By The Numbers: UFC on ESPN 48

Sean Strickland opted for a short night at the office this time around.

Strickland survived an early push from Abusupiyan Magomedov, then broke his opponent down for a second-round technical knockout victory in the UFC on ESPN 48 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. After losing back-to-back fights against Alex Pereira and Jared Cannonier to close out last year, “Tarzan” has won his first two appearances of 2023.

Here is a by-the-numbers look at UFC on ESPN 48, with statistics courtesy of UFCStats.com.

70: Significant strikes landed by Strickland during an overwhelming Round 2, when he finished the fight with a flurry of ground-and-pound at the 4:20 mark of the period. By comparison, a visibly gassed Magomedov landed just 15 significant strikes in the frame. All of Strickland’s significant strikes were landed to the head.

32: Significant strikes landed by Magomedov in Round 1. Strickland, meanwhile, landed 11 significant strikes in the opening five minutes. Magomedov’s first round included 10 significant strikes to the head, 13 to the body and nine to the legs.

5: Main event appearances for Strickland since July 2021. “Tarzan” is 4-1 in those bouts, with victories over Magomedov, Nassourdine Imavov, Jack Hermansson and Uriah Hall — with a split-decision loss to Jared Cannonier. Saturday night marked the first time a Strickland-headlined bout ended inside the distance.

1: Knockdown landed by Strickland. It was his first knockdown in UFC competition since November 14, 2020. That, coincidentally, was also Strickland’s most recent finish, a second-round stoppage of Brendan Allen at UFC Fight Night 182.

12:24: Total control time for Grant Dawson in a lopsided unanimous decision triumph against Damir Ismagulov in the lightweight co-main event. That is the most control time in the Octagon for a fighter in UFC competition thus far in 2023.

3: Takedowns landed in five attempts by Dawson. He has taken down all nine of his UFC opponents at least once, with a career high of seven landed in a third-round submission of Jared Gordon at UFC on ESPN 35 in April 2022.

84: Total strikes landed by Dawson. Ismagulov landed just 35. Dawson also held a 30-to-13 edge in significant strikes.

72: Significant strikes landed by welterweight prospect Michael Morales in a three-round verdict over Max Griffin. By comparison, Griffin landed 36. Morales outlanded his foe 15 to 11 in Round 1, 31 to 15 in Round 2 and 26 to 10 in Round three while successfully defending all eight of Griffin’s eight takedown attempts.

3: Consecutive finishes in UFC competition for Benoit St. Denis, who tapped out Ismael Bonfim in the opening round of their lightweight clash on Saturday night. It’s a remarkable turnaround for the Frenchman, who debuted in the Octagon with a lopsided unanimous decision loss to Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos where he was outlanded by a 149-to-67 margin in significant strikes.

33: Finishes among 35 professional wins for promotional newcomer Nursulton Ruziboev, who handed Brunno Ferreira his first career defeat in the form of a 77-second knockout in a featured middleweight affair.

20: Straight wins for Rinat Fakhretdinov, who choked the returning Kevin Lee unconscious just 55 seconds into their preliminary welterweight showdown. Fakhretdinov is 3-0 in UFC competition, and in those bouts, he has two knockdowns, 12 takedowns and a 97-to-24 advantage in significant strikes landed.

14: Significant ground strikes — out of 22 landed overall — for Joanderson Brito in a first-round technical knockout win over short-notice foe Westin Wilson at featherweight. Wilson landed just four significant strikes (none on the ground) before being rendered unconscious at the 2:54 mark of Round 1.

12: Consecutive Wilson fights — nine wins, three losses — that have ended inside a round. This streak dates back to Aug. 1, 2020.

95: Significant strikes landed by Yana Santos in a split-decision defeat to Karol Rosa at featherweight. By comparison, Rosa landed 66. However, the Brazilian did hold a 38-to-20 advantage in significant head strikes. Santos, meanwhile, outlanded her foe 42 to 18 in significant body strikes and 33 to 10 in significant leg strikes.

20: Significant strike deficit (65 to 85) for Elvis Brener in a come-from-behind third-round TKO win over Guram Kutateladze at lightweight. Brener was outlanded by a 63-to-36 count in Rounds 1 and 2 combined before holding a 29-to-22 edge over his opponent in Round 3, when he finished the fight at the 3:17 mark.

85: Significant strikes landed by Alexander Romanov in a unanimous decision triumph over Blagoy Ivanov in a preliminary heavyweight scrap. This notably included a 74-to-44 advantage at distance for “King Kong.” Romanov landed 85 of 154 attempts, a 55% success rate, while Ivanov went 44 for 108 — a 40% clip.