Fight Facts: UFC 313 ‘Pereira vs. Ankalaev’

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: 8,076
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 724

The Ultimate Fighting Championship brought inconsistent results, a little disappointment and a bonkers knockout to fight fans at the T-Mobile Arena on Saturday. The audience reaction was mixed at night’s end, while the Sherdog Forums overwhelmingly mourned the defeat of a beloved champion. UFC 313 featured a new distinction for light heavyweight gold, a bonus master in his best form and the wheel kick of all wheel kicks.

Russian Resurgence: Magomed Ankalaev won a decision over Alex Pereira to claim the undisputed UFC light heavyweight championship. While many men have held that belt over the years, he is the first from Russia to do so.

Good Luck with That: To get to the throne, Ankalaev amassed a streak of 13 fights without suffering a loss—although he fought to a draw, and had one bout ruled a no contest. This current unbeaten streak of 14 straight is the second-lengthiest in his division’s history, trailing only Jon Jones’ run of 18 fights sans defeat from 2010 to 2020.

Ho Hum: The win on the scorecards dropped Ankalaev’s finish rate to an even 50%, with the remainder of his other victories all knockouts. This trend holds true for his time in the UFC, with six of his 12 triumphs needing to involve the judges.

Two for Every Day of the Week: In a rematch of their 2023 tilt, Justin Gaethje again outdueled Rafael Fiziev to settle for the decision win. Like that first fight, they claimed “Fight of the Night” honors, giving Gaethje his 14th in 14 UFC fights. While two past submission losses ended without extra checks, he makes up for it with two double bonus-winning victories in 2017 and 2020.

No One Like Him: With 14 bonuses to his name, Gaethje is one shy of Joe Lauzon’s divisional record. He ties other lightweights in Jim Miller, Donlad Cerrone and Charles Oliveira for second place.

Fighter of the Night: Nine of Gaethje’s 14 awards are of the FOTN variety. This makes him one short of all-time leaders Dustin Poirier and Edson Barboza.

He Can Jitz: To improve his stoppage streak to three straight, Ignacio Bahamondes slapped a triangle choke on Jalin Turner. It marked the Chilean’s second career submission, with the first also in the UFC in 2022, a brabo choke of Zhu Rong.

Rhymes with Luffy: Mauricio Ruffy iced Bobby Green with a spinning wheel kick a couple minutes into the first round of their encounter. His is one of 19 in the history of the organization, with lightweights accounting for more than any other division.

Gum Gum Wheel Kick: By flattening Green, Ruffy raised his career finish rate—all knockouts—to 92%. He also scored a “Performance of the Night” check, and each of the last 11 wheel kick knockouts have received a bonus cherry on top.

Stock Way Down: In seven overall appearances, including his decision win over Rei Tsuruya, Joshua Van has already amassed 768 significant strikes. The 59 he put on Tsuruya keeps him in sixth place for the most in UFC flyweight history.

Hulk def. Superman: Maintaining his 100% finish rate, Brunno Ferreira submitted “Superman” Armen Petrosyan in the second round. With the time of the stoppage reading 4:27 of Round 2, it is the latest “The Hulk” has ever recorded a victory.

Middlewonder: Ferreira’s submission over Armen Petrosyan came via triangle armbar, with the previous one in by Westin Wilson in June 2024. More middleweights have landed that particular maneuver than UFC athletes in any other weight class.

Ok Mr. Three Names: Carlos Leal Miranda blew through Alex Morono in under a round with a lengthy flurry of strikes. The Brazilian has performed each of his last five wins by knockout within two rounds, dating back to 2023.

Ozzy Man Diaz: Over the course of three violent rounds, Osman Diaz and Djorden Santos threw down. While not cracking the top 10 in terms of significant strikes landed, Diaz did go the distance for the first time as a professional.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC 313, Pereira had never lost on the scorecards (14 fights), Turner had never been submitted (22 fights) and Tsuruya had never been defeated (10 fights).

More Human than Human: Returning from a vicious knockout, Gaethje changed his walkout music back to one he chose in 2020 against Tony Ferguson. For the second time in his UFC tenure, “The Highlight” walked out to “Call Me Human” by Godfather of Harlem featuring Skip Marley and French Montana.

Me Me Me: For each of his three UFC outings, Mauricio Ruffy has picked a custom walkout tune. He created the track himself, appropriately titling it “Mauricio Ruffy.” He has won all three fights after walking out to it.