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TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC FIGHTS: 6,158
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 566
The Ultimate Fighting Championship staged a pay-per-view anchored by a pair of championship rematches, but the results were less than spectacular. A pair of nigh unbreakable records were surpassed as the night dragged on. UFC 263 featured the most decisions in company history, the most amount of cage time at a single event and the very first champion from a region the organization has courted since its inception.
16,684 Words: When the dust settled, UFC 263 ended with a whopping 11 judges’ decisions. This set the new record for the highest total at any single event, breaking the record held by seven events, most recently occurring in 2019 at UFC on ESPN 4.
Grueling Doesn’t Begin to Cover It: Along with the decision record, this event put on display the most in-cage fight time of any UFC card with 3:19:32. It destroyed the previous record by 12 minutes and five seconds from UFC 251.
A Young Anderson Silva: The light heavyweight loss to Jan Blachowicz notwithstanding, Israel Adesanya won for the 10th time as a UFC middleweight by defending his title against Marvin Vettori by decision. The only fighter with a lengthier win streak in his division was Anderson Silva, who won 13 fights in a row at his weight class at his peak.
Did He Pass Weidman on the All-Time Great List? Adesanya tied Chris Weidman for the most consecutive title defenses in UFC middleweight history by overtaking Vettori for the second time. Silva still stands far above with 10.
Viva Mexico: Brandon Moreno tapped Deiveson Figueiredo to become the first Mexican-born champion in UFC history. Although multiple fighters of Mexican heritage had held the belt, none were birthed in the United Mexican States.
Embrace the New King: Before Moreno, only three men had ever held the UFC flyweight crown: Demetrious Johnson, Henry Cejudo and Figueiredo.
Live by the RNC: Figueiredo is now the third fighter in UFC history to both win and lose title fights with rear-naked chokes – Matt Hughes and Miesha Tate the others. “Daico” first claimed the throne by putting Joseph Benavidez to sleep with one in 2020.
For No Reason Whatsoever: For the first time in promotional history, the UFC staged a non-title, non-headlining five-round bout. Leon Edwards met Nate Diaz, and Edwards won the match by decision.
Give Edwards the Title Shot: Surviving a final assault to take a decision over Diaz, Edwards placed himself on a 10-fight unbeaten streak with the win. The lone blemish in that span came in March, due to an eye poke stoppage against Belal Muhammad.
Remember the Judges: Capturing a decision over Demian Maia, Muhammad earned his 14th career win on judges’ tallies. With three-quarters of his wins coming in this fashion, eight of the last nine times “Remember the Name” has gotten his hand raised have been by three-round decision.
Change It Up: In his last eight fights dating back to his title challenge of Tyron Woodley, Maia has attempted 85 takedowns. After going one for 21 against Muhammad, he has landed just eight in that span.
Will There Be One More? In defeat, Maia tied the record for the fourth-most bouts in UFC history. The only competitors with more are Andrei Arlovski (35), and Donald Cerrone and Jim Miller (37 each).
Result Under Review: Whether finally ruled a technical submission due to an armbar, a technical knockout due to punches while on his back or a technical knockout due to an arm injury, Paul Craig retained his 100 percent finish rate by defeating Jamahal Hill.
Tracking Towards Contendership: All seven of Craig’s UFC wins have come by stoppage, tying “Bearjew” with Alexander Gustafsson for the sixth-most in modern UFC light heavyweight history. Glover Teixeira holds the lead with 12.
Bonus Bear: With his win over Hill, Craig earned “Performance of the Night” honors for the sixth time in his UFC career. He ties Ovince St. Preux for the most of these awards in UFC light heavyweight history.
Craig Was Due: In his last 10 bouts, Craig has alternated between no bonus and POTN following his $50k-winning finish of Hill.
Turned a Corner: In Drew Dober’s first 13 UFC bouts, he only earned one post-fight bonus, which came against Frank Camacho at UFC on Fox 27 in 2018. In his last four fights, including his “Fight of the Night”-winning battle with Brad Riddell, he has pocketed three.
Call It Luck: A contentious split verdict for Lauren Murphy earned “Lucky” her sixth win as a flyweight. The Alaskan is now tied for the third-most triumphs in UFC divisional history with Gillian Robertson. They trail Katlyn Chookagian and Valentina Shevchenko with seven apiece.
Movsarring on Up: Movsar Evloev remained perfect as a professional by winning a decision over Hakeem Dawodu. Although the Ingushetia, Russia, native came into the UFC with a finish rate of 70 percent, all five of his UFC wins have come at the hands of the judges.
In the Pan Too Long: After a close 15-minute match, Pannie Kianzad prevailed by unanimous decision over Alexis Davis. “Banzai” has recorded 80 percent of her career victories by unanimous decision, including each of her last nine wins.
Steamrolling the Steamrolla: In a mere seven seconds, Terrance McKinney introduced himself to the promotion with a knockout of Matt Frevola. It marked the quickest knockout for a debuting fighter, the speediest for any lightweight and tied as the third-fastest in organizational history.
Ngannou Who: McKinney has won his last four bouts by first-round knockout, and with his time of seven seconds added on, “T.Wrecks” has needed just 1:52 to beat four men in the last three-plus months.
The Sikjitsu product now has earned each of his 11 wins by stoppage after dispatching Frevola. All but one have come in the opening frame, including a previous seven-second finish of Jeff Coleman in 2019.
Cinq, Quatre, Trois, Deux, Un: By majority verdict, Fares Ziam defeated Luigi Vendramini to earn his third career win by decision. As a pro, the Frenchman posts five wins by knockout, four via submission and three at the hands of the judges, while he has lost twice by submission and dropped a single bout on the scorecards.
Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC 263, Figueiredo had never been finished (22 fights), Hill had never been defeated (nine fights) and Dawodu (14 fights) and Vendramini (10 fights) had never lost on the scorecards.
2Pac and You Don’t Stop: A record four 2Pac songs aired in the Gila River Arena throughout the course of the night, for more music from any one artist than any other UFC card. Diaz used a mashup that contained both “Can’T C Me” and “Last Ones Left,” while Davis chose “Old School.” Both of them lost, although McKinney prevailed after walking out to “All Eyez on Me.”
Marky Marked Up: Frevola’s choice of “Good Vibrations” by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch featuring Loleatta Holloway was not the first time a Marky Mark song had been used, but the second. Zach Makovsky selected this tune before facing John Dodson at UFC 187 in 2015, and like Frevola, he suffered a loss.