Fight Facts: UFC on ESPN 41 ‘Vera vs. Cruz’

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: 6,775
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 617

The Ultimate Fighting Championship cruised to San Diego to sell out the Pechanga Arena and stage a card that got fight fans talking. The action was frenetic and constant virtually from bell to bell, with several meaningful knockouts but none more significant than the one in the main event. UFC on ESPN 41 featured a nose-rearranging moment, a professional light heavyweight showing off his skills and an upset everyone should have seen coming.

Championship Round Action: UFC on ESPN 40 as well as UFC on ESPN 41 both ended with stoppages in the fourth round. This set of cards joins UFC Fight Nights 152 and 153 in 2019 as the only set of back-to-back shows to achieve this feat in their main events.

Gotta Catchweight ‘Em All: Both the Angela Hill-Lupita Godinez and Josh Quinlan-Jason Witt matches were booked at intentional catchweights of 120 and 180 pounds, respectively. UFC 186 and UFC Fight Night 183 are the only other events to feature multiple scheduled catchweights in the modern era.

That Minor Steroid Detail: Two newcomers fought on UFC on ESPN 41 after earning contracts on Dana White's Contender Series and failing post-fight drug tests. While Lukasz Brzeski fell short by extremely contentious split decision, Josh Quinlan starched Jason Witt in just over two minutes.

Unplanned Rhinoplasty: Marlon Vera scored a crushing head-kick knockout of Dominick Cruz in the fourth round of their headlining tilt. Not counting the Cory Sandhagen spinning wheel kick of Marlon Moraes in 2020, it marked the first knockout via head kick in a UFC main event since Moraes belted Jimmie Rivera with one atop UFC Fight Night 131 in 2018.

C: Vera’s UFC run began in November 2014 at UFC 180, and he has competed 20 times in the Octagon to date. In that same stretch of time, Cruz’ appearance against Vera marked his seventh trip to the cage.

H: Of those 20 fights for Vera, 17 have come at 135 pounds, including his match with Rob Font where Font missed weight. The Ecuador native is now one fight shy of the UFC’s bantamweight record for the most fights, held by Pedro Munhoz.

I: “Chito” has had his hand raised in 12 of those 17 bantamweight bouts, following his knockout of Cruz. He is tied with Aljamain Sterling for the second-most wins in divisional history, with T.J. Dillashaw holding the top spot with 13.

T: A whopping 10 of 12 victories for Vera have now come inside the distance. This puts further distance between Vera and the pack for this 135-pound record, as second-place Dillashaw has put eight bantamweight foes away.

O: The six knockouts Vera now maintains at bantamweight break a tie with three other fighters for the No. 2 spot for the most knockouts in that division’s history. Dillashaw’s seven is the most.

That Spells Chito: Throughout their four-round tilt, Vera dropped Cruz three times. This increases Vera’s total knockdown tally at 135 pounds to 10, which puts him in a tie for the most in the history of the weight class in the UFC with Petr Yan.

Verde por Vera: Pocketing an extra $50,000 by laying Cruz out, Vera claimed his sixth post-fight bonus check in the bantamweight category. While tied with old foe Sean O'Malley for the third-most, they trail Munhoz’ seven and Dillashaw’s eight.

The Barnburner We Deserved: In an absolute thriller that rightfully earned “Fight of the Night” honors, Nate Landwehr edged David Onama by majority decision. While Onama celebrates a 100% finish rate, he has still only lost on the scorecards.

Yazmin on Iasmin Violence: Introducing herself to the promotion in a wild performance, Yazmin Jauregui topped Iasmin Lucindo by decision. The Mexican lifted her unbeaten record to 9-0 with a win, with her last appearances in a one-night Combate Global tourney exactly one year earlier to the day.

A Professional Performance: Azamat Murzakanov is now a perfect 12-0 as a pro after punching out Devin Clark in the third round. “The Professional” has landed 10 of those 12 wins by stoppage, for a finish rate of 83%.

