Fight Facts: UFC on ESPN 48 ‘Strickland vs. Magomedov’

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: 7,212
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 653

The Ultimate Fighting Championship gave fans another Saturday show at the UFC Apex, posting up on ESPN while starting and ending the evening with ranked fighters competing. The event delivered excitement in bursts, and some new names emerged as talents to watch. UFC on ESPN 48 featured a growingly impressive striking quantity for a top contender, a fearless featherweight notching upsets left and right and a reminder that this lightweight kid is good.

He’s a Feminist: In the second round, Sean Strickland drummed out Abusupiyan Magomedov with strikes to pick up his first knockout as a UFC middleweight. It is his first finish in the division since his promotional debut back at UFC 171 in 2014.

Reached That in Nine Fights: Connecting with 81 significant strikes in nine-plus minutes, Strickland has amassed 845 significant strikes as a middleweight, leapfrogging multiple names including Anderson Silva to claim the no. 7 spot in that division.

There Were Levels to That Fight: Manhandling Damir Ismagulov, Grant Dawson earned his eighth win in nine UFC appearances – with the one blemish a 2021 draw with Ricky Glenn. This unbeaten streak of nine puts him in a small club of fighters in the history of the UFC to reach this lofty stretch.

That Kid is Good: For just the third time in his career, “KGD” settled for a decision win. This lowered the finish rate of the new American Top Team fighter to 85%.

Flying Well Under the Radar: Outworking Max Griffin over three rounds, Michael Morales upgraded his undefeated record to 15-0. The decision win is just the third in his career, which reduced his stoppage rate to 80%.

Lip Service: In four of her five UFC triumphs, Ariane Lipski has needed the judges to get her hand raised. She now has more decision wins as a UFC fighter than across her 14-fight tenure prior to signing with the promotion.

A Power RNC: Needing a little under five minutes to put Ismael Bonfim away, Benoit St. Denis tapped his foe with a face crank. As a pro, the Frenchman has racked up 11 wins, with all 11 coming inside the distance.

Cash That Ticket: Nursulton Ruziboev decked Brunno Ferreira in 67 seconds to prevail in his UFC debut. The Uzbekistan native known as “Black” now celebrates 33 finishes across his 35 career wins, and he is currently riding a nine-fight first-round finish streak.

Unwelcome Back: It took Rinat Fakhretdinov only 55 seconds to put Kevin Lee to sleep with a guillotine choke to push his win streak to 20. “Gladiator” saw his stoppage rate rise to 81% with his victory, and 13 of his triumphs have come before the end of Round 1.

A Marauder Named Jo: As the biggest favorite on the card, the -1250 Joanderson Brito smashed Westin Wilson (+800) in the opening round. Seeing his finish rate shift up to 87%, he has now notched three first-round stoppages in a row in the Octagon.

Wiiiiiillllson! Win or lose, the debuting Wilson extends his current stretch to 12 straight fights that have all ended in the first round. He has still yet to string together four wins in a row, losing the fourth on four separate occasions throughout his career.

145 Lives On: The fight contested at featherweight with Karol Rosa stepping in on short notice, Rosa did enough to beat Yana Santos by split decision. The Brazilian has involved the judges in all eight of her UFC outings thus far.

Return to Sender: Late into the third round, Elves Brener shocked the masses by putting down Guram Kutateladze via strikes. The Brazilian has procured 13 of his 15 pro wins by stoppage, including seven of his last eight.

He Ain’t Nothin’ but an Underdog: Coming in as a large underdog at +500, Brener beat the -650 Kutateladze for one of the more noteworthy upsets this year. Brener now holds two of the largest three UFC betting upsets in 2023, as he previously topped Zubaira Tukhugov (-640) while coming in at +470 in February.

Dreadful to Watch at Times: From 2015 to 2016, Luana Carolina rattled off three first-round finishes on the Brazilian circuit. Since then, following her decision triumph over Ivana Siric Petrovic, “Dread” has needed all 15 minutes to win her other six.

Slow and Unsteady: Alexander Romanov ended a two-fight skid by outstriking Blagoy Ivanov en route to a decision. It is just his second decision victory as a pro, and his first to go full three rounds – a past split decision over Juan Espino ended via technical decision from a groin shot.