Fight Facts: UFC on ESPN 51 ‘Luque vs. dos Anjos’

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: 7,264
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 657

The Ultimate Fighting Championship kicked in the doors of the Apex with a fast and furious preliminary slate on Saturday. While the pace could not be maintained for the remainder of the evening, it set the standard that made other fighters take note. UFC on ESPN 51 featured a record number of speedy stoppages, a transformed 205er quietly pounding his way up the knockdown leaderboard and an all-action fighter that will not let the judges earn their paychecks.

Let’s Go Out in a Blaze of Glory: Over the course of the evening, seven different bouts ended in the first round. This ties the modern era record for the most at a single UFC card, with this initially occurring all the way back at the TUF 1 Finale in 2005.

D I-AA Luque: After five rounds, Vicente Luque successfully grounded Rafael dos Anjos eight times en route to a decision win. In his previous 19 UFC outings, Luque had only landed a total of six.

Vicentwenty: The welterweight main attraction for Luque was his 20th bout at 170 pounds, making him one of just 12 men to reach that number. His 15 total wins put him six behind divisional leader Neil Magny, while tying him with former champ Kamaru Usman along with Thiago Alves.

For the Love of the Game: Falling short in the headliner, dos Anjos nevertheless made his 34th walk to the Octagon. This puts him in a tie for fifth place with former foe Jeremy Stephens.

Grinder Got Grinded: Going the distance in the five-round main event, dos Anjos added 25 more minutes to his company-leading amount of time spent in the cage. The only active combatant anywhere close to him is Max Holloway, who trails the former lightweight champ by about an hour and 11 minutes.

Cub Said No: Snagging a contentious decision over Hakeem Dawodu, featherweight fan-favorite Cub Swanson earned his 14th victory on the roster. When adding in his five triumphs under the Zuffa-owned World Extreme Cagefighting banner, he ties Max Holloway for the most wins in combined UFC/WEC 145-pound history – although Holloway never fought in the WEC.

Thailand, You Should Go There: Putting Chris Daukaus away in Round 2, Khalil Rountree registered a single knockdown in the first round to bring his light heavyweight total to 12. The only men with more are Chuck Liddell and Mauricio Rua, who each celebrate 14.

She Still Has Spots: Iasmin Lucindo handled Polyana Viana and tapped her out with an arm-triangle choke to boost her finish rate to 73%. The youngster performed her first submission since 2019 – when she was just 17 years of age.

Stay Professional: Coming in 3.5 pounds over the middleweight limit, Tafon Nchukwi went on to lose a decision to A.J. Dobson. So far this year, 20 fighters have missed weight and still fought, while just six have prevailed, including fellow UFC on ESPN 51 competitor Josh Fremd.

He’s a Maniac on the Cage Floor: In a bit over two minutes, Marcus McGhee decked J.P. Buys. “The Maniac” still celebrates a finish rate of 100% with his win, and all but one of his triumphs have come via strikes.

Get Wrecked: Keeping the judges at bay once more, the 20-fight vet Terrance McKinney put Mike Breeden away in 85 seconds. Win or lose, “T. Wrecks” has yet to hear the final bell, and 16 of those outings ended in the opening frame.

Stepped Out of the Krause Shadow: Former Glory MMA & Fitness prospect Isaac Dulgarian made his debut and brutalized Francis Marshall with 12 seconds left in the first round. Turning pro in March 2021, Dulgarian now celebrates six first-round finishes.

Smother and Tap: Performing his second career submission, Martin Buday tapped Josh Parisian with a kimura to earn his first stoppage in the Octagon. Despite the kimura’s reputation as a “big man” sub, twice as many light heavyweights or lightweights have landed them compared to the heavyweight division.

That’s the Fact, Jack: For the first time in her young career, Jaqueline Amorim ended a fight after the first round. Her third-round stoppage over Montserrat Ruiz kept her 100% finish rate intact while checking in as her second knockout.

Tornado Warning: Da'Mon Blackshear submitted late replacement Jose Johnson in the first round to elevate his overall win rate inside the distance to 79%. His maneuver a rare twister, it is only the third in organizational history and the first since Bryce Mitchell conquered Matt Sayles in December 2019.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC on ESPN 51, Dawodu (17 fights), Parisian (21 fights) and Ruiz (12 fights) had never dropped consecutive bouts; Marshall (eight fights) and Juliana Miller (five fights) had never been finished and Luque had never won a match that went beyond the 15-minute mark (31 fights).

No Baby, No Baby: For the first time in 20 UFC outings, Luque selected a walkout track other than “Baby Baby” by Tropkillaz. For his main event, he chose “Long Way” by Lathan Warlick featuring KB, and he pulled off the win while setting multiple personal bests.

Without a Win: Picking an Eminem track not heard in the Octagon since late 2017, Marshall went with “Without Me” and suffered a knockout. The only UFC fighter this year to win after using Eminem as a walkout artist remains Jack Jenkins.

Back When Times Were Simpler: Before she tapped out Ruiz, Amorim walked to the cage with the Pride Fighting Championships theme by Yasuharu Takanashi playing behind her. She becomes the first recorded female fighter in organizational history to go with this theme music.