UFC News & FeaturesFight Facts: UFC on ABC 8 ‘Hill vs. Rountree’
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.
* * *
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC FIGHTS: 8,235
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 737
The Ultimate Fighting Championship laid an egg in the capital city of Azerbaijan, presenting a fight card instantly forgotten—likely on purpose—due to the big news of Jon Jones’ supposed retirement. The promotion nearly matched its exhausting record of the most decisions at a single event. Meanwhile, the broadcast hid most of the walkouts, making entrance music a scarce commodity. UFC Baku, also known as UFC on ABC 8, featured a heavyweight takedown master playing his trade, a super bonus match and a surprising statistical rival to Chuck Liddell.
Take Me Home, Baku Roads: Three fighters of Azerbaijani nationality competed at this event: Rafael Fiziev, Tofiq Musayev and Nazim Sadykhov. Only Musayev was born in Azerbaijan—then a Soviet territory—and he was the sole one of the three to taste defeat.
Missed One: After a one-sided shellacking of Jamahal Hill, Khalil Rountree was credited with one knockdown. “The War Horse” ties Liddell and Mauricio Rua for the most in modern UFC light heavyweight history.
Putting the R in Jr.: For the first time in his 21-fight pro career, Rountree went five full rounds. Across his last six bouts, Rountree has seen fights conclude in rounds one through five.
Fizzy Lifting Drinks: Outdueling Ignacio Bahamondes, Fiziev earned the win on all three scorecards. The Kill Cliff FC fighter has reached the second round or later in each of his last seven outings.
Not So Much of a Mismatch: Curtis Blaydes skirted past Rizvan Kuniev via split decision. The wrestler earned his 14th as a UFC heavyweight, tying him for the fifth most in divisional history. They all trail Andrei Arlovski’s 23.
What He Do Best: Grounding Kuniev twice, Blaydes added more space between himself and the rest of the pack in terms of takedowns landed at heavyweight. “Razor” has notched 64 overall, now accounting for more than twice the next active competitor, Serghei Spivac (31).
Get It Together: With Myktybek Orolbai unable to make lightweight, the promotion abruptly shifted his match with Musayev to 165 pounds. This marked the third catchweight fight set outside of standard divisions in the UFC this year.
Well-Deserved: A first for UFC post-fight bonus checks, Sadykhov and Nikolas Motta threw down for the better part of two violent rounds. The promotion awarded both men $100k in the form of “Fight of the Night” as well as a “Performance of the Night” for both fighter—a losing fighter had never previously picked up a POTN.
Build a House: Sadykhov and Motta became the first pair of fighters to collect double bonuses after a bout. The last individual fighter to do was Islam Makhachev, who wrangled Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 over a year ago.
New York By Way Of: The victorious Sadykhov has earned four finishes in his four wins in the Octagon thus far. As a pro, “Black Wolf” celebrates 10 of his 11 victories inside the distance.
What’s My Naimov: Settling for a decision over Bogdan Grad, Muhammadjon Naimov recorded his fifth win as a member of the UFC roster. The fighter from Tajikistan posts more wins in the UFC than anyone else from his nation.
Stinging, Not Smashing, Power: Recently changing his nickname from “KO” to “The Korean Tyson,” Seok Hyeon Ko made a splash in his debut by upsetting Oban Elliott. Despite the nickname implying his power, the South Korean now sports a knockout rate of exactly 50%.
Parked on Him: Taking Ismail Naurdiev down twice en route to a decision nod, Jun Yong Park prevailed to put himself on a win streak. The man known as “The Iron Turtle” has engaged in 12 bouts in the Octagon, and all of them have involved at least one takedown from either him or his opponent.
Mini 135 Tourney: Darya Zheleznyakova exacted revenge on Melissa Mullins in a bloody battle that went to the final horn. The Russian’s career stoppage rate resides at 50% after the win on the scorecards.
Bro to Bro: Like his brother last week, Mohammed Usman notched a decision win. Overcoming Hamdy Abdelwahab, the younger but larger brother called “The Motor” has gone the distance in five straight bouts.
Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC Baku, Hill (16 fights), Elliott (14 fights) and Mullins (eight fights) had never lost on the scorecards, Maksum had never dropped consecutive outings (16 fights) and Abdelwahab had never been defeated (seven fights).
Excellent: For the entirety of his UFC career, Blaydes has made his walk to the cage accompanied by “Techno Syndrome (Mortal Kombat)” by The Immortals. The heavyweight staple celebrates a win percentage of .700 with the tune playing for him.
