Fight Facts: UFC 265
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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: 6,239
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 573
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to the Toyota Center in
Houston for a sold-out crowd that promised a big show for the local
fans. Although the crowd was ultimately disappointed by the end
result, a new dominant force in the heavyweight division emerged.
UFC
265 featured a relatively rare unbeaten champ at 265 pounds, a
brabo choke record that may never be matched and flying finish
never witnessed below bantamweight.
Watch Out, Francis: Dispatching Derrick Lewis in the third round, interim UFC champ Ciryl Gane is now a perfect 10-0 to begin his career. In doing so, the Frenchman became the sixth undefeated fighter to hold a UFC heavyweight strap, joining a club that includes Mark Coleman (6-0), Randy Couture (4-0), Tim Sylvia (15-0), Shane Carwin (12-0) and Cain Velasquez (9-0).
Experience, Schmexperience: Gane made his professional MMA debut in August 2018, where he tapped Bobby Sullivan with a guillotine choke in the opening round. At that time, Lewis already had taken 14 trips to the Octagon, including 11 victories with nine knockouts.
Chin of Granite, Body of…Not So Much: As a UFC heavyweight, Lewis’ only defeats have come by stoppages due to strikes, with the finish taking place in the third frame. Lewis is the third fighter in UFC history to suffer knockouts in Rounds 1, 2, 3 and 4, joining Tito Ortiz and Chris Weidman.
Aldo 3.0: With a decision win over countryman Pedro Munhoz, Jose Aldo put himself on his first win streak at bantamweight. The former 145-pound king has ridden just three winning streaks in his UFC career – the one he started with that lasted seven bouts, a pair of knockouts over Jeremy Stephens and Renato Carneiro, and the one he is on now.
Move Over Tony: Snaring a brabo choke on Michael Chiesa in the opening round, the submission is Vicente Luque’s fourth of its kind during his UFC run. “The Silent Assassin” now celebrates the most brabo choke wins in UFC history, breaking a tie held with Tony Ferguson.
Doing Mike D'Arce Proud: With four brabo chokes to his credit inside the Octagon, Luque has landed more of this type of submission at the welterweight division than every other competitor in UFC history combined.
Brabo to Brabo: Luque is now the second fighter in organizational history to hit back-to-back brabo chokes on opponents, as he submitted Tyron Woodley with one in March. Ferguson’s sequential taps of Edson Barboza and Lando Vannata in 2015 and 2016, respectively, secured this record first.
Get Out Quick: Luque advanced his finish rate to 90 percent by putting Chiesa away in the first round. The Cerrado MMA export has stopped his foe in 13 of his last 14 wins.
Luque Could Double That: The finish was Luque’s 13th since joining the roster in 2015. He is one shy of the welterweight record held by Matt Brown, who got his start in the UFC in 2008.
Silently Creeping Up the Record Books: “The Silent Assassin” claimed his fifth UFC submission win by tapping Chiesa, putting him one behind the divisional lead of six. That top spot is held by three men: Chris Lytle, Demian Maia and Gunnar Nelson.
Check Payable to Vicente: Luque earned “Performance of the Night” honors by submitting Chiesa. In his last eight fights, the Brazilian has taken home six post-fight bonuses, including one in each of his previous three victories.
TTTTT: In the rematch against Angela Hill, Tecia Torres once again prevailed by unanimous decision. Throughout her career, “The Tiny Tornado” now holds a finish rate of just 15 percent, while going the distance in seven of her last eight outings.
Nothing Tiny About That: Torres picked up her seventh decision win under the UFC banner, which ties her with Carla Esparza and one below the strawweight leader of Joanna Jedrzejczyk. When accounting for all women, Katlyn Chookagian holds the most with nine.
Running Up That Hill: As she dropped a unanimous verdict to Torres, Hill suffered her 10th defeat inside the Octagon. She is now tied with Randa Markos for the most losses in UFC women’s divisional history.
Atamoney: A firefight between Rafael Fiziev and Bobby Green resulted in a victory for Fiziev and “Fight of the Night” honors for both lightweights. In each of his last three fights, “Ataman” has scored post-fight bonus money.
Paging Mr. Herman: Needing 15 minutes to beat Ed Herman, Alonzo Menifield won his first career decision. Prior to this matchup, “Atomic Alonzo” had never needed more than 5:32 to win a fight.
Since the Glory Days of Invicta FC: With an armbar of Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Jessica Penne recorded her first stoppage victory since July 2013, when she tapped Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc with a rear-naked choke. At that time, 13 of the other 25 competitors on this card had yet to make their professional debuts.
Now Make Flyweight: As he missed weight by three pounds, Manel Kape’s knockout of Ode Osbourne did not allow him to earn post-fight bonus money. He did, however, become the first UFC fighter in a weight class below bantamweight to score a knockout with a flying strike.
Three Miles Island: In back-to-back appearances, Miles Johns has laid waste to his opponent with one punch in the third round. Johns is now the third bantamweight in promotional history to land multiple one-punch knockouts, with Davey Grant and Sean O'Malley the first two.
That’s a Surgery: At the end of the second round, the doctor halted the contest between Melissa Gatto and Victoria Leonardo when determining Leonardo suffered an arm injury. This marked the third time in UFC women’s divisional history that a bout had ended by injury stoppage, and the second in under two months – Kanako Murata injured her arm against Virna Jandiroba in June.
Accidental TKO: The stoppage ruled a technical knockout due to Leonardo’s injury, Gatto recorded the first non-submission finish in her career. The Brazilian is now an unbeaten 7-0-2 as a pro, with five of those successes coming inside the distance.
What’s a Kvenbo: With his submission win over Jamey Simmons in the second round, Johnny Munoz Jr. rebounded from his first career setback while lifting his finish rate to 82 percent.
Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC 265, Casey Kenney had never dropped consecutive bouts (20 fights), Drako Rodriguez had never lost on the scorecards (nine fights) and Osbourne had never been knocked out (13 fights).
You Better Trust Your Fate: Even with Chiesa’s defeat, his walkout tune of “Stranglehold” by Ted Nugent still celebrates an overall winning percentage of .691, the highest of any song with over 20 uses. Chiesa is the only fighter to ever suffer submission losses when using the track, and all four of his submission defeats have been accompanied by “Stranglehold.”
Leave Britney Alone: Torres is still the only competitor in UFC history to walk out to a Britney Spears track, picking “Circus” by the pop star. Torres won a decision over rival Hill.
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