Fight Facts: UFC Edmonton ‘Moreno vs. Albazi’

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: 7,919
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 711

The Ultimate Fighting Championship rolled through Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on Saturday with a show that favored local fighters over foreign adversaries. The event dragged on through the night, reaching a near-record amount of fight time that was not always sensational. UFC Edmonton featured an “Assassin Baby” growing up before our eyes, a rare brabo choke among the ladies and the proliferation of the “Eminem Curse.”

Our Home and Native Land: Local competitors repping Canada fared well at UFC Edmonton, with six of eight Canadian combatants wearing the red maple leaf prevailing. While Caio Machado also has ties to Canada, his shorts bore the green markings of his birth nation of Brazil.

Not Overly Fun: Over the course of the 13-bout evening, nine fights went to decision while a whopping three hours, six minutes and 38 seconds of in-combat time elapsed. This makes UFC Fight Night 246 the fourth card in company history to pass three hours of cage time, while serving as the third-longest show to take place in the Octagon.

Too Much of a Good Thing: UFC Edmonton became the lengthiest event without featuring a title to occur in UFC history. The two events that took longer came in 2020 and 2021 with UFCs 251 and 263.

Champ-Like Achievements: The victorious Brandon Moreno outdueled Amir Albazi en route to a one-sided decision win. Moreno became the fifth fighter in UFC flyweight history to amass at least 10 wins, with Joseph Benavidez’ and Demetrious Johnson’s tie for 13 the top spot.

More for Moreno: Moreno entered into his 17th bout as a 125er on the UFC roster. This puts him in sole possession of the no. 3 spot for the most appearances in the division’s history. Tim Elliott (18) and Benavidez (19) are the only two above him.

Big Baby: Landing 132 significant strikes on Albazi, “The Assassin Baby” added to his total at 125 pounds to reach 1,131. He passes Johnson’s 1,059 for the most in the UFC flyweight category.

Warm Blooded: Erin Blanchfield prevailed over Rose Namajunas in a close five-rounder. In doing so, “Cold Blooded” pushed the former strawweight champ to the scorecards for the latter’s sixth fight in a row. Five of those six outings for Namajunas have been 25-minute engagements.

Gorilla Meeting a Kitten: His finish rate falling to 94%, Brendson Ribeiro settled for his first career decision win when he defeated Caio Machado. “The Gorilla” from Brazil had previously posted 15 finishes on his ledger, with 11 taking place in Round 1.

We Know What It’s Called: Jasmine Jasudavicius strangled Ariane Lipski with a brabo choke in the third round. Her submission is just the third of its kind among all women to set foot in the Octagon, with Tatiana Suarez and Karine Silva the first two to pull off the move also known as a D’Arce choke in the past.

Jitz Meets Fists: Clobbering Marc-Andre Barriault with a fierce combo of punches, Dustin Stoltzfus picked up his first knockout victory in the Octagon. It is the first time the grappler has finished a fight with strikes since putting away Jonas Billstein in 2019.

Improperly Proper: Mike Malott needed all three rounds to get past Trevin Giles, doing so via unanimous decision. “Proper Mike” had previously celebrated his past 10 wins inside the distance, with all 10 coming within two rounds.

Tristar Things: For the first time in his UFC career that began in 2017, Aiemann Zahabi won two fights in a year. It is only the second year as a member of the roster that he even competed on two separate occasions.

Munhoz Has Never Been Dropped: Zahabi’s win over Munhoz came by decision, with no fighter ever able to finish the durable Brazilian thus far. The ten losses on the scorecards for Munhoz make him the fifth fighter in UFC history to reach this total, with Rafael dos Anjos (10), Jeremy Stephens (12), Angela Hill (12) and Jim Miller (12) the others.

The Field Passes You By: Munhoz made his 21st walk to the cage for a 135-pound fight against Zahabi. While he did not succeed, “The Young Punisher” tied Marlon Vera for the most appearances in the history of the weight class.

Quietest Record Set: The 95 significant strike connects for Munhoz in his loss to the Canadian set a new bantamweight record. His total of 1,263 leapfrogged Vera’s 1,187 and Font’s 1,197 to reach the top spot.

Ye Olde Clube and Sube: Clubbing Victor Henry and hitting a guillotine choke, Canada’s Charles Jourdain prevailed in his new weight class of 135 pounds. “Air Jourdain” has amassed an 87% finish rate as a pro.

New Lease on Life: Youssef Zalal overwhelmed Jack Shore en route to a submission by arm-triangle choke. The Moroccan-based fighter has landed subs in his three appearances on his second stint in the Octagon, pushing his overall stoppage rate to 81%.

Cut Everybody: In a slow-paced affair, Alexander Romanov did enough to get past Rodrigo Nascimento at the hands of the judges. The Moldovan needed to involve the scorecards for the third time as a victorious fighter, with those three decisions coming in his last five wins.

Don’t Get Squeamish: Squamish, Canada, native Jamey-Lyn Horth started her career with five straight stoppage wins. Since joining the promotion, she has heard the final bell all three times following her win over Ivana Petrovic.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC Fight Night 246, Lipski had never been submitted (26 fights), Giles (22 fights) and Nascimento (14 fights) had never lost on the scorecards and Henry had never been finished (31 fights).

Lift Up the Receiver, I’ll Make You a Believer: Ribeiro remains the lone fighter in company history to pick a tune from Depeche Mode, selecting “Personal Jesus” for the third time in three UFC outings. With his win, he is now the first fighter to prevail when going with a song crooned by Dave Gahan.

A Curse Upon You: In 2024 thus far, Eminem tracks have been played eight times in the various arenas inhabited by the UFC. No fighter has won this year when selecting Eminem as their walkout music, with Machado falling short again when using “Lose Yourself.”