125 Fun Facts About UFC

Who was crowned the inaugural UFC Heavyweight Champion?

Mark Coleman beat the reigning Superfight champion in 1997 to become the first heavyweight champion, and is credited with coining 'ground-and-pound' for his takedown-and-punch style.

How long is a UFC bout that is neither a title fight nor a main event?

Three rounds of five minutes is the norm, with five rounds for title fights and main events; the first UFC cards had no judges, so a fight ended only by knockout, submission or a thrown towel.

Which country hosted the first UFC event held outside the United States and its territories, in 1997?

Japan staged the show in Yokohama in December 1997, where Kazushi Sakuraba won the tournament by re-fighting an opponent after the referee's stoppage against him was overturned.

What is the maximum weight limit for the UFC Lightweight division?

155 lbs has been the lightweight limit since 2001; before that the UFC called its 155-pound class bantamweight, and its first 'lightweight' division took everyone under 200 pounds.

Whose first-round TKO of Beneil Dariush in 2023 was a record 20th UFC finish?

Charles Oliveira stopped Beneil Dariush at UFC 289 a year after losing his lightweight title on the scales, where he weighed in half a pound over the limit.

In what city did the inaugural UFC event take place?

Denver got the first UFC in November 1993 because Colorado had no athletic commission, so there was no regulator whose approval the no-holds-barred show needed.

At which numbered event, in 1997, did the UFC first introduce weight classes?

UFC 12 split fighters into heavyweights of 200 pounds and over and lightweights below that; until then anyone could be matched with anyone, and some gave away 100 pounds or more.

Which advertising executive pitched the eight-man tournament that became the first UFC in 1993?

Art Davie called his pitch War of the Worlds and went on to book the fighters for the first event himself, as its matchmaker.

UFC light heavyweights must weigh in at or under how many pounds for a title bout?

205 lbs is the light heavyweight limit; in the UFC's early years this same division was confusingly called middleweight, before the weight classes were realigned.

For roughly how much did the Fertitta brothers buy the UFC in 2001?

$2 million was all it took in January 2001: the seller was on the brink of bankruptcy after years of state bans and lost pay-per-view carriage.

For roughly how much was the UFC's parent company Zuffa sold in 2016 to a group led by WME-IMG?

$4 billion, officially $4.025 billion, was then the biggest sale in sports history; five years later lead buyer Endeavor paid another $1.7 billion to buy out its partners.

Who came out of retirement to win the UFC heavyweight title at age 43 in 2007?

Randy Couture floored the 6ft 8in champion Tim Sylvia with his first punch, eight seconds in, and went on to win every round on all three scorecards.

Whom did Conor McGregor knock out at UFC 205 in 2016 to hold two UFC titles at once?

Eddie Alvarez was stopped in the second round at Madison Square Garden, on the first UFC card in New York after the state ended its long ban on professional MMA.

Which Hollywood director was a co-founder of the UFC and creative director of its first event in 1993?

John Milius, who directed Conan the Barbarian and Red Dawn, was a martial-arts student of one of the UFC's other founders, who recruited him to give the launch some Hollywood pull.

Which promotion, merged into the UFC in 2010, supplied its bantamweight and featherweight divisions?

World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was folded into the UFC at the end of 2010; its last champions, Jose Aldo and Dominick Cruz, became the first UFC featherweight and bantamweight champions.

UFC 28 in 2000 was the first UFC card sanctioned by which state's athletic board, whose rules became MMA's standard?

New Jersey's athletic board sanctioned UFC 28 in Atlantic City, then wrote up what it had seen as the Unified Rules of MMA, which other states went on to adopt.

Who knocked out Cris Cyborg in 51 seconds in 2018 to become the first woman to hold two UFC titles at once?

Amanda Nunes, already bantamweight champion, moved up a division and flattened Cris Cyborg, who had not lost a fight since her professional debut in 2005.

Who was named president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in 2001?

Dana White, by his own account, fled Boston for Nevada in the 1990s after mobsters demanded $2,500 from him; there he reconnected with old schoolmate Lorenzo Fertitta, whose family bought the UFC.

Which lightweight, the only man to fight at UFC 100, 200 and 300, was first to reach 40 UFC bouts?

Jim Miller reached 40 UFC bouts by choking out Donald Cerrone in July 2022, a win that also gave him the record for UFC victories and sent Cerrone into retirement.

Former light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson fought under which nickname?

