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TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC FIGHTS: 5,925
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 546
The Ultimate Fighting Championship ended the year not with a bang, but a whimper, with a relatively unmemorable card chock full of decisions. Aging greats largely won out through the night, breathing life back into the careers of multiple top-ranked but somewhat forgotten fighters. UFC Fight Night 183 featured the most unanimous decisions in one night, the first win streak for a former champ in several years and an unusual amount of previously arranged catchweight contests.
Time for a Vacation: UFC Fight Night 183 put an end to a stretch of 24 consecutive weekends of UFC cards, doubling the longest weekly string of events in company history. The previous lengthiest barrage of cards took place across 12 weeks, from Aug. 31 to Nov. 16, 2019.
Dragged Kicking and Screaming: This Fight Night clocked in one shy of the all-time UFC record for the most decisions at a single card with nine. Several events, most recently UFC on ESPN 4 in 2019, have had 10 fights go to the judges.
All in Favor: This event is the second in company history to have nine unanimous decisions, and the first to have that many without any split decisions. UFC 169 has 10 decisions: nine unanimous and one split. Therefore, UFC Fight Night 183 featured the most unanimous decisions in company history without any other types of decisions.
“Catchweight Fights Have Less Meaning” – Dana White: Two separate bouts – Deron Winn vs. Antonio Arroyo and Christos Giagos vs. Carlton Minus – were scheduled as catchweight bouts of 195 and 160 pounds, respectively. It is the first event since UFC 186 in 2015 where multiple fights were intentionally booked outside of standard weight categories (as opposed to catchweights arranged when fighters missed weight) and the second overall.
A Small Silver Lining: Stephen Thompson earned a clear-cut decision over Geoff Neal in the headliner. Although Neal lost all five rounds, he landed more significant strikes (85) than any prior opponent in Thompson’s UFC 16-fight career.
I Will Not Knock You All Down: The bout is Thompson’s first since 2016, across six fights—including two for belts—in which neither “Wonderboy” nor his opponent landed a knockdown.
Jose Contender: By capturing a decision win over Marlon Vera, Jose Aldo earned his first three-round decision victory since facing Shoji Maruyama at a 2007 Pancrase event, a span of 24 bouts.
Glory Days: Anthony Pettis took home a decision over Alex Morono to put him on his first win streak since 2014, when he was the lightweight champ. At that time in December 2014, 11 of the other 23 fighters on the card were not part of the UFC roster including his opponent, while seven others had yet to make their professional debuts.
No More Sexy Scrambles: A whopping 79 percent of Pannie Kianzad’s career wins have come on the scorecards, following her decision victory over Sijara Eubanks. On the other side, all of Eubanks’ career defeats have come by decision.
Winn At Any Cost: Over the course of three rounds, Deron Winn took Antonio Arroyo down 12 times to win a close decision. Winn is tied with several other fighters for the seventh-most takedowns landed in a single match. Khabib Nurmagomedov stands above the pack with 21 against Abel Trujillo at UFC 160 in 2013.
Cameroon Express Stuck at the Station: For the first time in his short career, Tafon Nchukwi fought past the halfway mark of a three-round fight. The Cameroon native went the distance against Jamie Pickett, emerging victorious by decision. His longest fight prior to Saturday ended at 2:15 of Round 2.
Technicalities, Shmechnicalities: Jimmy Flick pulled off a flying triangle choke on Cody Durden in the first round. The submission is officially the second flying maneuver recorded throughout UFC history. Although Godofredo Castro started his choke of Andre Fili at UFC Fight Night 62 by jumping for it, the submission was not secured until after a prolonged ground exchange. Similarly, Demetrious Johnson’s armbar of Ray Borg at UFC 216 was not set until the two were grounded.
Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC Fight Night 183, Neal had never lost on the scorecards (15 fights), Hardy had never been knocked out (10 fights) and Antonio Arroyo (12 fights) and Carlton Minus (13 fights) had never lost consecutive bouts.
Back to Basics: Aldo changed his walkout song following his first loss at bantamweight against Moraes from his standard “Run This Town” by Jay-Z featuring Rihanna and Kanye West to “Campeao do Povo” by Mauricio Ricao. The loss to champ Petr Yan prompted Aldo to return to “Run This Town,” and he prevailed.
Flick of the Switch He Can Satisfy: For the second time in three weeks, a fighter trotted out to a previously unused AC/DC song. At UFC on ESPN 19, Jordan Levitt utilized “Big Balls,” while on this card, Flick walked out to the appropriately titled “Flick of the Switch.” Flick won by stoppage.