Chasing Countrywomen: Up a division on short notice, Priscila Cachoeira wrecked Ariane Lipski with a swarm of punches. The Brazilian now celebrates three knockouts since joining the roster in 2018, and only four female fighters in the history of the UFC have recorded more: Valentina Shevchenko and Cristiane Justino with four each, Jessica Andrade with five and Amanda Nunes with seven.

You Knew It Was Going to Happen: Ninety-nine seconds into the third round, Gerald Meerschaert dropped Bruno Silva and tapped him with a guillotine choke. The finish rate rose to 94% for the Wisconsin native, who has finished his opponent in all 10 of his UFC wins.

Gerald Gracie: “GM3” has pulled off nine submissions since becoming a UFC fighter in 2016, accounting for all but one of his triumphs inside the Octagon. Royce Gracie (10), Jim Miller and Demian Maia (11 each) and Charles Oliveira (16) are the only fighters in organizational history to land more.

Like a Spider Catching a Fly: With every one of his 10 victories under the UFC banner by stoppage, and all of them coming in middleweight bouts, he is one finish shy of Anderson Silva’s all-time 185-pound record. His nine subs are nearly double the most by any of the four next closest competitors, none of whom remain on the roster.

GM Three Guillotines: Through Meerschaert’s tenure as a UFC athlete, he has performed three guillotine chokes. He is tied with several other names like Ben Rothwell and Jim Miller for the third-most in company history. Nate Diaz (four) and Oliveira (five) are the lone men above him on the list.

Rough Hill to Climb: Hill put an end to the longest losing streak of her career by claiming a decision over Godinez. Hill has now claimed seven of her nine UFC wins on the scorecards, tying her with Alexis Davis for the fifth most in promotional history.

Adios Nina: In her final fight, Nina Nunes shifted back to flyweight and captured a split verdict over Cynthia Calvillo. Nunes leaves the sport behind after serving in the UFC’s third strawweight bout back in 2014, where she faced Juliana Lima and fell short by decision. Over her career, she defeated names like Claudia Gadelha, Hill, Randa Markos and the aforementioned Calvillo, earning her a ranking among the top 10 in her division.

Cheer Up, Charlie: Former middleweight Charlie Ontiveros met ex-featherweight Gabriel Benitez at 155 pounds on the prelims, and Ontiveros succumbed to strikes in under four minutes. Every one of the nine pro losses for “The American Bad Boy” has come by knockout.

Tyson is in His Name: Right before the three-minute mark, Tyson Nam scorched Ode Osbourne with punches. All three UFC wins for Nam have been knockouts, while his defeats all decisions. Six of the last seven victories for the Hawaiian by way of Oregon have been by knockout.

To Asterisk or Not to Asterisk: Quinlan kept his unbeaten record intact by blasting through Witt with one punch in the first round. He also maintained his 100% finish rate in the process.

Ready, Set, Draw: After three rounds of action, Youssef Zalal and Da'Mon Blackshear fought to a majority draw. It marked the first draw in the Octagon this year, and the first since UFC Fight Night 196 in October 2021 between Grant Dawson and Ricky Glenn.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC on ESPN 41, Lucindo had never fought in the U.S. (17 fights), Lukasz Brzeski had never dropped a decision (11 fights) and Witt had never lost consecutive bouts (27 fights).

The Curse Finds You: Over the years, Cruz had walked out to many artists including Cypress Hill, Jay-Z, Maino and even a custom tune called “Dominator.” He had never, however, selected Eminem until this event, when he picked Dr. Dre’s “Forgot About Dre” featuring Eminem, and lost by knockout.

Pandering at Its Best: Meerschaert also changed his walkout music ahead of his San Diego-based match, going for the first time with “California Love” by 2Pac featuring Dr. Dre, instead of his normal picks of DMX or DJ Kool. The pick worked in his favor, as he won the crowd and defeated his opponent as well.