Rampage took the title by knocking out Chuck Liddell inside two minutes at UFC 71, having already beaten him in a tournament semi-final four years earlier.

Which public company formed in 2023 from the merger of UFC and WWE became UFC's parent?

TKO Group Holdings began trading in September 2023 with UFC owner Endeavor holding 51 percent, the first time WWE had not been majority-controlled by the McMahon family.

Which venue used a 25-foot Octagon instead of the standard 30-foot cage in 2020?

UFC Apex, the promotion's own studio venue (renamed Meta Apex in 2026), staged its pandemic cards in the smaller cage, which has been linked to faster-paced fights and more finishes because there is less room to retreat.

Which UFC heavyweight champion kept working shifts as an Ohio firefighter-paramedic during his title reign?

Stipe Miocic stayed on as a part-time firefighter and paramedic near Cleveland while champion, saying he needed something to fall back on once his fighting days were over.

Who won the UFC's first flyweight title in 2012?

Demetrious Johnson won the four-man tournament for the UFC's eighth men's division only after his semi-final, first announced as a win, was found to be a draw through a scoring error and had to be fought again.

Which US senator campaigned to ban the early UFC, calling it 'human cockfighting'?

Senator John McCain called the early UFC 'human cockfighting' in 1996 and wrote to the governors of all 50 states urging them to ban it.

Which technique, legal when the UFC began in 1993, did the promotion outlaw in 1997?

Headbutts were outlawed at UFC 15 in 1997, months after gloves became mandatory, as the UFC added rules to shed its no-holds-barred image and win over regulators.

Which company sold the UFC to the Fertitta brothers in 2001?

Semaphore Entertainment Group, the pay-per-view producer that had co-launched the UFC in 1993, was close to bankruptcy after years of state bans and lost cable carriage.

Which network launched The Ultimate Fighter in January 2005, right after WWE Raw?

Spike TV's slot handed the show WWE Raw's audience, and it was an instant hit that lifted the loss-making UFC into the mainstream.

Who beat Ken Shamrock in the main event of UFC 40 in 2002?

Tito Ortiz stopped his rival after three rounds; the feud, begun when he taunted Shamrock's Lion's Den team in 1999, roughly doubled the pay-per-view sales of earlier Zuffa cards.

What became of Pride months after the Fertittas bought it in 2007?

Shut down: the buyers had planned to keep Pride running alongside the UFC, but closed its Japanese office that October and moved its best fighters across.

Which rival promotion did Zuffa announce it had purchased on March 12, 2011?

Strikeforce carried on as a separate brand until January 2013, when it was dissolved and stars such as Ronda Rousey and Daniel Cormier crossed to the UFC.

Which Canadian city's stadium held a then-record 55,724 fans for UFC 129 in 2011?

Toronto's Rogers Centre sold out for the first UFC card in Ontario, held months after the province legalised professional MMA.

Which city hosted UFC 112 in 2010, the promotion's first open-air event?

Abu Dhabi built a temporary open-air arena on Yas Island for the card, whose main event so annoyed the UFC's president that he walked out before it had finished.

Which American beat Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 in 2023 to win the middleweight title?

Sean Strickland outboxed Israel Adesanya over five rounds at UFC 293 in Sydney in September 2023 to win the middleweight title as a heavy underdog.

Whom did Carla Esparza submit in 2014 to become the first UFC women's strawweight champion?

Rose Namajunas tapped to a rear-naked choke in the third round of the Ultimate Fighter 20 finale; she later won the belt twice herself, then lost it back to Esparza in 2022.

Which broadcaster signed a seven-year deal with the UFC in August 2011?

Fox signed a seven-year broadcast deal with the UFC in August 2011; the first UFC on Fox card that November saw Junior dos Santos knock out Cain Velasquez in 64 seconds.

Who won the first UFC tournament in 1993, submitting Gerard Gordeau in the final?

Royce Gracie won UFC 1 with a rear naked choke on Gordeau, a showcase for the Gracie family's jiu-jitsu against bigger strikers.

Which UFC 1 fighter famously entered the cage wearing a single boxing glove?

Art Jimmerson, a professional boxer, kept one hand gloved, was taken down and submitted in a little over two minutes, and never fought in MMA again.

What was UFC star Ken Shamrock's nickname?

The World's Most Dangerous Man was a title from an ABC special about the world's most dangerous things; Ken Shamrock took it into the WWF ring and kept it for good.

Which wrestler, nicknamed 'The Beast', did Ken Shamrock choke out at UFC 6 to become the first Superfight Champion?

