Fight Facts: UFC on ESPN 20
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Fight Facts is a breakdown of all of the interesting information and Octagon oddities on every card, with some puns, references and portmanteaus to keep things fun. These deep stat dives delve into the numbers, providing historical context and telling the stories behind those numbers.
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TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC FIGHTS: 5,949
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 548
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship rolled on with a mid-week ESPN
offering that stretched on for much of the day due to the quantity
of bouts on the ledger. A rarity for the sheer number of matches
that took place, UFC on ESPN 20 brought famous names and young
up-and-comers showing off their craft. The event featured a rare
back-to-back arm-triangle duo, a body kick bouquet and a new
contender emerging at 170 pounds.
Spread It Out: Fourteen fights went down at UFC on ESPN 20, putting this event in a tie with four other fight cards for the third-most in company history. UFC 2 and UFC on ESPN 14 each saw the most, with 15 bouts on their respective nights.
Head and Arm Spectacle: For the first time since UFC on Fox 15 in 2015, two consecutive bouts ended by arm-triangle choke. Ricky Simon and Omari Akhmedov tapped out Gaetano Pirrello and Tom Breese, respectively.
Tower: Buzzed: Since moving to welterweight, Michael Chiesa has yet to lose, winning four including his last three by decision. In his win over Neil Magny, Chiesa notched four takedowns, and each of his 170-pound matches have seen him land at least that many. In his past 11 UFC bouts, Chiesa only reached four one time, against Mitch Clarke in 2015.
Ballet of Body Kicks: While many body kick stoppages have come throughout UFC history, Warlley Alves is the first to officially record one with multiple strikes in rapid succession to force the stoppage over Mounir Lazzez.
I Like Ike: Houston native Isaac Villanueva notched his first UFC win by knocking out Vinicius Moreira in the second round. “Hurricane Ike” has now scored 83 percent of his career wins by knockout, and this was his first outside the first round.
Pink Slipped on a Banana Peel: Although he suffered his fourth consecutive loss, Moreira has still yet to go the distance in his 14-fight career. It marked just the fourth time he had ever gone beyond the first round, and his first loss outside of the opening frame.
Sorry Rox: Roxanne Modafferi’s loss to Viviane Araujo marked the 14th time she has been defeated on the scorecards. She holds more losses this way than any other fighter on the card has in total losses.
Pendulum Swinging: Since her return to the promotion in 2017 at the end of Season 26 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Modafferi has alternated wins and losses. She is currently on a nine-fight stretch of winning one and then losing the next, tying Randa Markos for the lengthiest alternating span of bouts of any female UFC fighter.
Miracle by Any Means Necessary: Lerone Murphy advanced his unbeaten record to 10-0-1 by taking a decision over Douglas Silva de Andrade. “The Miracle” has gone the distance in four of his last six since starting his career with four knockouts in five wins.
Good Day for Dagestan: Akhmedov snapped a seven-fight stretch of bouts going to the scorecards when he tapped out Breese. It was his first finish not from injury since 2013, when he knocked out Thiago de Oliveira Perpetuo at UFC Fight Night 32.
The Money Helps Dry the Tears: Former two-division Cage Warriors Fighting Championship champ Mason Jones suffered his first career loss when he dropped a decision to Mike Davis. The lightweight did pick up $50,000 for a “Fight of the Night” bonus at the end of the night.
Nurmagomedov Things: Staying perfect by putting fellow newcomer Sergey Morozov to sleep with a rear-naked choke, Umar Nurmagomedov is now an unbeaten 13-0 as a pro.
All in the Family: Nurmagomedov is the fourth of his family name to compete the UFC roster, along with Khabib Nurmagomedov, Said Nurmagomedov and Abubakar Nurmagomedov. Combined, they sport a spectacular record of 17-2 with 10 stoppage victories between them all.
Fiery Frenchwoman: Since dropping her pro debut to Bellator MMA contender Leah McCourt in 2018, Manon Fiorot has not lost. Knocking out Victoria Leonardo in her UFC debut, the strike from France has scored knockouts in five of six wins.
Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC on ESPN 20, Lazzez had never been finished (11 fights), Breese had never been submitted (14 fights) and Jerome Rivera had never lost by decision (13 fights).
The Nuuuuge: As he has for his entire UFC career, Chiesa walked out to “Stranglehold” by Ted Nugent. After winning a decision over Magny, Chiesa advanced the song’s winning percentage to .700, for the highest winning percentage of any track with at least 20 recorded uses.
Laughin’ Straight to the Bank with This: Even though 50 Cent is one of the most widely used walkout artists in company history, Francisco Figueiredo made his debut accompanied by “Straight to the Bank” – a first in the UFC. The Brazilian topped Rivera on the scorecards to earn only his second decision win across 12 victories.
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