Fight Facts: UFC Fight Night 217 ‘Strickland vs. Imavov’

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: 6,956
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 632

The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced it was back in 2023 and “better than ever” by plunking down 11 fights in the UFC Apex on Saturday. The results were quite scattered, with a few successful rebound performances and some body-contorting knockouts. UFC Fight Night 217 featured a rude awakening for a rising Frenchman, a Hawaiian puncher that lived up to his nickname and Dagestani grappler that proved he has hands too.

The Huntington Beach Connection: Sean Strickland, who headlined UFC Fight Night 216 on Dec. 17, came back a month later to win a five-rounder over Nassourdine Imavov. This main event turnaround makes Strickland the first to headline back-to-back UFC cards since Tito Ortiz did this at UFC 50 and 51.

Tarzan Yell: Over the course of five rounds, Strickland significantly connected with Imavov 182 times. After 18 fights with the promotion, “Tarzan” has landed with 1,496 significant strikes, moving himself into the top 10 for the most in company history.

And Franklinweight: Due to the short-notice nature of the match, Strickland vs. Imavov was contested at light heavyweight. Strickland is now one of a small number of fighters in UFC history to earn victories in three different weight classes (welterweight, middleweight, light heavyweight), joining names like Diego Sanchez, Kenny Florian, Vitor Belfort, Conor McGregor, Jessica Andrade and Jared Cannonier.

French Fried: The victim of 182 significant strikes courtesy of Strickland, Imavov absorbed more punishment in this 25-minute span than the remainder of his UFC tenure combined. In his first five fights, spanning over 12 rounds of combat, foes had landed just 153 significant blows put together.

You Don’t Have to Ask When You Do That: To notch an equal number of knockouts to submissions in his career (five each), Dan Ige lamped Damon Jackson late in the second round. Dating back four years, the last three finishes for “50K” have all earned him $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonuses.

Stop Kopying Me: Lifting his career stoppage rate to 90%, Roman Kopylov stopped Punahele Soriano with a body kick and follow-up punches. All the Russian’s wins inside the distance have been via knockout.

Rocky Road: By razor close split decision, Raquel Pennington edged Ketlen Vieira across three rounds. The former title challenger has now notched five wins in a row, which sets a new career high for the woman that debuted as a pro against Kim Couture in 2012.

What Is Up with That Surname: For just the second time in his 16-fight career, Umar Nurmagomedov knocked out an opponent. The Dagestan native dusted Raoni Barcelos with a body kick and a left hand, claiming his first victory due to strikes since March 2017. Nurmagomedov remains unbeaten as a pro after 16 straight wins.

Tracking Prey Slow and Steady: Over the course of three rounds, “The Snow Leopard” Javid Basharat handled Mateus Mendonca to claim a unanimous decision. Now at 14-0, each of Basharat’s three UFC outings have gone to the scorecards. The Brit by way of Afghanistan made his way to the promotion with 11 straight stoppages.

Judo Thunder and Lightning: Early into the second round, Abdul Razak Alhassan obliterated Claudio Ribeiro with a barrage of punches. The fighter nicknamed “Judo Thunder” celebrates all 12 of his pro wins by knockout, and this marked the first to come after the first round.

The Famed New England Cartel: To lower his overall finish rate to 82%, Mateusz Rebecki deflated the undefeated Nick Fiore to win a decision. Two of the three total wins on the scorecards for the 18-fight vet have come across his last three outings.

This Is What It Feels Like to Be a Bear: After the midpoint of the first round, Allan Nascimento strangled Carlos Hernandez with a rear-naked choke. “Puro Osso” now celebrates a submission rate of 70%, and he has elicited taps with seven different maneuvers over the years.

Welcome Back: On the card opener, Charles Johnson punished the unretired Jimmy Flick with elbows and punches. “InnerG” is the fifth male flyweight in organizational history to end a fight with elbow strikes, joining John Moraga, Willie Gates, Louis Smolka and Jeff Molina.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC Fight Night 217, Imavov had never fought beyond Round 3 (15 fights); Soriano (11 fights), Barcelos (20 fights) and Ribeiro (12 fights) had never been knocked out and Mendonca (10 fights), Fiore (six fights) and Nick Aguirre (seven fights) had never been defeated.

Does That Make Me Crazy? Ahead of his Octagon debut, Fiore walked out to “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley. He becomes just the second recorded fighter to pick this tune, with the first B.J. Penn when he faced Matt Hughes at UFC 63 in 2006. Both men lost.

Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop: The very first UFC walkout song of the year went to Flick, who picked a song never before heard in the Octagon. Flick went with “Scatman” by Scatman John, but ultimately fell short to Johnson.