Fight Facts: UFC 2020, a Year in Review

Heavier Duty

What Competitive Advantage? Thirty-two bouts this year featured one fighter that missed weight, and the heavier fighter won just ten of those (31.3 percent) – this is even lower than last year’s rate for winners that missed weight at 34.6 percent.

Opportunity Squandered: Figueiredo is one of a small group of fighters to miss weight for title fights, along with names like Joe Riggs, Travis Lutter, Yoel Romero and Anthony Pettis. Figueiredo knocked out Benavidez but was unable to take home the belt.

Turkey Move: Abdul Razak Alhassan had the unfortunate distinction of missing weight twice in 2020. Not only did he forfeit percentages of his purses to his opponents, but he also missed out on a “Fight of the Night” bonus when he faced Mounir Lazzez.

Bring in the Hoop: Four fighters this year came in weighing five pounds more than their opponent on the scales: Austin Springer, Vanessa Melo, Zubaira Tukhugov and Cole Williams. All four lost.

No Short-Notice Exemption: The most egregious failure on the scales, when pertaining to fights that were cleared to continue, rests with Springer. The featherweight took the fight on less than two days’ notice and came in five pounds above the 146-pound cap. He lost to Alex Caceres by submission.

Don’t Catchweight Fights Have Less Meaning? Throughout the year, 13 bouts were intentionally booked as non-standard catchweight contests. This total is far greater than any previous year – in comparison, there was a single planned catchweight match in 2019, when Casey Kenney fought Manny Bermudez at 140 pounds.

You’ve Broken My Camera: Not counting the 10 previously arranged catchweight bouts, 28 men weighed in heavy while still being allowed to compete the following day. This weigh-in failure rate of 3.77 percent is over double that of 2019, and perhaps more significant, is a higher weight miss rate than female fighters.

Noticeable Improvement: Only four of the 150 women to hit the scales and still compete that weekend missed weight. This 2.67 percentage of heavy women is far lower than previous years.

* * *

Dance Commander

Can’t Stop? Maybe You Should: There was no more frequently used walkout song in the UFC in 2020 than “Can’t Stop” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Five different fighters selected the track, while Marcin Tybura used it four times. Tybura was the only one to win after it played, as “Can’t Stop” posted a record of 1-4 when the year ended.

Two Fight Classics: “Gonna Fly Now” by Bill Conti and “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC tied for the second-most often heard walkout track this year with five uses each. “Gonna Fly Now” concluded 2020 with a 1-4 record, while “Thunderstruck” performed slightly better at 2-3.

Funny How Time Flies: 50 Cent won out 2020 as the most utilized walkout artist, with 11 tracks spanning 17 plays throughout the year. Fighters walking out to 50 Cent just barely fell below .500, with a record of 8-9 over the last 12 months.

Victory is a Good Word: Three tracks tied as the winningest in the Octagon in 2020: “Can’t Stop,” “All In” by Lil Baby and “Victory” by Puff Daddy featuring Notorious B.I.G and Busta Rhymes. Both “All In” and “Victory” went 4-0 this year.

When You Kill, You Pay for It: A pair of aforementioned tracks tied for the most losses of any single tune inside the Octagon. Both “Can’t Stop” and “Gonna Fly Now” amassed four defeats throughout the year.

Stick to Nirvana Covers: Four fighters picked five songs featuring Post Malone throughout the year, and none of the five fights ended by victory for those involved. Rhys McKee went with “Congratulations,” Lando Vannata picked “On the Road,” Kay Hansen opted for “Wolves” by Big Sean featuring Post Malone, and McKee circled back in his second bout with “Over Now.” All four lost, while Niko Price also used “Wolves” and fought to a draw that was later overturned to a no contest.

Sweet Losses Are Made of This: Kevin Aguilar walked out to “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” by Marilyn Manson twice this year, while Cameron Else went with “Killing Strangers” also by Manson. This 0-3 stretch for the venerable shock rocker is the worst among artists that had more than one fighter pick their songs and all lose out.

Not Ladies’ Night: Both Cifers and Markos selected one particular song three times in their respective runs throughout this year. Cifers, who fought four times in 2020, used “Your Love Oh Lord” by Third Day on three occasions and lost all three. Markos competed three times, and dropped three while using “Quiet Storm (Remix) by Mobb Deep featuring Lil Kim.

On a Longboard with Some Cranberry Juice: Fleetwood Mac made an appearance for the second time as a walkout artist in 2020, when Alexander Hernandez selected “Dreams” and knocked out Chris Gruetzemacher at UFC Fight Night 181. The first on record came from Chase Sherman at UFC on Fox 25 in 2017, when he repped “The Chain” and also prevailed.

Yeah Yeah Yeah: Jessica Andrade is the first fighter in company history to pick Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing.” As the fourth fighter to select any Elton John song, she was unsuccessful, dropping a decision to Rosa Namajunas at UFC 251.

O-H: Walking out to face Carlos Condit at UFC on ESPN 16, Court McGee elected to use “Ohio” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. This marked the first use of any song by CSN or CSNY in UFC history.

The Sound of Silence: For the first time in recorded walkout music history, a fighter intentionally decided to not choose a song. Darren Till abandoned his song option for complete silence before facing Robert Whittaker at UFC on ESPN 14. This unusual choice was replicated two months later by Mirsad Bektic at UFC Fight Night 178; both Bektic and Till suffered defeats.