Fight Facts: UFC Fight Night 215 ‘Nzechukwu vs. Cutelaba’

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: 6,906
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 628

Disaster struck at the UFC Apex midway through the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s latest Fight Night affair, when the main event fell through while prelims were airing. The promotion made the most of a nightmare situation by simply plugging along, but the card still might have clocked in as one of the worst in organizational history. UFC Fight Night 215 did feature a pair of wonderful whirling knockouts, a continuing rough run for the unsuccessful headliner and one more rising welterweight among an incredibly crowded field.

Day of the Dumpster: Neither Kennedy Nzechukwu nor Ion Cutelaba competed as ranked fighters on the UFC roster, yet they claimed the unexpected main event spot. This headliner is the first since UFC Fight Night 95 in 2016 – which featured Cristiane Justino vs. Lina Lansberg at 140 pounds – to see wholly unranked fighters square off in the marquee attraction.

Birds of a Feather: Both Muslim Salikhov and Natalia Silva performed spinning kick knockouts at this event, and they also took home $50k checks. UFC Fight Night 215 joins past UFC Fight Night events on 144 and 179 in 2019 and 2020, respectively, as events that saw more than one spinning knockout take place.

Two for One: Putting Cutelaba away with a flying knee and follow-up punches, Nzechukwu is the second victorious headliner to score a knockout via flying knee. The first came in 2008, when Thiago Alves smoked Matt Hughes with one. Both took place at exactly 1:02 of the second round.

A Pressing Engagement: Nzechukwu has now earned knockouts in his last four victories. Overall, “African Savage” posts a knockout rate of 73%, and all but two have occurred later than the first round.

Green No More: For the seventh time as a UFC light heavyweight, Cutelaba suffered a stoppage loss. “The Hulk” and Mauricio Rua now hold that dubious top spot for the most in divisional history.

A Bad Reflection on You: Chase Sherman dropped a decision to Waldo Cortes-Acosta, earning him his 10th defeat on the UFC roster. His 4-10 record with the promotion, and corresponding win percentage of .286, is the lowest of any fighter to ever compete under its banner while reaching 10 losses. Josh Burkman and Jessica Eye’s .333 are tied for the second-worst.

The Power Transfer: Putting Andre Fialho away in the third round, Muslim Salikhov did so with a spinning wheel kick and a few punches. Over his career, the “King of Kung Fu” has racked up five knockouts stemming from spinning kicks.

Wheel of Misfortune: Across the history of the UFC, various fighters have performed 15 spinning wheel kick knockouts, following Salikhov’s performance. His is the fourth in welterweight history, and the fifth-latest at 1:03 of Round 3.

Green with Evil: The UFC has awarded 14 post-fight bonus checks to the victors and/or competitors of fights ending by spinning wheel kick, as Salikhov picked up a “Performance of the Night” award for his handiwork. Only Daron Cruickshank’s on Mike Rio and Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos’ over Sean Strickland did not earn them additional cash.

A Monster of Global Proportions: Walking down Danny Roberts and laying him out at 3:24 of the first round, Jack Della Maddalena won his 13th straight fight. With his third first-round knockout as a UFC fighter, the Aussie boosted his career stoppage rate to 92%.

Big Sisters: Upsetting Maryna Moroz and putting an end to a two-bout skid, Jennifer Maia picked up a decision win. The former title challenger has gone the distance in all but one of her last 14 fights dating back seven years.

Ricky Just Wants to Have Fun: Ricky Turcios rebounded from a recent defeat by claiming a close split decision over Kevin Natividad. Exactly two-thirds of Turcios’ professional outings have gone the distance, win or lose.

Second Chance: “Bam Bam” Brady Hiestand picked up a decision against Fernando Garcia to earn his first UFC win. The Sikjitsu fighter has an even distribution for his method of victory, with two knockouts, two submissions and two wins on the scorecards.

The Ninja Encounter: For the first time from any female UFC fighter, Silva recorded a knockout with a spinning kick. Her spinning back kick laid waste to Tereza Bleda in the third round.

The Power Stealer: With the bonus award-winning knockout, Silva lifted her overall finish rate to 79% as a pro. She has pulled off stoppages in seven of her last eight outings.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC Fight Night 215, Natividad had never lost on the scorecards (12 fights), Garcia had never dropped consecutive bouts (12 fights) and Bleda had never been defeated (six fights).

The Sound of Dischordia: Maddalena and Maia both walked out to AC/DC tracks throughout the night, and both fighters picked up wins. Maia selected her usual of “T.N.T,” while Maddalena went with a deeper cut of “Jailbreak.” The Australian rock group sits as the fourth-most frequently used walkout artist in UFC history, but its win percentage – like the artists of Kanye West, 2Pac and Eminem used more often – sits below .500.

I, Eye Guy: As a late replacement, Miles Johns snatched a nailbiter decision over Vince Morales. Ahead of the match, Johns chose “Sirius” by The Alan Parsons Project with part of “Eye in the Sky” attached as his walkout tune. The win for Johns elevated the band’s low win percentage to a recorded .286.