The ordering process for Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-views has changed: UFC 247 is only available on ESPN+ in the U.S.
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TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC FIGHTS: 5504
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 508
The Ultimate Fighting Championship stormed into Houston for the first time since 2017 with a card topped by two title fights including dominant champs that came out on top. UFC 247 featured a record broken that was considered nigh-unbreakable, a rare decision for a heavyweight slugger and a rough night for a promising fight camp.
See You In A Few Years, Texas: Four bouts were split on the scorecards, tying 11 other events for the third-most on a single UFC card. Two events featured five: UFC Fight Night 79 and UFC 222.
Jones Things: By beating Dominick Reyes on the scorecards, Jon Jones set or extended his own records in the light heavyweight division: wins (20), title wins (14), title defenses (11), significant strikes landed (1,463), total strikes landed (1,835) and total fight time (5:40:15).
A Champion's Champion: Winning his 14th championship bout, Jones surpassed Georges St. Pierre (13) for the most in UFC history. No other fighter on the active roster has more than 11 (Anderson Silva).
The 49-46 Was Unconscionable: Jones has not lost a fight since December 2009, when he was disqualified against Matt Hamill. Since then, he has ridden an 18-fight unbeaten streak, including a no-contest against Daniel Cormier in 2017. This is the longest such streak in UFC history.
Jonesing For A Finish: Jones needed five full rounds to beat Reyes, tying St. Pierre for the most 25-minute victories in the history of the company. Both have seven wins by unanimous decision with an additional lone split verdict triumph.
My Kingdom For A Three-Rounder: “Bones” has currently engaged in 15 consecutive bouts scheduled for five rounds. The last three-round affair he appeared in was against Ryan Bader at UFC 126 in February 2011. Only seven other fighters on the UFC 247 card had made their pro debuts at that time.
Powered By Halle Berry: Valentina Shevchenko picked up her fifth win in five appearances at the women's flyweight division by finishing Katlyn Chookagian. In doing so, she now posts the most victories in the short history of the division, breaking a tie with opponents Chookagian and Jessica Eye, as well as Gillian Robertson and Joanne Calderwood.
Shevchampo: Shevchenko notched her fourth title victory, and only trails Amanda Nunes (seven), Ronda Rousey (six) and Joanna Jedrzejczyk (six) among all female UFC fighters.
Knock Out Or… Justin Tafa made short work of Juan Adams via punches, earning the first-round stoppage. All five of his fights, win or lose, have ended by knockout within two rounds.
The Heaviest Of Heavyweight: Tafa and Adams weighed in at a combined 531.5 pounds when they faced one another, with Tafa hitting 265.5 pounds compared to Adams at 266. With heavyweight sporting a maximum of 532 pounds including a one-pound allowance, this bout is among the heaviest in modern UFC history. Of note, both Adams and Greg Hardy reached that 532-pound cap in July 2019.
Lewis Needs A Vacation: Needing 15 minutes to beat Ilir Latifi, Derrick Lewis earned only the fourth decision victory of his career. The remaining 19 wins have come by stoppage, and his finish rate was lowered to 83 percent. It is the second fight in a row he has gone to the scorecards -- a first for his 31-fight career.
Krause Is A Total G: Former lightweight and current welterweight James Krause stepped up on just over 24-hours' notice to face ex-light heavyweight Trevin Giles at 185 pounds. Giles' former opponent Antonio Arroyo fell out of the fight after making weight, and Krause dropped a close split decision.
Still Early In The Year: In the second-largest betting upset of the year so far and one of the larger ones in the last 12 months, +335 underdog Kalinn Williams made his short-notice debut by finishing -420 favorite Alex Morono in 27 seconds.
Super Mario: Mario Bautista leveled Miles Johns with a flying knee and follow-up punches in the second round of their 135-pound affair. The victory is just the second in bantamweight history to stem from a flying knee, with the first from Chris Beal against Patrick Williams at UFC 172 in 2014.
Rough Local Showing: Three Texas-based fighters competed at this event out of Fortis MMA -- Morono, Johns and Austin Lingo -- and all three lost.
Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC 247, Reyes (12 fights), Johns (10 fights) and Lingo (seven fights) had never been defeated; Chookagian (15 fights) and Domingo Pilarte (10 fights) had never been stopped and Mirsad Bektic had never dropped a bout by decision (15 fights).
Rocky 50: Rocky Goes To Mars: Latifi made his walk to the cage with his staple of "Gonna Fly Now" by Bill Conti from the Rocky soundtrack playing. This track is the first in recorded walkout music history to be heard 50 different times inside a promotion. Latifi lost, although the song still sports the most wins (29) of any in UFC history.
New Day, New Kanye: Andre Ewell was accompanied by "Highlights" by Kanye West before he faced Jonathan Martinez. Despite that West is the second-most frequently used walkout artist, Ewell is the first recorded fighter to be accompanied by this specific track. Ewell emerged victorious by contentious split decision.