Fight Facts: UFC Fight Night 227 ‘Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2’

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: 7,348
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 664

The Ultimate Fighting Championship tested out a new annual event titled Noche UFC, celebrating Mexican Independence Day in the organization’s home city of Las Vegas. Fighters from Mexico saw mixed results at night’s end, with none more contentious than the main attraction. UFC Fight Night 227 featured an extremely rare draw in a title fight, a replay review that made a difference and the continuation of a curse for a competitor-turned-commentator.

One More Milestone: Bruce Buffer announced Noche UFC in front of a raucous Las Vegas crowd, calling his 550th event for the organization. Buffer has served on the microphone for 82.8% of all UFC cards, including 21 of the 33 shows run this year thus far.

Big Crowd for Smaller Fights: The UFC has used the T-Mobile Arena many times since its construction in 2016. UFC Fight Night 227 is just the second non-pay-per-view event the company has staged in the arena, with the first the finale of “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 25 in 2017.

Rough Scorecard: After five close rounds of combat, Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko fought to a split draw. Their even result is the sixth in a modern era UFC championship bout. The fight joins B.J. Penn vs. Caol Uno, Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard, Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson, Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno and Jan Blachowicz vs. Magomed Ankalaev.

My Baby Shot Me Down: In the second round, Grasso recorded a knockdown on the former champ. She becomes the first woman in promotional history to drop “Bullet,” while also landing her first knockdown in the Octagon.

The Dust Cloud in an Andy Capp Comic: When time elapsed, the champ and challenger combined for 461 total strikes landed. This total smashes the previous flyweight record held by Nicco Montano and Roxanne Modafferi of 396.

A Kickboxer with Better Wrestling: Grounding Grasso four times – once in each of the first four rounds – Shevchenko has landed at least three takedowns in each of her last seven appearances. Her total of 39 takedowns at 125 pounds is near double that of the next closest fighter (Gillian Robertson, 21).

Angry Sparring Match: Picking up a split decision over Kevin Holland, Jack Della Maddalena outstruck his foe and went the distance for the third time in his career. Two of those decisions have come in his last two outings, and his finish rate fell to about 81%.

Curse of the Chiesa: Across a career that began in 2010, UFC staple Michael Chiesa has suffered seven defeats, all in the Octagon. All seven men that beat him went on to lose their very next fight, including Holland.

Chin-Checked Mitchell: It took Raul Rosas Jr. 54 seconds to blow through Terrence Mitchell, tying the fast stoppage win of his career with his 2022 armbar of Joel Pena. Seven of eight of the victories for “El Nino Problema” have come by stoppage, with six occurring in the opening frame.

Zellhubushmaster: Daniel Zellhuber snatched up an anaconda choke and tapped Christos Giagos in the second round. His submission is just the second of its type in the Octagon this year, as Carlston Harris hit one on Jeremiah Wells in August.

Making ‘Em Loopy: Landing just the second submission of her career, Lupita Godinez ran roughshod over Elise Reed until she elicited the tap. “Loopy” officially recorded her first finish beyond the first round.

Sixth Time Is the Charm: Over the course of eight-plus minutes, Godinez was credited with six submission attempts as she completed the sixth. Now celebrating nine as a UFC strawweight, she is tied with Cynthia Calvillo and Polyana Viana for the second-most in divisional history. Mackenzie Dern’s 15 lead the pack.

Let the Bodies Hit the Floor: Crushing Josh Fremd with a body shot, Roman Kopylov improved his current knockout streak in the Octagon to four in a row. The Russian now posts a 91.7% stoppage rate due to strikes as a professional, with his last decision victory coming in his MMA debut in 2016.

Only Human: Initially ruled a technical submission via guillotine choke victory for Edgar Chairez over Daniel da Silva, replay officials determined da Silva never tapped and did not go out. As a result, the fight was overturned to a no contest – the second such review this year, as Dan Argueta also had a win over Ronnie Lawrence removed in June.

But She Lost to Blanchfield: To improve her winning streak to 11 in a row – losing her pro debut and prevailing ever since – Tracy Cortez outworked Jasmine Jasudavicius en route to a decision victory. Nine of those 11 triumphs, including all five in the Octagon and seven in a row overall, have come at the hands at the judges.

Who’s Hungry: Charlie Campbell made his successful organization debut by decking Alex Reyes. “The Cannibal” boosted his career knockout rate to 75% with the first-round victory.

The Family Chin: Reyes made his first walk to the Octagon since September 2017, when Mike Perry wiped him out in 79 seconds. At that time, seven of the other 21 combatants on this event’s lineup had not made their pro debuts, while Grasso and Shevchenko were the only others on the UFC roster.

Mannhandled: In a one-sided drubbing, Josefine Lindgren Knutsson lifted her unbeaten record to 7-0 after her decision victory over Marnic Mann. The Swedish kickboxer has heard the final bell in six of those seven outings.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC Fight Night 227, Maddalena had never been numerically outstruck in the Octagon (five fights), Godinez had never landed a knockdown (eight UFC fights) and Mann had never lost on the scorecards (seven fights).

Both the Scott and Johnson Eras: Two fighters decided to walk out to AC/DC songs on the card: Maddalena and Knutsson. The Aussie went with “T.N.T.” while the debuting woman selected “Thunderstruck,” and both fighters emerged victorious at night’s end.

Queen of Tejano: For the entirety of her UFC career thus far, Cortez has only walked to the cage accompanied by “Como La Flor” by Selena. The Fight Ready standout has yet to suffer a loss in the Octagon.