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.
Total number of UFC Fights: 4616
Total number of UFC Events: 436
Heading back to Atlantic City, New Jersey, for the first time in years, the Ultimate Fighting Championship brought with it a fan-friendly show with many pivotal matchups between highly ranked fighters -- featuring the 14th latest stoppage in company history, a highly touted debutant dead set on making a great first impression, and a hometown hero tying the record for the most fights in UFC history.
Doctor Doctor, Gimme the News: When the doctors stopped the main event between Edson Barboza and Kevin Lee, it marked just the second bout in UFC history to be stopped by the doctors in round 5. The first fifth-round doctor stoppage occurred when B.J. Penn forced medical personnel to intervene to protect Diego Sanchez.
Starting to Notice: Missing weight by one pound prior to his bout with Barboza, Lee prevailed and now all five fighters to officially miss weight in 2018 have won their bouts. 11 of the last 12 fighters to officially miss weight have won as well. Al Iaquinta did not make the championship weight of 155 pounds prior to fighting Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223, but Iaquinta initially hit the mark for his scheduled lightweight clash with Paul Felder. Iaquinta was not provided the additional opportunity to make proper weight to fight for the belt after the drama on weigh-in day.
It’s Miller Time: Jim Miller walked to the cage for the 29th time in his career, tying Michael Bisping for the most bouts in UFC history. Miller made his Octagon debut at UFC 89 in October 2008, about two years and four months later than Bisping’s debut at the TUF 3 Finale in June 2006.
Jersey Boy: For the seventh time in his UFC career, New Jersey native Jim Miller fought in front of a hometown crowd. Despite fighting in front of friends and family, Miller has only won twice while suffering four defeats, with an additional submission loss overturned because his opponent tested positive for marijuana.
Slippin’ Jimmy: Following a devastating knee from Dan Hooker, Miller was stopped in the opening round for the first time in his 41-fight career. His previous three stoppage losses all occurred in the second round.
Embrace the Grind: After starting his career at 7-0 with seven stoppage victories, Ryan LaFlare was signed by the UFC. Following his win over Alex Garcia, all seven of his wins inside the Octagon have come by decision.
Buzzer Beaten: Ricky Simon made his successful UFC debut when he put Merab Dvalishvili to sleep with a guillotine choke at exactly 5:00 of the third round. His win became the latest stoppage in a three round fight in UFC history, beating two 4:59 third round stoppages from just one month earlier at UFC Fight Night 129 in London.
Never Say Never Again: Coming into this event, Brett Johns had never lost as a professional or amateur (15 and 3 wins, respectively), Luan Chagas had never been knocked out (18 fights), Patrick Cummins had never lost a decision (14 fights), and Edson Barboza had never lost back-to-back fights (24 bouts).
More Wins than Losses: Two fighters chose walkouts songs from rapper Meek Mill, and both fighters prevailed in their respective bouts. Lee walked out to “Wins and Losses” while Corey Anderson chose “Dreams and Nightmares.” Fighters walking out to Meek Mill have a solid recorded winning percentage of 68 percent throughout 25 fights, with a record of 17-8 between them.
Till Their Legs Give Out: Walking out to a mashup of “DNA” by Kendrick Lamar and “Till I Collapse” by Eminem, Justin Willis defeated Chase Sherman by decision. The track “Till I Collapse” celebrates the most recorded wins of any Eminem track with 12, and no other song by Eminem has more than ten wins.
Jay Pettry is an attorney and a statistician. Writing about MMA since he started studying the “Eminem Curse” in 2012, and writing for Vice Sports and Combat Docket along the way, he put together many UFC fight result and entrance music databases to better study the sport. You can find him on twitter at @jaypettry.