Fight Facts: UFC Fight Night 238 ‘Rozenstruik vs. Gaziev’

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: 7,550
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 681

The Ultimate Fighting Championship refueled at the Apex for a short and occasionally violent showcase that brought rise to a few new contenders. Several massive betting favorites were littered across the lineup, and not all prevailed. UFC Fight Night 238 featured an immediate “Knockout of the Year” candidate, a fighter with odds so lopsided even a parlay would be a waste and an important record correction on a newcomer.

Mismatch City: Two competitors closed with betting odds above -1000 at this event: Umar Nurmagomedov (-1600) and Ludovit Klein (-1100). UFC Fight Night 238 became the fourth event in company history to feature multiple favorites of this magnitude, joining UFC 193, UFC on Fox 24 and UFC Fight Night 137.

To the Death, Shamil: After Round 4, Shamil Gaziev could not continue and asked out of the bout. The TKO win due to retirement for Jairzinho Rozenstruik is the fifth at this point of a fight, joining wins for Georges St. Pierre, Max Holloway, Cory Sandhagen and Stephen Thompson.

Time for Rozenstruik vs. Lewis: The knockout for Rozenstruik was his eighth as a UFC heavyweight. He breaks into the top 10 with this quantity and is six behind leader Derrick Lewis.

Knockout or Nothing: By landing another knockout, Rozenstruik improved his overall finish rate to 93%. All of his stoppages are courtesy of knockout.

Mostly Jabs: Rozenstruik landed 127 significant strikes in four rounds of combat. In the process, he shattered his previous promotional record of 89 set against Alistair Overeem in 2019.

It Was a Win: Needing all three rounds to get past Tyson Pedro, Vitor Petrino settled for a decision to improve his pro record to 11-0. It is only the third time in the Brazilian’s career that he has gone the distance.

See You In a Few Months: After his defeat to Petrino, Pedro announced his retirement in the cage. He leaves behind an 11-fight UFC tenure that saw him pull off wins over names like Paul Craig and Khalil Rountree. The 32-year-old sports a 100% finish rate, with equal knockouts to submissions.

Give Him a Five-Rounder: Muhammad Mokaev picked up a decision over Alex Perez, and his record elevated to 12-0 with a no-contest. He has reached the third round in five straight encounters.

The 0 Did Not Go: Nurmagomedov outworked Bekzat Almakhan to pick up a lopsided decision win and improve his record to 17-0. On the list of undefeated active competitors, just a few sit above Nurmagomedov in the major leagues. PFL’s Movlid Khaybulaev (21-0, 1 NC) currently sports the best record in a major MMA promotion without a loss.

Won About 14 Minutes and 50 Seconds: Nurmagomedov closed with astronomical -1600 odds against Almakhan (+850). This made him the biggest UFC betting favorite since Bo Nickal faced Jamie Pickett at UFC 285 in March 2023.

No Malfeasance Detected: The UFC billed Almakhan at 17-1 on fight week, and a Sherdog Fight Finder investigation determined that Almakhan had engaged in 11 mixed-rules bouts that imposed a time limit on grappling. This adjusted his pro MMA record to 11-1 until he lost and fell to 11-2.

Calling Tech Support: Icing Matt Schnell with one punch, Steve Erceg performed his first finish as a UFC fighter. It marks just the second knockout in the Aussie’s career, with his first a one-hitter quitter of Paul Loga in 2019.

A Fighter of All Time: Pickett dropped a decision to Eryk Anders to suffer his fifth consecutive loss in the Octagon. “The Nightwolf” then retired. While he only earned two wins in his UFC tenure, he is one of under 600 people to compete in the UFC at least nine times.

Award Him All the Bonuses: After three rounds of violence, Vinicius Oliveira sparked Bernardo Sopai with a spectacular flying knee. Winner of both “Fight of the Night” and “Performance of the Night” with his display, “Lok Dog” is the first double bonus winner since Jiri Prochazka wiped out Dominick Reyes at UFC on ESPN 23 in May 2021.

Full Speed Ahead: Each of the last five victories for Oliveira has come inside the distance following his flying knee of Sopai. His finish rate lifted to 90% with his knockout.

With Brothers in the Corners: As a +550 betting underdog, Aiemann Zahabi upset the -850 Javid Basharat by claiming a decision. His is the biggest upset in the Octagon since Alexa Grasso submitted Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 285.

CLD Has the Key: By lumping up Claudio Ribeiro with elbows and punches, Christian Leroy Duncan recorded his 10th professional victory. The Brit has earned nine of those inside the distance, with eight coming within two rounds.

Extend the Toes: Ludovit Klein dismantled late replacement A.J. Cunningham with a front kick to the body and follow-up punches. His is the fourth such finish in company history. Siyar Bahadurzada performed the first against Luan Chagas, followed by Alexander Volkov against Walt Harris and Dan Hooker against Claudio Puelles.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC Fight Night 238, Gaziev (12 fights) and Basharat (14 fights) had never been defeated, Almakhan had never lost on the scorecards (12 pro MMA fights) and Sopai had never been finished (13 fights).

Let Me Remember Things I Love: Over the years, fighters have selected songs by Creedence Clearwater Revival dozens of times. Schnell’s pick of “Green River,” however, was the first recorded use of the song in UFC history.

Run with Us: Following his 2019 loss, Zahabi changed his walkout tune to “Thug Luv” by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony featuring 2Pac. In all four of those subsequent outings, he has prevailed.