Fight Facts: UFC on ESPN 38 ‘Tsarukyan vs. Gamrot’

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.

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TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC FIGHTS: 6,690
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 610

The Ultimate Fighting Championship swung back to Las Vegas to start off International Fight Week, doing so with an ESPN offering light on star power but decent enough on action. While the pace struggled throughout the over six-hour broadcast, a few names broke through to be discussed for a day or two until UFC 276 hype takes over. UFC on ESPN 38 featured a new devastating force at 170 pounds, an apple that did not fall far from the Nurmagomedov tree and a rough knockdown pill to swallow.

Gaming the System: Since joining the UFC in 2020, Mateusz Gamrot has competed five times. Four of those outings – two finishes and two close decisions – have earned “Gamer” post-fight bonus checks, including one for “Fight of the Night” against Arman Tsarukyan.

He Could Beat Chimaev: Shavkat Rakhmonov bulldozed Neil Magny en route to a second-round guillotine choke finish, and thereby improved his perfect record to 16-0. The Kazakhstan native known as “Nomad” has never before heard the final bell as a pro, with just one of his stoppages coming later than the second round.

Hammerfists for Days: In a comeback effort, Josh Parisian put Alan Baudot away with strikes after the midpoint of Round 2. The Scorpion Fighting System product has earned 13 of his 15 career wins by finish, with 11 of those due to strikes.

Khabib-Like: In a clear-cut decision, Umar Nurmagomedov lifted his pro record to 15-0, with three successful trips to the Octagon now under his belt. It marked the second time in his last six fights that he had needed to go the distance to win.

Looked Every Bit That Amount: Ahead of his match with Maness, Nurmagomedov officially closed as a massive -900 betting favorite, and won handily. He clocks in as one of the highest betting locks in the UFC this year; however, his March match with Brian Kelleher saw him with -1000 odds. That makes him the only UFC fighter to close at -500 or higher multiple times in 2022.

No Jiu-Jits: Over the course of three exhausting rounds, Rodolfo Vieira tried and failed 20 times to take Chris Curtis down. Curtis emerged the victor by unanimous decision. The UFC record for blanking on takedown attempts is Diego Sanchez vs. B.J. Penn, in which the challenger was shut down on every one of his 27 tries to ground Penn.

A Whopping 38 Wins Now: After beating T.J. Brown by decision, Nuerdanbieke Shayilan has fought in three full-length fights since joining the UFC in 2021. Before then, the fighter from China had seen 15 of his last 17 appearances end inside the distance.

Good on the Feet, Bad on the Mic: Cody Durden clobbered J.P. Buys in 68 seconds to pick up his latest win, while knocking Buys down one time to record it. The Georgia native improved his overall finish rate to 85% as a result.

Can’t Buys a Knockdown: After getting signed from the 2020 season of Dana White's Contender Series, Buys has fought and lost on three occasions. In the process, he has been knocked down eight times while not recording one of his own. This 0-8 knockdown ratio is the worst for any UFC fighter in a three-fight stretch.

Boom Goes the Neck: Succumbing to a rear-naked choke from Mario Bautista, Brian Kelleher lost for the fourth time as a UFC fighter by submission. Only 14 fighters in the history of the UFC have ever tapped out more times from a sub than “Boom,” with Clay Guida’s seven the top mark.

Wild Women Do: In the card opener, Jinh Yu Frey dropped a contentious split decision to Vanessa Demopoulos to put an end to her first UFC win streak. Win or lose, Frey has involved the judges in eight of her last nine fights dating back the last four years.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC on ESPN 38, Tsarukyan had never fought beyond the third round (20 fights), Maness had never lost on the scorecards (15 fights) and Vieira had never gone the distance (nine fights).

A Relic of a Bygone Era: Across company history, Parisian becomes just the second fighter to use a song from emo band Panic at the Disco for his walkout song. The heavyweight went with “Hey Look Ma, I Made It,” joining Paul Felder as the only fighters to select this group. Neither man has lost when picking Panic at the Disco.

Good Kid, Maad Cage: Dating back to March 2019, every UFC fighter to emerge with a Kendrick Lamar track playing in the arena has lost their fight. Tafon Nchukwi is the latest to do so, using “Mr. Morale” featuring Tanna Leone and getting subsequently blasted in 75 seconds by Carlos Ulberg.