Fight Facts: UFC Fight Night 242 ‘Burns vs. Brady’

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: 7,834
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 704

The Ultimate Fighting Championship warmed up its engines for the big show next weekend, testing out some new camera setups in the UFC Apex. The dozen-fight showcase running around the same time as Bellator MMA gave fans plenty to talk about at the water cooler. UFC Fight Night 242 featured the new biggest betting favorite in the history of the promotion, a featherweight knockout artist chasing an unexpected record and a kid from Georgia that proves ninjas come in all shapes and sizes.

Ready for Contention: Sean Brady passed the Gilbert Burns test, outworking the durable veteran over 25 minutes. In doing so, the Philadelphia native competed beyond the fourth round for the first time in his 18-fight career.

We Know Another Brady Who Set Records: Thanks in part to two additional rounds, Brady set new personal bests for significant strikes landed (130) and takedowns landed (seven). No fighter had ever put Burns on his back more than five times in the Octagon.

Gatecrasher: Earning the biggest win of her career, Natalia Silva outhustled former champ Jessica Andrade to bump her win streak to 12. Winner of six in the Octagon thus far, four of Silva’s five career decision wins have come in that UFC run.

Rebuilding Her Bank Account: While she suffered another loss, Andrade did pick up her 11th post-fight bonus by earning half of “Fight of the Night.” She has earned more bonus checks than any other woman in UFC history.

Post-PRVT Landscape: Andrade suffered her 11th loss in the Octagon across three divisions. She breaks a tie with Jessica Eye and Randa Markos for the no. 2 spot on this list. Angela Hill’s 14 stands above the pack.

Surpassed Expectations: Steve Garcia blew the overweight Kyle Nelson out of the water with a barrage of elbows and punches. His five-fight knockout streak is among the longest in UFC history, with no fighter earning more than seven strike-stoppage victories in a row (Chuck Liddell).

Like Stipe and Francis: With five straight knockouts in tow, Garcia improved his career knockout rate to 82%. He has yet to finish a finish via submission.

American Ninja: Stepping up on fight week, Cody Durden replaced Alessandro Costa and tapped Matt Schnell with a ninja choke. His is the second choke of this type in UFC bantamweight history, with Said Nurmagomedov’s over Saidyokub Kakhramonov in 2022 being the first.

The David Abisror Connection: Yanal Ashmoz needed three full rounds to get past Trevor Peek, earning the nod from all three judges. His finish rate fell to 75% with the victory.

No Peeking: Peek started his career with eight knockout wins and a no-contest, including his promotional debut. Since then, he has gone the distance in four straight outings while losing three of those.

Taco Supreme: Smacking Zhu Rong with an elbow to force doctor intervention, Chris Padilla registered the unexpected win. The fighter known as “Taco” has earned finishes in 13 of his 15 pro wins, including his last seven victories.

New Trivia Answer: Isaac Dulgarian closed as a -2800 betting favorite before his match with Brendon Marotte (+1150). He became UFC's most heavily favored fighter, blasting past Alexander Romanov’s -2000 number against Chase Sherman in 2020.

Enough Gas for That: Dulgarian put Marotte away in the second round with an arm-triangle choke. He retained his 100% finish rate, but it marked the first time he had registered a victory outside of Round 1.

Cool Hat: Kicking his record up to an even 10-0, Andre Lima gained a win on the scorecards against Felipe dos Santos. “Mascote” has earned half of his victories via knockout, one after getting bitten and the remainder at the hands of the judges.

Good Luck on the Appeal: Despite Vanessa Demopoulos’ protests, Jaqueline Amorim added another armbar submission win to her ledger. The Brazilian has seen all nine of her pro triumphs come inside the distance while notching her fourth via this maneuver.

Wrestling Wrestling Wrestling: Winning against the overweight Dylan Budka by decision, Andre Petroski evened his method of victory distribution. He posts four knockouts, four submissions and four decisions on his resume, although his last four wins have all gone to the final bell.

Down Goes Ziggy: After a delay of a couple of weeks, Nathan Fletcher submitted Zygimantas Ramaska with an arm-triangle choke in the opening match. The former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship product has earned eight of his nine pro wins inside the distance.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC Fight Night 242, Rong had never been knocked out (30 fights), Marotte (10 fights) and Ramaska (11 fights) had never been submitted and Demopoulos had never been finished (16 fights).

Pick One: After 18 walkouts to “Medley” by Buchecha and a two-fight skid, Burns changed his entrance music to “Jeova” by Fernandinho. Unfortunately for Burns, it did not alter his fortunes, as he still tasted defeat at night’s end.

Skies Not So Blue: Before each UFC fight, Peek has changed his music from one song to the next. At UFC Fight Night 242, the Alabaman went with “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd, and he was unsuccessful in his in-cage effort.