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TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC FIGHTS: 5,223
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 485
The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday returned to Sacramento, California, for the first time since 2016 and did so with a polarizing card. UFC Fight Night 155 featured one of the fastest knockouts in the women’s divisions, a dramatic career resurgence and a rarefied “Pinball Wizard” putting on a show.
STARS OF THE SHOW: Four fighters -- Urijah Faber, Josh Emmett, Andre Fili and Jonathan Martinez -- were awarded “Performance of the Night” bonuses for their respective knockouts, making this the third event in a row to feature four POTN bonuses instead of the customary “Fight of the Night” and two POTNs.
NO BONUS FOR LOSING: The last time three consecutive UFC events did not award FOTN bonuses came in February-March 2015, when UFC Fight Night 61, UFC 184 and UFC 185 all gave out four POTN bonuses instead.
MAKE UP YOUR MIND: Three fights on this card closed with pick-’em odds, the most on a single card this year and the most since UFC on Fox 31 in 2018.
IS IT JUST TEAM ALPHA NOW?: Six fighters at UFC Fight Night 155 represented Sacramento’s Team Alpha Male, and four of the six emerged victorious. Only Darren Elkins and Pingyuan Liu suffered defeats.
GERMAINE DE ROUSEY: Germaine de Randamie finished Aspen Ladd -- albeit controversially -- in 16 seconds, tying Ronda Rousey for the fastest knockout in women’s divisional history. Only Rousey’s 14-second submission of Cat Zingano ranks as a faster stoppage among female fighters.
HISTORY FOR WOMEN EVERYWHERE: Across the MMA landscape during the weekend of July 12-14, Bellator MMA and the Professional Fighters League also set records for fastest finishes in their respective women’s divisions. Bellator featherweight Arlene Blencowe blew through Amanda Bell in 22 seconds, and PFL lightweight tournament semifinalist Genah Fabian dispatched Moriel Charneski in 102 seconds.
SHE KNOCKED OUT A MAN ONCE: De Randamie’s 16-second knockout, along with Rousey’s stoppage of Alexis Davis, ranks as the fastest UFC knockout at 135 pounds or lower -- male or female. The fastest overall, of course, came at UFC 239 on July 6.
FABER 4.0: Urijah Faber knocked out Ricky Simon in 46 seconds, scoring the fastest stoppage of his 45-fight career and his first knockout since October 2006. Of note, “The California Kid” did make Joe Pearson tap to strikes in January 2007. The last time Faber had officially scored a knockout, the only other fighter competing on this card that had taken a pro fight was Ryan Hall, who lost his debut in April 2006.
AT LEAST HE DIDN’T BEG: Josh Emmett’s knockout of Mirsad Bektic earned him his first post-fight bonus in his eighth UFC outing, despite having two earlier one-punch knockouts to his credit. One of those two was accompanied by Emmett missing weight, rendering him ineligible to earn a bonus that night.
VENEZUELAN BALANCE: After earning a decision victory over Nicco Montano, Julianna Pena improved her record to 9-3. In those wins, she has defeated three opponents by knockout, another three by submission and three by decision. On the losing end, she has one loss by tapout, one by knockout and one by decision.
LET’S JUST PING EVERYONE ALL AT ONCE: By demolishing Liu with a knee at 3:53 of Round 3, Martinez earned one of the latest finishes with a knee strike in UFC history and the latest ever in the bantamweight division.
NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN: Coming into UFC Fight Night 155, Ladd had never been defeated (eight fights), Simon (16 fights) and Moraes (14 fights) had never been knocked out and Wellington Turman (17 fights) and Liu (18 fights) had never competed in the United States.
WE KEEP IT ROCKIN’: Each of Faber’s 17 walks to the Octagon have come with “California Love” by 2Pac featuring Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman playing in the background. Only select group of fighters, including Donald Cerrone, have walked out to one song for the entire UFC careers.
THERE HAS GOT TO BE A TWIST: For the fourth time in as many appearances, Hall walked out to “Pinball Wizard” by The Who and won. He has never lost while accompanied by this song.
Sherdog contributing editor Jay Pettry is an attorney and a statistician. Writing about MMA since he started studying the “Eminem Curse” in 2012 and working for Vice Sports and Combat Docket along the way, he put together many fight result and entrance music databases to better study the sport. You can find him on twitter at @jaypettry.