Fight Facts: UFC on ESPN 49 ‘Holm vs. Bueno Silva’

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: 7,238
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 655

The Ultimate Fighting Championship made the most of a tough situation with a fight card consisting of a bakers’ dozen matchups with limited relevance. At night’s end one if not two victors have potential paths to title shots, depending on the decisions of the promotion. UFC on ESPN 49 featured a rare ninja choke never seen in a marquee match, a young firecracker who can knock out or tap out foes depending on his whims and South Korean defying the expectations by pulling off submissions.

Chalk till the End: On the 13-fight ESPN-based card, 12 bouts featured a betting favorite while one another closed as a pick-‘em. Of those favored fighters, the only one to lose was headliner Holly Holm.

Breaking New Ground: In the top attraction, Mayra Bueno Silva sprang the upset and strangled Holm with a ninja choke. Her submission is the first of its type in a UFC headliner, the first performed by a female fighter and the sixth in company history overall.

No, Ronda Is Not Coming Back: Since moving to bantamweight in 2022, Bueno Silva has landed three submissions, with one by armbar, another via kneebar and the third this ninja choke. She ties Ronda Rousey for the most tapouts in UFC women’s bantamweight history.

Making Headway Fast: With all three of her wins inside the distance coming via submission, only five ladies at 135 pounds have performed more stoppages than Bueno Silva. Amanda Nunes’ eight lord over the leaderboard.

Ninja Mayra: As a pro, “Sheetara” now sports a finish rate of 82%, with all but one of her stoppages coming via submission. This was not her first ninja choke, either, as she put Mayana Souza dos Santos to sleep with one on the first Brazil episode of Dana White's Contender Series.

Bassil Exposition: Edging the debuting Bassil Hafez by split decision, Jack Della Maddalena improved his win streak to 15 in a row. The Aussie went the distance for just the second time in his career, with the first at his 2021 appearance on the Contender Series.

Julienned and Thrown into the Fryer: Francisco Prado wrecked Ottman Azaitar with a spinning back elbow and punches to earn his first UFC victory. The 21-year-old from Argentina now holds an equal number of knockouts to submissions with six apiece, while never needing to involve the judges in a win.

No Small Potatoes: Azaitar fell short in the first round to Prado, and his last five fights have all concluded in the opening frame. He has still only competed beyond the five-minute mark on three occasions in his 15-fight career.

Korean Jiu-Jitsu: The last three wins for Jun Yong Park have come by rear-naked choke, following his submission of Albert Duraev late into Round 2. The South Korean is now just two shy of the all-time UFC middleweight record, held by Antonio Carlos Jr.

The Running Woman: After three rounds, Norma Dumont earned the clear-cut decision over Chelsea Chandler. “The Immortal” picked up her fifth victory as a UFC featherweight, passing Cristiane Justino for the most in the division’s history.

Decision Dumont: Since her unsuccessful organizational debut when Megan Anderson punched her out, Dumont has gone the distance in seven straight fights. Her finish rate fell to 20% as a result.

Trapped the Arm: Early into the second round, Nazim Sadykhov dispatched Terrance McKinney with a rear-naked choke. The Azerbaijan-born lightweight now celebrates a finish rate of 89%, having performed five straight stoppages.

Get Wrecked: Entering into his 19th professional match, McKinney ended up losing in Round 2. “T. Wrecks” has still never gone to the scorecards, and this was just the fourth time he had ever gone beyond the first round.

Dude, Seriously: In the only stoppage on the prelims, Victoria Dudakova shot a takedown that resulted in Istela Nunes dislocating her elbow. The Russian is now a perfect 7-0 as a pro, and neither of the knockout wins on her ledger have come by traditional means.

Entram the Dragon: On the first 11 fights of his career, Genaro Valdez had never heard the final bell. Both Natan Levy and Evan Elder took him to decisions, and the Entram Gym representative has lost both of those outings.

Maksumum Effort: Kazakhstani newcomer Azat Maksum picked up a split decision win over Tyson Nam to make good on his UFC debut. Sporting a 17-0 record, Maksum’s finish rate fellow below 75% to 71% when getting his hand raised.

From Dallas, With Love: After three rounds of action, all three judges were in agreement for Alex Munoz over Carl Deaton. The Dallas native has gone the distance in his last six bouts, accounting for all of the decisions in his career.

Come On, Ailin: Ailin Perez dominated Ashlee Evans-Smith to pick up the lopsided decision win. Landing 10 takedowns across the 15-minute encounter, the Argentinian passed A. Nunes’ 2019 eight-takedown performance against Germaine de Randamie to set a new record.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC on ESPN 49, Azaitar (14 fights) and Austin Lingo (11 fights) had never dropped consecutive bouts, Duraev had never been submitted (20 fights) and Maksum had never competed in North America (16 fights).

She Wants: Making her first walk to the cage, Dudakova selected “Ich Will” by Rammstein as her walkout track. The 24-year-old is the first in over eight years to select a song from this German hard rock act, with Naoyuki Kotani the last to do so back in 2014.

He's Really Hot: Nam changed things up by picking “Ragtime Interlude” and “I’m Really Hot” both by Missy Elliott for his entrance music. He is the second recorded fighter in organizational history to use any Missy Elliott track, with the first Marcus LeVesseur choosing a remix of “Why Stop Now” by Busta Rhymes where she was featured.