Fight Facts: UFC 270 ‘Ngannou vs. Gane’

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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: 6,455
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 591

Fans likely got their money’s worth for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first $75 pay-per-view card. The 11 fights that took place throughout the night delivered ample action, drama and intensity for those packed into the Honda Center and watching worldwide. UFC 270 featured a feared striker showing off his wrestling for the first time, a unique trilogy’s conclusion and the debut of the Bee Gees as a walkout artist.

By Any Means Necessary: To defend his heavyweight throne for the first time, Francis Ngannou needed 25 full minutes to defeat Ciryl Gane. His perfect 100% finish rate dropped to 94% with the decision victory, and it marked the first time Ngannou ended with his hand raised in four fights that went to the judges.

D-I AA Ngannou: Throughout their battle, Ngannou successfully grounded Gane four times. Before the fight, “The Predator” had only landed a single takedown in his entire 13-fight UFC tenure, which came in his last outing against Stipe Miocic.

First Tetralogy or Quadrilogy, Take Your Pick: Both Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno faced one other three times in a row, making their matches the first uninterrupted trilogy in company history. While Stipe Miocic met Daniel Cormier three times in a row, Cormier fought Derrick Lewis after the first encounter.

The Fourth is Guaranteed Money: Each of the three bouts between Figueiredo and Moreno resulted in post-fight bonus money, with their first and third fights earning “Fight of the Night” honors while the second saw Moreno take home a “Performance of the Night” award. Their trilogy is the first in UFC championship history to earn bonuses after all three fights.

Dropped but Never Stopped: Across their 25-minute encounter, Figueiredo dropped Moreno three times, including twice in Round 2 and once in the fifth frame. The champion already held the flyweight record for the most knockdowns, and he extended it to 11 in victory. The closest active fighter to catch him is Kai Kara France, who posts six.

Figgy Two-Times: As he wrested his belt back from the man that took it from him, Figueiredo successfully became the first two-time champ in UFC flyweight history.

Think of the Legos That Buys: The post-fight bonus check for Moreno is the fifth he has received since joining the roster in 2016. His five bonus awards set him alone for the second-most in divisional history, trailing only Demetrious Johnson’s nine.

No Relation: Said Nurmagomedov needed only 47 seconds to latch on a guillotine choke and submit Cody Stamann. His submission is the third-quickest in the history of the UFC’s bantamweight division, trailing Brett Johns’ 30-second calf slicer of Joe Soto in 2017 and Patrick Williams’ 23-second guillotine of Alejandro Perez in 2015.

Who Do You Give Your Love To? Staying undefeated at 11-0 in a career that began in 2017, Michael Morales punched out Trevin Giles in the first round. The Ecuador native lifted his finish rate to 85% with his win.

Unlimited Energy Cheat Code: Victor Henry and Raoni Barcelos combined for an incredible 315 significant strikes in their three-round battle. This total is the most of any three-round bantamweight fight in UFC history, while it only trails the 318 from Petr Yan vs. Cory Sandhagen for the highest in any 135-pound bout.

Jumpin’ Jack Flash: In just under three minutes, Jack Della Maddalena successfully made his company debut by knocking fellow debutant Pete Rodriguez out. The Aussie’s stoppage rate as a pro is a high 91%, with all but one of his finishes coming by knockout.

A Grave Quantity: Over the course of their three-round tilt, Tony Gravely hit 11 takedowns on newcomer Saimon Oliveira. In the process, he exceeded a personal best of seven, while clocking in tied for the second-most in any UFC bantamweight fight with Brett Johns, Merab Dvalishvili and Montel Jackson. Dvalishvili also celebrates the 135-pound record of 12, achieving this against Casey Kenney in 2020.

Three Minutes in Heaven: Matt Frevola dropped Genaro Valdez four times in their 195-second clash, tying the record for the most knockdowns in a round in company history. Josh Emmett set the record when he knocked Felipe Arantes down four times in Round 1 at UFC Fight Night 118 in 2017, and Khalil Rountree matched it in his second round against Eryk Anders at UFC 236 in 2019.

A Brawler’s Brawler: Win or lose, Valdez has still yet to go the distance as a pro. None of his fights have lasted longer than 11:37 throughout his 11-bout career, with seven concluding in the opening frame.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC 270, Gane (10 fights), Rodriguez (four fights) and Valdez (10 fights) had never been defeated; Giles had never competed at 170 pounds (17 fights, former light heavyweight) and Barcelos (18 fights), Juarez (13 fights) and Kay Hansen (11 fights) had never dropped consecutive bouts.

I’ll Live to See Another Day: A first for Octagon walkouts, Stamann selected “Stayin Alive” by the Bee Gees. No fighter in recorded UFC entrance music history had ever used any track by the beloved disco group.

What a Name: For the first time in UFC history, a fighter walked out to the extreme metal band Goatwhore, when Henry selected “Baring Teeth for Revolt” and threw down with Barcelos. Of note, Josh Barnett, Henry’s coach, would walk out to songs by Bolt Thrower, a band from which Goatwhore drew its influences.

Move In, Now Move Out: Ahead of his brief thriller with Valdez, Frevola strode out to a rare choice of “Rollin’” by Limp Bizkit. He is the first fighter since Shinsho Anzai picked that tune at UFC Fight Night 132 in 2018 to select a Limp Bizkit track at his walkout.