Fight Facts: UFC 267

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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: 6,358
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 583

The Ultimate Fighting Championship went for broke with UFC 267, with an overstuffed blockbuster show free for American audiences. Two new titleholders emerged after a wild day of fights, with stars bursting forth and Russia largely running the table. The event featured a new champ traversing a once-crossed path, a gladiator who refuses to tap to his own detriment and the raucous return of a big 2020 star.

No +100000 Parlay: Of the 14 fights that took place throughout the day, the first 13 all had betting favorites winning their respective bouts. The lone upset on the card came for Glover Teixeira, in the biggest win of his career.

Adopted Home in the UAE: Eight fighters born in Russia faced off against foreign opponents throughout UFC 267. When the night ended, seven of those fighters had their hands raised, with only Shamil Gamzatov suffering a defeat for his home country.

Nice Shootin’, Tex: Turning 42 years old two days before the event, Teixeira defied the odds and wrested the light heavyweight belt from Jan Blachowicz by second-round submission. At 42, Teixeira is the second oldest fighter to win a UFC title, trailing only Randy Couture, who was 43 when he claimed it from Tim Sylvia at UFC 68 in 2007 and 45 when he lost it.

Old Dog, New Belt: Although Teixeira is not the all-around oldest fighter to win a UFC strap, he is when it comes to first-time champions. Couture first laid claim to a UFC championship in 1997.

The Gloves are Off: On his current six-fight win streak on his triumphant run for UFC gold, Teixeira has finished five of his six foes inside the distance. Four of those five stoppages have come by submission along the way, and his career finish rate has been elevated to a stellar 85%.

HOF-Caliber Resume: Throughout his lengthy UFC career, Teixeira has racked up 13 finishes, including seven by submission. Both are UFC light heavyweight records extended by the Brazilian.

Jones Looms: The win at 205 pounds was Teixeira’s 16th, giving him sole possession of second place for the most in UFC divisional history.

Couldn’t Happen to a Nicer Guy: Teixeira pocketed $50,000 for a “Performance of the Night” bonus by dispatching Blachowicz to earn his eighth post-fight bonus since joining the roster. He is now tied for the most in UFC 205-pound history with Mauricio Rua and Ovince St. Preux. Although Jones was awarded eight as well, one came after his second win against Daniel Cormier, for which he failed a drug test following the victory.

Forgotten That Sensation: Saturday was the first time Blachowicz had tapped out since Andre Fyeet landed a kimura on him at KSW 8 in 2007. At that time, his opponent and Jingliang Li were the only two fighters of 27 on UFC 267 that had made their pro debuts.

2021 Strikes Back: The significant strike tallies between Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen set a pair of new records in the UFC’s bantamweight division in their five-round thriller. The two landed 318 across 25 minutes while throwing 715 in total, both new highs at 135 pounds, passing the 301 and 713 from Frankie Edgar and Pedro Munhoz’ battle in 2020.

A New Low, But Still Pretty High: Both Yan and Sandhagen had lost their last bouts coming into their interim bantamweight title tilt. Their championship fight is the first in UFC history where both competitors lost before vying for the belt.

Smesh Back: Returning from the longest layoff of his career, Khamzat Chimaev remained unbeaten by crushing Jingliang Li and putting him to sleep in the first round. The Chechen by way of Sweden is a flawless 10-0 as a pro, with all 10 wins coming within two rounds.

Here Comes a New Challenger: Even more remarkable that his finish streak remained intact is that Chimaev did not absorb a single strike, significant or otherwise, en route to victory. In his four UFC fights, Chimaev has taken exactly one significant strike while dishing out 112 of his own.

No-Brainer Bonus: All four of Chimaev’s finishes have been accompanied by “Performance of the Night” bonuses. He is now one of a very small number of fighters in UFC history to start their tenures off with four straight bonus-winning battles, a club with membership including Tyson Griffin, Thomas Almeida, Lando Vannata and Justin Gaethje.

In-Cage Nap Aficionado: The only other time Li had been finished came back in 2015 when he faced Keita Nakamura at UFC Fight Night 75. In the third round, Nakamura performed a rear-naked choke like Chimaev, and just the same as last Saturday, Li did not tap out and was rendered unconscious.

The Bummer Club: As Li has fallen victim to more than one submission in the UFC that put him out, he is now the sixth fighter in company history to succumb to multiple technical submissions. The others include Al Iaquinta, Christian Aguilera, Josh Neer, Nathan Coy and St. Preux.

Sharpen the Machete: Battering Roman Kopylov over the course of three rounds, Albert Duraev won a decision and his career finish rate dropped to 79%. Although most of the wins for “Machete” have come by stoppage, two of his last three have allowed the involvement of judges.

Do You Believe in Michal? In the first round, Michal Oleksiejczuk laid waste to Gamzatov to bring his career knockout rate to 69%. Adding a submission picked up five years ago, “Lord” celebrates a clean overall stoppage rate of 75%, with knockouts in six of his last seven victories.

Take Me Down, Bro: With a new, sterling record of 11-0-1, Lerone Murphy demolished Makwan Amirkhani with a knee early in the second round to earn that next triumph. The Brit has never before picked up a submission, with the majority of his wins coming by knockout.

Tear Up the Scorecards: Only 14 seconds remained on the clock when Andre Petroski tapped Yaozong Hu with an arm-triangle choke. The submission allowed the New Jersey native to retain a 100% finish rate as a pro in his young career.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC 267, Sandhagen had never dropped consecutive bouts (16 fights), Ricardo Ramos (18 fights) and Roman Kopylov (nine fights) had never lost on the scorecards and neither Benoit St. Denis (nine fights) nor Gamzatov (14 fights) had ever been defeated.

No More Fun and Games: Teixeira went back to an old favorite walkout tune of “Vou Colher Sorrindo” by Pregador Luo for his headlining bout and won with style points. The past five fights on his win streak all were accompanied by “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns N’ Roses, and the last time he used the Pregador Luo song, he lost.

She’s an Island Boy: Although she lost a decision to Amanda Ribas, Virna Jandiroba walked out to a live looping remix by The Kiffness of “Island Boy” as performed by the Island Boys. A track made famous on the social media platform TikTok; journalist Ariel Helwani promised a place on his wall of fame for any fighter that used the song at UFC 267. Jandiroba obliged him.