the Houston native’s four UFC outings have been accompanied by post-fight bonus money.
Dangerous Dollars: Even though he came out on the wrong end of a split decision, Grant still pocketed $50,000 for his part in the FOTN. Like his opponent, all four of the Brit’s last four appearances have resulted in bonus checks for the man nicknamed “Dangerous.”
He’s Lost That Loving Feeling: Falling short in a one-sided grappling affair to Pat Sabatini, Tucker Lutz snapped a win streak he had racked up since 2016. “Top Gun” lost his MMA debut in 2015 and went on to win 12 consecutive fights, including two appearances in Dana White's Contender Series and one in the Octagon.
A Loopy Level of Activity: Lupita Godinez fought on Oct. 9 against Silvana Gomez Juarez, recording a win. She came back on Oct. 16 against Luana Carolina and suffered a loss. On Nov. 20 at this event, she competed again under the UFC banner to beat Konklak Suphisara by decision. By the appearance alone, “Loopy” set the modern UFC record for the quickest turnaround between three fights, across 43 days.
Bad Post-Fight Form, Bro: Winning for the first time as a UFC fighter, Cody Durden snagged a decision over Qileng Aori. As he reduced his own finish rate to 83%, the prior eight wins for the Covington, Ga., representative had all come inside the distance.
Hard Luck Soriano: After 15 minutes, Nuerdanbieke Shayilan defeated Sean Soriano by judges’ decision. Soriano has now fought five times on the UFC roster, and he has yet to get his hand raised.
Got Her Pinned: Luana Pinheiro made her MMA debut in 2016 and won a unanimous decision over Thatiane Araujo. Following that, every one of the Brazilian’s victories came in the first round. Pinheiro needed the 15 full minutes to overcome Sam Hughes, snapping that stoppage win streak.
Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC Fight Night 198, neither Vieira (13 fights) nor Tate (26 fights) had ever fought a full 25 minutes, Chiesa (23 fights) and Lutz (13 fights) had never lost on the scorecards and Natan Levy had never been defeated (six fights).
Trying to Be a Front Man: Albeit in a losing effort, Kang made his walk to the cage accompanied by “Way Back Then” composed by Jung Jae-Il. This track is known as the theme song for the popular TV phenom “Squid Game,” and he is the first fighter in UFC history to select a song from this series.
Calling Ric Flair: In the first walkout of the night, Hughes walked out to the John Williams-conducted version of “Also Sprach Zarathustra,” which may be known best as the theme music for the film “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Although Hughes lost, she did become the first UFC fighter on record to pick this music.