Fight Facts: UFC Fight Night 216 ‘Cannonier vs. Strickland’

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: 6,945
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 631

The Ultimate Fighting Championship let out one last gasp of an event before calling it a year, with a fight card that slowly crossed the finish line. Another headliner saw another contentious set of scorecards, although a couple solid knockouts treated the fans before night’s end. UFC Fight Night 216 featured an unorthodox ninja choke, a picture-perfect head kick from a grappler and one of the bloodiest battles of the year.

Buckshot Cannon: After five rounds of combat, Jared Cannonier officially connected on Sean Strickland with 141 significant strikes. In his previous 14 UFC outings, Cannonier had never even eclipsed 90.

Strickly Speaking: In eight appearances in the UFC’s middleweight division, Strickland has now landed 764 significant strikes. With the 152 he put on Cannonier, he vaults into the top 10 for the most in the weight class, landing six fewer than Anderson Silva.

Russian Against Russian: After 15 minutes, Damir Ismagulov lost a unanimous decision to Arman Tsarukyan. In six UFC outings, Ismagulov has gone the distance every time. The loss was the first for “Qazaq” since November 2015, shattering a 19-win streak.

Princely Beating: Amir Albazi sparked Alessandro Costa in the third round to earn his second win this year. As a pro, “The Prince” has performed 14 finishes across his 16 victories.

What Bruce Lee Would Do: In the opening frame, Alex Caceres wrecked Julian Erosa with a head kick and follow-up punches. The stoppage due to strikes was the first for “Bruce Leeroy” as a UFC fighter, and his first since February 2010. At that time, 19 of the other 25 fighters on the card including his opponent had yet to turn professional.

Equal Opportunity Highlight Reel Participant: The knockout was Erosa’s fifth on the roster, putting him tied for the lead with the most of any competitor to fight exclusively at lightweight or lower in the UFC. Six others join him, including Frankie Edgar, Eddie Wineland and Marlon Moraes.

Power Doberwhelming: A little over halfway through the second round, Drew Dober decked Bobby Green with a left hand. Dober has now scored eight knockouts since joining the roster in 2013, which ties Dustin Poirier for the most in UFC lightweight history.

Improve the 185-Pound Division: Michal Oleksiejczuk claimed his second knockout in as many tries since moving down to middleweight, putting Cody Brundage out in the first round. The 27-year-old from Poland boosted his finish rate to 78% as a pro, with all but one of his stoppages coming by knockout.

Mirror Match on the Numbers: Both Cory McKenna and Cheyanne Vlismas came into their bout with identical 7-2 pro records, each with two wins including one finish in the UFC along with one decision defeat. “Poppins” emerged victorious by decision to end the statistical similarities.

Matthew on Matthews Violence: While he landed three knockouts – one in each round – Matthew Semelsberger settled for a decision win over Jake Matthews. In his previous 16 UFC appearances combined, Matthews had only been downed once, when Akbarh Arreola dropped him in the first round back in 2015.

There May Have Been More: In a fight he was likely losing, Said Nurmagomedov snatched up a ninja choke in the second round to tap Saidyokub Kakhramonov. His type of submission is only the fifth recorded in promotional history, and the first since Arnold Allen submitted Alan Omer in 2015.

Vampires Love Him: Rafa Garcia donated ample plasma on the cage floor but won a decision over the heavy Maheshate Hayisaer for his effort. Overweight UFC fighters in 2022 only won 34.6% of their fights in 2022 following Hayisaer’s defeat.

That Was His 20th Pro Win: After 15 minutes of combat, Rinat Fakhretdinov had his hand raised by unanimous decision against Bryan Battle. Since losing his sophomore MMA fight in 2013 in a one-night tournament, Fakhretdinov has rattled off 19 straight victories, including 16 inside the distance.

Kapped Off: It took Manel Kape all three rounds to top David Dvorak, doing so with a unanimous nod from the judges. Before that match, Kape had earned exactly one decision victory in his career, coming in his fourth pro fight in 2013.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC Fight Night 216, Strickland (29 fights) and Dvorak (24 fights) had never dropped consecutive bouts, Kakhramonov had never been submitted (12 fights) and Battle had never lost on the scorecards (nine fights).

You Were Only Waiting for This Moment to Arise: Twice now in his UFC tenure has Caceres picked “Blackbird” by The Beatles as his entrance music, first 2021 and again on this event. He has won both of those fights, and remains the lone competitor to choose this song.

The Curse is Returning: Vlismas selected “Beautiful Pain” by Eminem featuring Sia ahead of her encounter with McKenna, and she lost. The last five competitors to pick Eminem songs in the UFC have all fallen short, and all with different tunes by the famed rapper.