Dan Severn tapped to a guillotine choke in just over two minutes in July 1995; the title was open because Shamrock's first Superfight, three months earlier, had ended in a draw.

What was Dana White's job in MMA before he tipped off the Fertittas about buying the UFC?

Fighter manager Dana White was handling Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell when a purse negotiation showed him that the UFC's owner was in danger of folding the company.

What was Chuck Liddell's nickname?

The Iceman was coined by trainer John Hackleman, Chuck Liddell has said, after he saw his fighter show no nerves at all in the locker room before a bout.

Tito Ortiz was elected to the city council of which California city in 2020?

Huntington Beach voters put Tito Ortiz on the city council in November 2020; he resigned in June 2021, less than six months after being sworn in.

Two-division UFC champion Randy Couture later starred in which action film series?

The Expendables cast Randy Couture as demolitions expert Toll Road in all four films; before fighting he had been a US Olympic wrestling alternate three times without once getting to compete.

Which unbeaten light heavyweight champion did Lyoto Machida knock out at UFC 98 in 2009?

Rashad Evans lost both his unbeaten record and his title to a second-round flurry of punches; the new champion managed one disputed defence, then was knocked out himself in the rematch.

Whom did Anderson Silva beat at UFC 64 in 2006 to win the middleweight title?

Rich Franklin was caught in Anderson Silva's Muay Thai clinch and stopped by knees inside three minutes, one of which broke his nose so badly that it needed surgery.

Which wrestler ended Anderson Silva's 16-fight UFC winning streak and near seven-year title reign in 2013?

Chris Weidman knocked Silva out in the second round with a left hook, thrown while the champion was taunting and mocking him.

Which martial art did Georges St-Pierre start learning at age seven to deal with a school bully?

Kyokushin karate brought Georges St-Pierre a black belt by the age of 12, and the bullied boy later set up a foundation to tackle bullying and get children into sport.

Which future UFC welterweight champion worked as a garbageman before he turned professional?

Georges St-Pierre idolised Jean-Claude Van Damme as a boy and, years later, got to fight him on screen in Kickboxer: Vengeance.

Whom did Jon Jones stop in 2011 to become the UFC's youngest champion at 23?

Maurício Rua was stopped in the third round at UFC 128 by Jon Jones, who hours earlier had helped chase down and hold a robber until the police arrived.

Whom did Jon Jones beat in 2023 to win the UFC heavyweight title after three years away?

Ciryl Gane tapped to a guillotine choke in the first round; the belt was vacant because champion Francis Ngannou had left the UFC in a contract dispute.

Why was Jon Jones first stripped of his title in 2015?

A hit-and-run arrest cost Jon Jones the belt in April 2015: police said he ran a red light in Albuquerque, hit a pregnant woman's car and fled the scene on foot.

Which late replacement did Conor McGregor stop at UFC 189 to win the interim featherweight title?

Chad Mendes stepped in at short notice after José Aldo withdrew with a rib injury, took McGregor down repeatedly, then was stopped three seconds before the end of round two.

How long did Conor McGregor need to knock out José Aldo at UFC 194?

13 seconds was all it took: one left hand ended an unbeaten run by José Aldo that had lasted more than ten years and 18 fights.

In which promotion did Conor McGregor hold featherweight and lightweight titles before joining the UFC?

Cage Warriors gave Conor McGregor both belts in 2012; weeks later the UFC's president, in Ireland to collect a university award, was asked about him so often that he offered a contract.

Whom did Ronda Rousey armbar in the UFC's first women's bout at UFC 157 in 2013?

Liz Carmouche took Ronda Rousey's back and cranked her neck before tapping to an armbar with 11 seconds left in round one at UFC 157, the UFC's first women's fight.

Conor McGregor's home suburb of Crumlin is in which city?

Dublin's Crumlin Boxing Club took in Conor McGregor at 12; he later spent a year as an apprentice plumber, then quit to chase a fighting career.

What was Ronda Rousey's Olympic achievement in 2008?

Bronze in judo at Beijing made Rousey the first American woman with an Olympic judo medal; she carried the armbar from the mat to the cage.

Who ended Ronda Rousey's unbeaten run with a head kick at UFC 193 in 2015?

Holly Holm, a former boxing world champion, was a heavy underdog yet outstruck Rousey before the second-round kick to the neck that took the bantamweight title.

Ronda Rousey's six straight defences of one UFC women's title were surpassed in 2022 by which champion?

