Fight Facts: UFC on ESPN 11

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Fight Facts is a breakdown of all 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: 5,641
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 520

The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday put on a record fourth straight event in the same building, as it held UFC on ESPN 11 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It featured a record number of takedowns landed for a heavyweight, one of the most active fighters in UFC history winning yet again and the rare occurrence of a fighter admitting he wants out.

BETTER WITHOUT THE CROWD: For the fourth weekend in a row, the UFC posted up inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. This is the first time in company history in which the promotion held four consecutive shows in the same venue.

GRIND EMBRACED: Curtis Blaydes hit a heavyweight record 14 takedowns on route to a one-sided decision over Alexander Volkov. The previous record was held by Cain Velasquez, who hit 11 when he battered Junior dos Santos in their 2012 rematch at UFC 155.

FOURTEEN KARAT GOLD: Those 14 takedowns by Blaydes were added to what was already a record 45. Velasquez holds 34, and no other heavyweight—active or otherwise—has landed more than 25.

14 TO LIFE: The all-time UFC record for takedowns landed in a single fight is held by lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who executed 21 of them against Abel Trujillo in 2013. With Blaydes’ performance of 14, he ties Demetrious Johnson—against Kyoji Horiguchi—for the third-most in any UFC bout.

DRAGO DRAGGED DOWN: Volkov came into his bout with a takedown defense rate of just under 83 percent, giving up no more than three in a UFC appearance. After his match against Blaydes, that division-high rate plummeted to about 65 percent, bumping “Drago” from the top of the weight class out of the Top 10.

QUALITY OVER QUANTITY SOMETIMES: For the first time on the UFC roster, Josh Emmett needed to put over 100 significant strikes on his opponent. Landing 127 strikes mostly to the head of Shane Burgos, “Hurricane” returned with 128 of his own. It was the fourth occasion Burgos has cracked the 100-strike margin in eight UFC outings.

FISTS OF FIRE: Emmett knocked down Burgos twice in their 15-minute affair. In each of Emmett’s last six bouts, he has dropped his opponent at least once.

ROCKY ROAD: Raquel Pennington earned her eighth win as a UFC bantamweight, and the only fighter “Rocky” trails in divisional history is champion Amanda Nunes, who holds 11 bantamweight victories.

THE POWER OF PRIDE MONTH: Pennington and fiancée Tecia Torres have now competed at the same event on three separate occasions: Invicta Fighting Championships 3 in 2012, UFC on Fox 19 in 2016 and UFC on ESPN 11 in 2020. This is the first time both women won on the same card.

MORE LIKE A-12: Jim Miller landed an armbar in the opening round on Roosevelt Roberts. It was the only finish on the main card and earned “A-10” a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus. The bonus was Miller’s 12th. Only five UFC fighters ever have received more: Anderson Silva, Joe Lauzon, Nate Diaz, Charles Oliveira and Donald Cerrone.

IT'S ALWAYS MILLER TIME: Miller’s victory was his 21st inside the Octagon, putting him in sole possession of third place for the most wins in promotional history. Only Demian Maia (22) and Cerrone (23) hold more.

JIM GRACIE: The win by armbar was Miller’s 10th by submission, making him one of four fighters to pull off at least 10 submission throughout promotional history. Maia and Royce Gracie each sport 11, while Oliveira stands at the top of the list with 14.

YOUR MOVE, COWBOY: Miller tied Cerrone’s record for the most bouts in organizational history by competing inside the Octagon for the 35th time. Maia, Diego Sanchez, Andrei Arlovski and Jeremy Stephens are the only other fighters to eclipse the 30-fight mark.

TINY TORNADOES TAKE TIME TO TURN ON: Torres captured a spirited decision over Brianna Van Buren and in doing so went the distance for the 15th time in her 16-fight career.

CERTAINLY NO STRUVE VS. VOLKOV: The match between Torres and Van Buren marked the most diminutive in company history, with the two strawweights measuring a combined 10 feet in height. They measured three feet and seven inches shorter than the tallest bout in UFC history.

EAT THAT SHEVCHENKO: Gillian Robertson pulled off a rear-naked choke in the third round to finish Cortney Casey. In doing so, Robertson captured the record for the most finishes (five) in UFC women’s flyweight history. She also tied Valentina Shevchenko’s record for the most victories (five) in the UFC’s women’s 125-pound division.

HER HAIR DEMANDS A SACRIFICE: Recording the finish at 4:36 of the third round, Robertson’s triumph is the sixth-latest finish in women’s divisional history and the third-latest in a three-round women’s bout.

BUT CAN HE PLAY BUCKETHEAD?: Justin Jaynes scorched Frank Camacho in 41 seconds to make his successful UFC debut. With the finish, “Guitar Hero” advanced his finish rate to 81 percent, with half of his victories coming by knockout.

FIGHT ANOTHER DAY: Coming into this event undefeated after five bouts, Max Rohskopf had never competed beyond 3:11 of the second round until Austin Hubbard pushed him there. After 10 minutes, Rohskopf had had enough.

SEACREST OUT: The end of the fight for Rohskopf came by technical knockout due to retirement. This is the first time a fighter has ended a fight in such a fashion—and not because the corner, referee or doctor called a halt to the match—since UFC Fight Night 45 in 2014, when Yosdenis Cedeno forced Jerrod Sanders to quit on the stool after the first round.

NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN: Coming into UFC on ESPN 11, Burgos had never lost on the scorecards (14 fights), Roberts had never been finished (11 fights) and Rohskopf had never been defeated (five fights).

GET OVER HERE!: For his entire UFC career, Blaydes has walked out to “Techno Syndrome (Mortal Kombat)” by The Immortals from the “Mortal Kombat” soundtrack. Inside the Octagon, Blaydes sports a winning percentage of about 82 percent, not including a no contest.

I ASK YOU PLEASE JUST GIVE US: Although Clay Guida has used “Walk” by Pantera in the past, his bout with Bobby Green was the first time any fighter has walked out “Five Minutes Alone” by the same metal band. Guida lost a decision after coming out to a track that Sherdog editors Tristen Critchfield and Brian Knapp both suggested would be an excellent walkout song.