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TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC FIGHTS: 7,105
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 644
The Ultimate Fighting Championship took the fans out of the equation again as it hunkered down inside the hallowed halls of the UFC Apex. The event started slow and ramped up to a crescendo of dramatic results, with two statements made and one that left everyone scratching their heads. UFC Fight Night 222 featured a record-setting demolition in the marquee match, a bummer of a headbutt and a smart choice of a Nujabes walkout.
Pavloaded Gloves: In the main event, Sergei Pavlovich clobbered Curtis Blaydes in the first round to earn his biggest win to date. The Russian has now landed six straight knockouts in Round 1, a UFC record since rounds were implemented.
Chasing Chuck: The six consecutive knockouts for the top heavyweight contender tied Don Frye for the second-most in a row by any UFC competitor. Chuck Liddell remains the king, with seven from 2004 to 2006, who started and ended that run by smashing Tito Ortiz.
Rostov-on-Done: The 30-year-old out of Rostov-on-Don needed just over three minutes to finish the fight with his hands. As a pro, 15 of Pavlovich’s 18 wins have come by knockout; he has never won by submission.
Rushing Up the Leaderboard: Across his six UFC victories, the Russian has procured seven knockdowns. There are only 13 heavyweights in the history of the organization to score more, of whom Junior dos Santos holds the most with 14.
Barely Even Tried: For the third fight in a row, Blaydes did not land a single takedown, despite one failed effort early on. This is the longest such stretch of his UFC tenure without one takedown, as the Elevation Fight Team product had never gone more than one fight without taking a foe down prior to this run.
Bruno 3.0: Plastering Brad Tavares with a knee and a single punch, Bruno Silva recorded his 20th knockout as a pro. Fully 87% of Silva’s wins have come courtesy of strikes – and one injury.
Who Should He Fight Next: Albeit in a losing effort, Tavares made his 22nd appearance as a UFC middleweight. The only men with more fights in that division are Nate Marquardt (23) and Michael Bisping (24).
No Reason to Complain: Due to an accidental headbutt from Bobby Green, his match with Jared Gordon was ruled a no contest after review. Their result is the first in-cage no contest since an eye poke from Sean O'Malley stopped Pedro Munhoz from continuing at UFC 276 in 2022, and the first head-clash stoppage since Kyle Daukaus and Kevin Holland in October 2021.
Stop Playing with Your Food: At the age of 21, Iasmin Lucindo recorded her first win in the Octagon after three rounds against Brogan Walker. The Brazilian has reached the scorecards in her last three outings, accounting for half of her 19-bout career’s decisions in that short span.
Back to the Old Ways: In defeat, Guam’s Walker ended a two-fight stoppage run by hearing hear the final bell. “The Bear” began her career with eight straight matches that went the distance, not counting her two exhibitions on Season 30 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Rabid for the Finish: For the first time since March 2019, Jeremiah Wells went the distance. This broke up a stretch of five straight stoppage victories, and by beating Matthew Semelsberger by split decision, his finish rate fell to 75%.
Saved His Job Again: Christos Giagos evened his UFC record at .500 by punching out Ricky Glenn in 95 seconds. It had been since June 2016 that Giagos earned a knockout; at that time, 17 of the other 21 fighters at this event had yet to make their UFC debuts.
Quik Work: In under four minutes, Montel Jackson demolished Rani Yahya to push his win streak to four. In doing so, “Quik” became the first fighter to stop the Brazilian veteran since Joe Benavidez at WEC 45 in 2009.
Forging a Path at 135: En route to victory, Jackson dropped Yahya once, making it six straight fights in which he landed at least one knockdown. He has now tied Marlon Vera and Petr Yan for the most knockdowns landed in UFC bantamweight history, with 10 apiece.
Top Contender in a Rankingsless Division: For her sixth bout in a row, Norma Dumont went the distance, needing three full rounds to overcome Karol Rosa. In victory, Dumont tied Cristiane Justino for the most wins in the history of the UFC’s women’s featherweight division with four.
Rosa to the Occasion: Win or lose, Rosa has left her fight in the hands of the judges in all seven of her UFC outings. She has not seen a fight end before Round 3 since a first-round kimura loss to Melissa Gatto in September 2018.
Defective Motor: Mohammad Usman outgrappled Junior Tafa to take home the three-round victory. “The Motor” pushed Tafa into uncharted territory, as the Kiwi by way of Australia had never reached the third frame as a pro.
12 Takedowns for Brady, No. 12 is Tom Brady, You Do the Math: Coming back after a deficit to knock out Batgerel Danaa late in the third round, Brady Hiestand landed three takedowns to eventually achieve that. In each of his three UFC appearances thus far, Hiestand has recorded at least three takedowns, for a total of 12.
Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC Fight Night 222, Glenn had never been knocked out (30 fights), Tafa (four fights) and Francis Marshall (seven fights) had never been defeated and William Gomis had never competed in North America (13 fights).
To Native Lands, Our Native Song: After suffering his first pro loss back in 2018, Pavlovich changed his walkout artist from Bi-2 to Russian folk metal band Kalevala. In his last five outings, Pavlovich has walked out to “Fly Away on Wings of the Wind,” with victories coming in all five.
Sharp Like an Edge of a Samurai Sword: Ahead of his match with Wells, Semelsberger picked a remix of the track “Battlecry” by Nujabes and Shing02, better known as the theme song from popular anime series “Samurai Champloo.” While the first fighter to pick a Nujabes tune in UFC history, Semelsberger suffered a loss.