Valentina Shevchenko edged Taila Santos by split decision at UFC 275 for her seventh straight flyweight defence, then lost the belt in her very next fight.

Who was Khabib Nurmagomedov's final opponent?

Justin Gaethje was choked unconscious in the second round in 2020; Khabib then retired in the cage at 29-0, saying he had promised his mother he would not fight on without his late father.

What did Khabib do moments after making Conor McGregor tap at UFC 229?

Leapt the cage at a cornerman, Dillon Danis, who had reportedly been shouting insults; the brawl that followed cost Khabib a nine-month ban and a $500,000 fine.

Khabib Nurmagomedov was born in a village in which Russian republic?

Dagestan is where Khabib's father, a wrestling coach, trained him from boyhood; a much-shared video clip shows the young Khabib wrestling a bear cub.

Which fight is the best-selling pay-per-view in UFC history?

Khabib vs McGregor at UFC 229 in October 2018 sold well over two million pay-per-views, a UFC record, after a feud in which McGregor attacked a bus carrying Khabib and other fighters in Brooklyn.

Israel Adesanya was born in which city?

Lagos-born Israel Adesanya moved to New Zealand as a boy and became a professional kickboxer, twice losing in that sport to Alex Pereira, the rival who later followed him into the UFC.

Who won the strawweight title at UFC 185 in 2015 and defended it five times?

Joanna Jędrzejczyk stopped the defending champion with strikes late in the second round at UFC 185 in March 2015, then made five successful defences before losing the belt in 2017.

Daniel Cormier was the first UFC fighter to do what?

Daniel Cormier choked out his challenger at UFC 230 in November 2018 to keep the heavyweight belt while still light heavyweight champion, a title he had defended three times: the first to defend titles in two divisions.

Daniel Cormier won 2003 wrestling gold at which multi-sport event?

Pan American Games gold in Santo Domingo in 2003 was a high point of Daniel Cormier's wrestling career; he captained the 2008 US Olympic team but was pulled out when his kidneys failed during the weight cut.

During his record title reign, Stipe Miocic avenged an earlier loss to which former champion?

Junior dos Santos had outpointed Stipe Miocic over five rounds in 2014; in their 2017 rematch Miocic stopped him in the first round, the second of his record three straight heavyweight title defences.

Francis Ngannou holds citizenship of Cameroon and which other country?

France became home after Francis Ngannou left Cameroon for Paris with no money and nowhere to live; a boxing gym there took him in for free, and he later became a naturalised French citizen.

Which heavyweight knocked out former champion Cain Velasquez in just 26 seconds in 2019?

Francis Ngannou needed 26 seconds in February 2019 and 71 seconds for his next opponent, a run of quick knockouts that earned him a second title shot; in 2021 he knocked out the champion to take the belt.

B.J. Penn was the first American to win which competition at black-belt level?

World Jiu-Jitsu Championship gold in 2000 came after B.J. Penn left California to train in Brazil with Nova União, whose coach awarded him his black belt; he won the featherweight title in the team's colours.

Brock Lesnar won an NCAA Division I wrestling championship in 2000 for which university?

Minnesota's Brock Lesnar won the 2000 NCAA heavyweight title a year after losing the final, and the state drew him back in 2004, when he left WWE to try out for the NFL's Vikings and was cut in pre-season.

Which fight is widely credited with sparking the UFC's breakthrough success in 2005?

Forrest Griffin vs Stephan Bonnar, the final of The Ultimate Fighter's first season in April 2005, was such a brawl that the network agreed to a second season within hours, outside the arena that same night.

What was Forrest Griffin's job before he became a full-time UFC fighter?

Police officer Forrest Griffin, a sheriff's deputy in Augusta, was no novice when the UFC found him: he had already had 11 professional fights and beaten both Jeff Monson and Chael Sonnen.

What prize do fighters on The Ultimate Fighter compete for?

A six-figure UFC contract is the prize the show bills for each winner; the first final in 2005 was such a good fight that the UFC gave the beaten finalist a deal as well.

Whom did Brock Lesnar face in the UFC 100 main event to unify the heavyweight title?

Frank Mir had beaten Brock Lesnar with a kneebar in Lesnar's UFC debut in 2008 and then won the interim belt; in the UFC 100 rematch Lesnar stopped him with punches in the second round.

Who took the UFC women's bantamweight title from Julianna Peña in June 2025?

