Fight Facts: UFC Fight Night 202 ‘Makhachev vs. Green’

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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: 6,505
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 595

The Ultimate Fighting Championship fought tooth-and-nail for attention in a crowded weekend full of international MMA action. While undoubtedly not its best offering, 11 fights mostly showcasing young talent brought forth a litany of different, sometimes unusual results. UFC Fight Night 202 featured the UFC’s first catchweight headliner in over five years, a man singularly focused on championship consideration and a knockout artist that put his submission chops on full display.

Yet Lightweight Stocks Rise and Fall: Due to the short-notice nature of the matchup, the headliner between Islam Makhachev and Bobby Green took place at a catchweight of 160 pounds. UFC Fight Night 202 marked the first event since UFC Fight Night 95 in 2016 to draw a headliner set outside of a standard weight class, as Cristiane Justino faced Lina Lansberg in that marquee match at 140 pounds.

Belt Hunting: Makhachev dominated Green, pounding him out with strikes in the first round. The man from Dagestan now sports a 10-fight win streak, making him just the 12th fighter in UFC history to win 10 bouts in a row.

Green Renewed Deal: Green had not suffered a stoppage loss since Dustin Poirier knocked him out in June 2016. At that time, only three other participants on the card – Makhachev, Misha Cirkunov and Alejandro Perez – were members of the UFC roster, while six of the remaining 18 had not yet made their pro debuts.

Volume vs. Power? After three hard-fought rounds that earned both competitors “Fight of the Night” bonus checks, Priscila Cachoeira edged Ji Yeon Kim by controversial decision. The two combined for an astounding 272 significant strikes landed, placing them for the third-most in UFC women’s flyweight history.

Kim Won: Even though she connected with 170 significant strikes, an advantage of 68, Kim lost the decision. That tally is also the third-highest in UFC women’s 125-pound history.

Ahalkalaknockout: Busting Joel Alvarez up with an elbow in the first round and finishing him in the second with punches, Arman Tsarukyan put himself on a five-fight win streak. The two knockouts in a row over Christos Giagos and Alvarez make it the first time that “Ahalkalakets” has ever notched back-to-back knockout wins in his 20-fight tenure.

Super Split: For the first time in his career, Armen Petrosyan went the distance. After a frenetic three rounds, “Superman” claimed a narrow split verdict over Gregory Rodrigues. Each of his past seven outings had concluded by knockout, win or lose.

Brabo to Some, D’Arce to Others: With a clear-cut performance ending in a brabo choke over Zhu Rong, Ignacio Bahamondes prevailed in the third round again. As a pro, “La Jaula” has finished his foe in 77% of his wins, including each of his last three triumphs on a major stage.

Nunes and Nunes, No Relation: Over the course of their 15-minute featherweight tilt, Josiane Nunes dropped Ramona Pascual with strikes twice. Nunes is the second women’s 145-pounder to register multiple knockdowns in a single fight. The first: Amanda Nunes, who knocked Justino down two times en route to claiming the title in 2018.

Equal Opportunity Wrecker: Terrance McKinney followed a June 2021 seven-second knockout with a first-round rear-naked choke of Fares Ziam to record his fifth consecutive first-round victory. As a pro, “T.Wrecks” celebrates a 100% finish rate, with 11 of his 12 wins coming in the opening frame.

Don’t Bother Wrapping Your Gloves: Without either man landing a single significant strike, Ramiz Brahimaj tapped Micheal Gillmore with a rear-naked choke in 122 seconds. This fight joins a small number throughout company history, such as Demian Maia vs. Lyman Good, where the result ensued before anyone recorded a significant strike.

Rear-Naked Ramiz: Brahimaj kept his 100% submission rate intact by tapping Gillmore. Half of his career wins have come by first-round rear-naked choke.

Split Destiny: Carlos Hernandez and Victor Altamirano fought to a contentious split decision after three rounds of action. Both men came into their UFC debut against one another having earned a contract by prevailing on the 2021 season of Dana White's Contender Series via split verdicts.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC Fight Night 202, Bahamondes had never notched a submission (12 wins), Gillmore had never dropped consecutive bouts (10 fights) and Pascual (eight fights) and Altamirano (11 fights) had never lost on the scorecards.

I Think Y’all Gonna Like This Next Song: Throughout UFC history, a multitude of competitors have walked out to a myriad of 2Pac tracks. None had ever selected the notorious diss track titled “Hit ‘Em Up” ahead of their UFC bout until Green picked it for his headlining affair. 2Pac remains the second-most utilized walkout artist for UFC fighters, trailing only Eminem.

Waiting in the Car: Ahead of her battle with Nunes, Pascual walked out to “Midnight City” by M83. Even in defeat, she became the first recorded UFC fighter to ever pick a tune from this French rock group.