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TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 737
The Ultimate Fighting Championship laid an egg in the capital city of Azerbaijan, presenting a fight card instantly forgotten—likely on purpose—due to the big news of Jon Jones’ supposed retirement. The promotion nearly matched its exhausting record of the most decisions at a single event. Meanwhile, the broadcast hid most of the walkouts, making entrance music a scarce commodity. UFC Baku, also known as UFC on ABC 8, featured a heavyweight takedown master playing his trade, a super bonus match and a surprising statistical rival to Chuck Liddell.
Azerbad: UFC Baku saw 10 of its 12 planned bouts
reach the final bell. The UFC record for the most decisions in one
night sits at 11, as UFC 263 saw that many by night’s end.
Take Me Home, Baku Roads: Three fighters of Azerbaijani nationality competed at this event: Rafael Fiziev, Tofiq Musayev and Nazim Sadykhov. Only Musayev was born in Azerbaijan—then a Soviet territory—and he was the sole one of the three to taste defeat.
Missed One: After a one-sided shellacking of Jamahal Hill, Khalil Rountree was credited with one knockdown. “The War Horse” ties Liddell and Mauricio Rua for the most in modern UFC light heavyweight history.
Putting the R in Jr.: For the first time in his 21-fight pro career, Rountree went five full rounds. Across his last six bouts, Rountree has seen fights conclude in rounds one through five.
Fizzy Lifting Drinks: Outdueling Ignacio Bahamondes, Fiziev earned the win on all three scorecards. The Kill Cliff FC fighter has reached the second round or later in each of his last seven outings.
Not So Much of a Mismatch: Curtis Blaydes skirted past Rizvan Kuniev via split decision. The wrestler earned his 14th as a UFC heavyweight, tying him for the fifth most in divisional history. They all trail Andrei Arlovski’s 23.
What He Do Best: Grounding Kuniev twice, Blaydes added more space between himself and the rest of the pack in terms of takedowns landed at heavyweight. “Razor” has notched 64 overall, now accounting for more than twice the next active competitor, Serghei Spivac (31).
Get It Together: With Myktybek Orolbai unable to make lightweight, the promotion abruptly shifted his match with Musayev to 165 pounds. This marked the third catchweight fight set outside of standard divisions in the UFC this year.
Well-Deserved: A first for UFC post-fight bonus checks, Sadykhov and Nikolas Motta threw down for the better part of two violent rounds. The promotion awarded both men $100k in the form of “Fight of the Night” as well as a “Performance of the Night” for both fighter—a losing fighter had never previously picked up a POTN.
Build a House: Sadykhov and Motta became the first pair of fighters to collect double bonuses after a bout. The last individual fighter to do was Islam Makhachev, who wrangled Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 over a year ago.
New York By Way Of: The victorious Sadykhov has earned four finishes in his four wins in the Octagon thus far. As a pro, “Black Wolf” celebrates 10 of his 11 victories inside the distance.
What’s My Naimov: Settling for a decision over Bogdan Grad, Muhammadjon Naimov recorded his fifth win as a member of the UFC roster. The fighter from Tajikistan posts more wins in the UFC than anyone else from his nation.
Stinging, Not Smashing, Power: Recently changing his nickname from “KO” to “The Korean Tyson,” Seok Hyeon Ko made a splash in his debut by upsetting Oban Elliott. Despite the nickname implying his power, the South Korean now sports a knockout rate of exactly 50%.
Parked on Him: Taking Ismail Naurdiev down twice en route to a decision nod, Jun Yong Park prevailed to put himself on a win streak. The man known as “The Iron Turtle” has engaged in 12 bouts in the Octagon, and all of them have involved at least one takedown from either him or his opponent.
Mini 135 Tourney: Darya Zheleznyakova exacted revenge on Melissa Mullins in a bloody battle that went to the final horn. The Russian’s career stoppage rate resides at 50% after the win on the scorecards.
Bro to Bro: Like his brother last week, Mohammed Usman notched a decision win. Overcoming Hamdy Abdelwahab, the younger but larger brother called “The Motor” has gone the distance in five straight bouts.
Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC Baku, Hill (16 fights), Elliott (14 fights) and Mullins (eight fights) had never lost on the scorecards, Maksum had never dropped consecutive outings (16 fights) and Abdelwahab had never been defeated (seven fights).
Excellent: For the entirety of his UFC career, Blaydes has made his walk to the cage accompanied by “Techno Syndrome (Mortal Kombat)” by The Immortals. The heavyweight staple celebrates a win percentage of .700 with the tune playing for him.
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