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TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC FIGHTS: 5,831
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 537
The Ultimate Fighting Championship put on the last non-pay-per-view event on “Fight Island” in this rotation, with an inconsistent card that delivered towards the end. UFC Fight Night 180 had tough shoes to fill from last week’s show, but several big knockouts still came at the end of the night. This event featured a staggering number of records set or approached in the co-main event victor, an eye-popping number of strikes landed in one match and a shocking upset loss for one of the few top undefeated fighters among major organizations.
Enjoy the Dulcet Tones of Joe Martinez: For the first time in UFC history, announcer Joe Martinez has called three consecutive fight cards. Martinez was on the microphone for UFC on ESPN 16, UFC Fight Night 179 and now UFC Fight Night 180. This is the longest event stretch without Bruce Buffer since after he called his first event in UFC 10, and the next three cards had Rich “The G-Man” Goins and Manny Garcia announcing the bouts.
Entering Zombie Mode: Since his fourth-round submission of Dustin Poirier, Chan Sung Jung has lost all three bouts that went beyond the third round. Brian Ortega won a five-round unanimous verdict over “The Korean Zombie” in the main event.
Finding Her Home: Jessica Andrade became the first female fighter to win bouts inside the Octagon at three different weight classes. Andrade started her UFC tenure at bantamweight, dropped to strawweight to become the champ, and defeated Katlyn Chookagian at flyweight.
Jessica Cyborg: The Brazilian flyweight posted her fourth win under the UFC banner by knockout, tying Cristiane Justino for the second-most in UFC women’s divisional history. They both trail Amanda Nunes, who holds seven.
In Outstanding Company: The finish was Andrade’s sixth on the roster, tying Ronda Rousey for the second-highest total among all female UFC fighters. Nunes stands alone atop the list with nine.
She Works Hard for the Money: Throughout her time with the promotion, Andrade has stopped four opponents in the first round. The only women with more first-round finishes in the UFC are Rousey (five) and Nunes (eight).
Pile Driver to the Body: Andrade earned just the seventh body shot knockout in UFC women’s divisional history. “Bate Estaca” finished Chookagian at the end of the first round with punches to the body.
Fly Swatter: Andrade’s finish from strikes to the body was officially only the second in the flyweight division – the first came from Joanne Calderwood over Valerie Letourneau in the first UFC flyweight fight ever.
Always Andrade: Making her 18th appearance in the UFC cage, Andrade extends her record for the most fights for any female fighter. The only two others with at least 15 bouts are Randa Markos (15) and Angela Hill (16).
Jimmy Countdown: Jimmy Crute slept Modestas Bukauskas in just over two minutes to earn his fifth career knockout. In addition to those five knockout victories, Crute holds four wins by submission and another three on the scorecards. Two of the Aussie’s submissions have come by a kimura. Crute holds just one loss, a submission by Misha Cirkunov in Round 1.
Unwelcome Back: Returning from a lengthy layoff only to drop a decision to Jonathan Martinez, Thomas Almeida lost his third consecutive bout. The Brazilian has yet to win a fight since November 2016, and at that time, only seven of the 21 other fighters on the card were on the UFC roster – and Gadzhimurad Antigulov made his company debut that night.
And Then There Were Four: Mateusz Gamrot, one of the few fighters in a major organization with an undefeated record after over 15 fights, lost for the first time. Guram Kutateladze took a split verdict against the former KSW champ. The only active fighters that remain on that list are A.J. McKee (16-0), Israel Adesanya (20-0), Yaroslav Amosov (24-0) and Khabib Nurmagomedov (28-0).
Take That, Champ: Now the winningest women’s flyweight fighter in the division’s short history, Gillian Robertson picked up her sixth victory in a decision over Poliana Botelho. The win broke a tie held with Chookagian and champ Valentina Shevchenko.
Chimaev Who?: Jun Yong Park officially landed 260 total strikes on John Phillips, and of that number, 258 were considered ground strikes. This is the highest number of ground strikes in any three-round UFC bout, surpassing Matt Riddle’s total against Steve Bruno in 2009.
Well, There Goes My Smile: Lowering his finish rate to 82 percent with a narrow decision victory over Jamie Mullarkey, Fares Ziam reached the scorecards for only the third time in his career. “Smile Killer” started his career off by never meeting the judges in any of his first 10 bouts, and three of four since then have gone the distance.
Winner by a Nose: Win or lose, Antigulov has still only reached the third round once in his career. Maxim Grishin recorded a stoppage with two seconds left in the second frame over Antigulov.
A Different Kind of Nurmagomedov: In the preliminary card opener, Said Nurmagomedov scorched Mark Striegl in 51 seconds to put the debuting Filipino bantamweight out with punches. The knockout is the seventh-fastest clean knockout in divisional history.
Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC Fight Night 180, Claudio Henrique da Silva had never been beaten (15 fights, one loss by DQ), Gamrot had never competed outside of Europe (18 fights) and Striegl had never been knocked out (21 fights).
Does Your Gym Have A Theme Song?: For the fifth time as a UFC fighter, Andrade made her walk to the cage accompanied by “PRVT e Hora de Vencer,” by Faccao 288, which is the theme song for her team, Parana Vale Tudo. Andrade has won four of those five bouts, while scoring three knockouts in that stretch.
Too Bad There Aren’t Iconic MMA Movie Soundtracks: Far and away the most frequently used walkout song in recorded UFC history, Park selected “Gonna Fly Now” by Bill Conti from the “Rocky” soundtrack. His win was the 30th on record for all fighters using the track, extending its record for the most wins of any entrance tune.