Fight Facts: UFC on ESPN 54 ‘Blanchfield vs. Fiorot’

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.

* * *

TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC FIGHTS: 7,603
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 685

The Ultimate Fighting Championship served up a baker’s dozen matchups from strawweight to light heavyweight in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and fans learned a lot. While local combatants did not fare well, experience trumped youthful exuberance. UFC on ESPN 54 featured a (temporary) record for knockouts in one night, multiple bouts with results that may change upon review and the taste of sweet revenge on the prelims.

This Stat Will Not Likely Hold Up: Throughout the strange night, eight of the 13 bouts ended via knockout. This ties the UFC’s single-event record held by eight other cards from 2008 to 2022.

Will She Fight for the Title Next: Manon Fiorot claimed a decision win over Erin Blanchfield in a one-sided five-round effort. The Frenchwoman has gone the distance in five straight outings, accounting for five of her six career victories on the scorecards.

Seven for Seven: Triumphant in all seven appearances in the Octagon, Fiorot became the seventh UFC flyweight to amass this number of wins. Valentina Shevchenko and Katlyn Cerminara share the lead with nine apiece.

Somehow Slow and Fast at the Same Time: Fiorot and Blanchfield combined for 302 significant strikes landed across their 25-minute endeavor. This total moves into fourth place on the leaderboard at flyweight while serving as the fourth match in the division’s history to surpass 300.

What a Beast: On her side, “The Beast” connected with 172 sig strikes, which also claimed the no. 4 spot at flyweight. Jessica Andrade’s 231 against Lauren Murphy in 2023 stands above the pack.

New Life at Welterweight: Joaquin Buckley pounded out Vicente Luque to lift his professional knockout rate to 72%. Buckley has still never landed a submission.

Chin Starting to Crack: The stoppage loss to strikes is Luque’s second in a career that spans 33 fights. His first came two appearances ago against Geoff Neal.

There Were Two Eye Pokes: For now, Chris Weidman secured his first victory since 2020 by drumming out Bruno Silva. The knockout was subsequently changed to a technical decision for the ninth result of its kind in organizational history.

Long-Forgotten Wrestling: “The All-American” added one more takedown to his tally for his 43rd as a UFC middleweight. He is now six ahead of Thales Leites and 12 above the next active fighters, Anthony Hernandez and Jacob Malkoun.

There Was an Eye Poke: If the result holds up on appeal, Nursulton Ruziboev put Sedriques Dumas away with punches in the first round. With a finish rate now boosted to 94%, “Black” notched his 25th first-round stoppage, including his 10th in a row.

Canada vs. Atlantic City: Kyle Nelson sprang the largest betting upset of the evening as a +250 underdog by shellacking Bill Algeo. The Canadian procured his first stoppage win in almost five years, breaking a streak of four straight full-length bouts.

Slow Train: With 18 wins, including 11 inside the distance, Nate Landwehr wrecked Jamall Emmers in the first round. The speedy win marked just the third time “The Train” has gotten it done in Round 1.

Janned It In: Virna Jandiroba picked up the nod over Lupita Godinez to improve her win streak to three. Landing two takedowns en route to victory, her total of 17 makes her the 11th UFC strawweight to amass this many.

The Second Miss Was More Alarming: Ahead of his beatdown of Herbert Burns, ex-bantamweight Julio Arce missed weight as a featherweight. He is now a member of a small group of fighters, including John Lineker, Charles Oliveira and Anthony Johnson, who have come in heavy across multiple weight divisions.

Bazooka Dennis: Early in the third round, Dennis Buzukja dispatched Connor Matthews. With a 50% finish rate on his ledger, it is the first stoppage for the New Yorker after 6:29 in a fight.

Turkish Delight: In the third stanza, Ibo Aslan avenged his 2020 loss to Anton Turkalj by demolishing Turkalj with one punch. The 27-year-old repping Turkey has earned all 13 of his pro wins by knockout.

Australia with the Goal: Earning his first UFC finish, Malkoun belted a stunned Andre Petroski with a vicious soccer kick to the body. His is the second soccer kick finish in promotional history, with Eryk Anders’ over Tim Williams in 2018 the first.

One More for Ireland: While claiming his first victory in the Octagon, Caolan Loughran needed all 15 minutes to get past Angel Pacheco. “The Don” saw his finish rate fall to 78% with his triumphant performance.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC on ESPN 54, Fiorot (12 fights) and Blanchfield (13 fights) had never competed beyond Round 3; Dumas (10 fights), Algeo (25 fights) and Matthews (eight fights) had never been knocked out and Petroski (12 fights) and Pacheco (nine fights) had never dropped consecutive bouts.

Fifty Percent Pain: In all seven of her UFC appearances, Blanchfield has walked out to “Remember the Name” by Fort Minor. This marked the first time she had lost while accompanied by the track.

That’s What All the People Say: Breaking from tradition, Jandiroba selected “That’s Life” by Frank Sinatra and prevailed over Godinez. She is the first fighter to win when picking a song by the legendary crooner, with names like Dave Herman and Makwan Amirkhani coming up short in the past.