Fight Facts: UFC 301 ‘Pantoja vs. Erceg’

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: 7,654
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 689

The Ultimate Fighting Championship took back to the tropical city of Rio de Janeiro with a show that made sure Brazilians were in full focus. Most local competitors prevailed, including the last two on the show, making this a night for home-country fans to remember. UFC 301 featured an outstanding champion still miles away from the title record at his weight class, the return of the “King of Rio” and a dreadful showing for fans of AC/DC.

Getting Tougher Every Time: By defeating Steve Erceg, Alexandre Pantoja earned his 12th victory as a UFC flyweight. He is just one win behind divisional leaders Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez.

No One’s Catching That Record: Pantoja has now prevailed three times in UFC flyweight championship affairs. He is tied with Brandon Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo for the second-most in divisional history. They all trail Johnson by a wide margin, who celebrates 12 championship victories.

Not Every Fight Can Be a Finish: This was Pantoja’s sixth win on the scorecards in the weight class, putting him one shy of Benavidez and Tim Elliott, who share the lead with seven apiece.

The Clock Is Ticking, Though: Pantoja has competed 15 times at 125 pounds in the Octagon. He is one of six male fighters to accomplish this feat, joining Johnson, Moreno, Jussier Formiga, Elliott and all-time leader Benavidez (19).

Can Do Everything: Throughout their match, Pantoja grounded Erceg nine times, a personal best. “The Cannibal” vaulted into the top five at the weight class, having completed 34 in total. Elliott’s 59 stands above the rest.

The Aldo of Old: Coming back after nearly two years away, Jose Aldo emerged victorious over Jonathan Martinez by decision. “The King of Rio” has gone to decision in his last five outings, a record in his 40-fight career.

Like Adding a Chainsaw to a Shark’s Head: In the third round, Aldo took Martinez down. This marked the former featherweight champ’s first completed takedown since he faced Ricardo Lamas over 10 years ago.

Not So Effing Old: A hefty +350 betting underdog, Anthony Smith turned back the clock and submitted Vitor Petrino in two minutes. The former light heavyweight title challenger posts a 92% finish rate, with 35 of 38 wins inside the distance.

Guile’s Theme Goes with Everything: Throttling Ihor Potieria with a guillotine choke in 54 seconds, Michel Pereira earned his 20th stoppage win as a pro. Fifteen of those finishes have come in Round 1.

Here for a Good Time, not a Long Time: In his third outing as a UFC middleweight, Paul Craig was punched out by Caio Borralho. The Scottish fighter has only gone to decision twice in 26 pro bouts, with four straight stoppages, win or lose, on his ledger.

Infection Risk: Joanderson Brito shredded Jack Shore’s calf to force a doctor stoppage after the midpoint of Round 2. The aggressive Brazilian featherweight pushed his career finish rate to 88%, having won his last five fights all inside the distance.

Momentum Stalled: Coming up short by decision to Iasmin Lucindo, Karolina Kowalkiewicz had her four-fight win streak snapped. The Polish woman has heard the final bell in four straight outings and seven of nine overall.

A Young Woman’s Game: At the age of 38, Kowalkiewicz came into her fight against Lucindo over 16 years the elder. This is the widest age gap between women competing in the Octagon, surpassing the 16-plus year disparity between Roxanne Modafferi and Maycee Barber at UFC 246 in 2020.

Taken Orally Every 15 Minutes: Needing all three rounds to get past Elves Brener, Myktybek Orolbai saw his finish rate fall in victory. The Team Alpha Male product has earned 85% of his wins via stoppage.

Little Early with the Conor Comparisons: Mauricio Ruffy felled Jamie Mullarkey in the first round with a barrage of punches. Ruffy retained his 100% knockout rate with the victory, with seven of his 10 wins coming within the first five-minute period.

Welcome Home: For the first time in his career, Alenquer, Brazil, native Alessandro Costa competed in front of a Brazilian crowd. “Nono” wiped out Kevin Borjas in the second frame with punches, lifting his stoppage rate to 79% with the triumph.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC 301, Erceg had never competed beyond Round 3 (13 fights), Petrino (11 fights) and Ernesta Kareckaite (six fights) had never been defeated and Potieria had never been submitted (25 fights).

Brazil Trumped Australia: Three fighters at UFC 301 walked out with AC/DC songs playing: Kowalkiewicz, Mullarkey and Pichel. The strawweight picked “T.N.T.,” the Aussie went with “Thunderstruck” and the mustachioed man selected “Highway to Hell.” All three suffered losses.

Double Dose of Dark Man X: Drakkar Klose and Shore walked to the cage with DMX playing in the arena. Klose chose “X Gon’ Give It to Ya” and had his hand raised against Joaquim Silva, while Shore came up short to Brito after walking out with “The Rain.”