Kayla Harrison, Olympic champion in 2012 and 2016, made Julianna Peña tap to a kimura with five seconds of the second round left at UFC 316; Peña had already been docked a point for illegal upkicks.

Joe Rogan was hosting which TV show when he became a UFC colour commentator in 2002?

Fear Factor made Joe Rogan a household face from 2001; when the UFC asked him to commentate in 2002 he at first did it unpaid, in return for fight tickets for himself and his friends.

What is Bruce Buffer's catchphrase before a UFC main event?

'It's time!' is Bruce Buffer's cry before UFC main events; he and half-brother Michael, of boxing's 'Let's get ready to rumble!', were brought together only as adults, after their father saw Michael announcing on television.

Who set the UFC record for the fastest knockout by flattening Ben Askren with a flying knee in five seconds?

Jorge Masvidal sprinted across the cage at UFC 239 in July 2019 and met Ben Askren with a flying knee as the wrestler ducked for a takedown; it beat the old record by a single second.

Why did referee Herb Dean stop Tim Sylvia's title fight at UFC 48?

A forearm broke in an armbar after only 50 seconds: Tim Sylvia never tapped, but Herb Dean had seen the bone give way under his opponent's hold and waved the fight off at once.

Referee 'Big' John McCarthy served as an officer with which force?

LAPD officer 'Big' John McCarthy made his refereeing debut at UFC 2, where he was not allowed to stop a fight; he warned that someone would get hurt, and from UFC 3 the referee could step in.

The Fertitta brothers were executives at which company when they founded Zuffa in 2001?

Station Casinos, the Nevada chain their father founded, was run by Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta when they set up Zuffa in 2001; Lorenzo knew the fight business from a spell on the state's athletic commission.

Which sport did Alexander Volkanovski play semi-professionally before turning to MMA?

Rugby league was Alexander Volkanovski's game with the Warilla Gorillas; he began MMA training in 2011 only to keep fit for it, then walked away from the sport to fight.

Alex Pereira was the first fighter to win UFC titles in which two divisions?

Middleweight and light heavyweight fell to Alex Pereira a year apart: he stopped Israel Adesanya in November 2022 and Jiří Procházka in 2023, having taken up kickboxing in 2009 to escape alcoholism.

Two-time strawweight champion Zhang Weili was the first fighter from which country to hold a UFC title?

China's first UFC champion, Zhang Weili, won the strawweight title on home soil in Shenzhen in August 2019 by stopping Jéssica Andrade in just 42 seconds.

Who won The Ultimate Fighter 5 when his final opponent dislocated a shoulder?

Nate Diaz won The Ultimate Fighter 5 in June 2007 when Manny Gamburyan's shoulder popped out as he shot for a takedown 20 seconds into round two; Diaz had finished every opponent on the show before that.

Michael Bisping became legally blind in one eye after a head kick from which opponent?

Vitor Belfort's head kick at UFC on FX 7 in January 2013 detached Michael Bisping's right retina, leaving him legally blind in that eye; Bisping won the middleweight title in 2016 anyway.

At UFC 78, Michael Bisping became the first fighter from which country to headline a UFC event?

Britain's Michael Bisping headlined UFC 78 in Newark in November 2007 and lost a split decision, the first defeat of his career, which persuaded him to drop down to middleweight.

Who upset Georges St-Pierre to win the welterweight title at UFC 69 in 2007?

Matt Serra earned the shot by winning The Ultimate Fighter 4 and stopped Georges St-Pierre in the first round at UFC 69; St-Pierre took the belt back a year later in Montreal, at the UFC's first show in Canada.

Which welterweight won The Ultimate Fighter 21 in 2015?

Kamaru Usman, fighting for the Blackzilians team, won The Ultimate Fighter 21 and his next 14 UFC bouts; Leon Edwards ended the run with a head kick in the final minute of their 2022 title fight.

Leon Edwards was born in which country before moving to Birmingham, England?

Jamaica was home until Leon Edwards was nine: he was born in Kingston in a one-room shack with a zinc roof, and after trouble on the streets of Birmingham his mother steered him into an MMA gym at 17.

Merab Dvalishvili was the first UFC champion born in which country?

Georgia's Merab Dvalishvili moved to New York at 21 and worked on building sites while he trained; he took the bantamweight title from Sean O'Malley at UFC 306 in September 2024.

Who became undisputed UFC heavyweight champion in June 2025 when Jon Jones retired?

Tom Aspinall had held the interim belt since stopping Sergei Pavlovich in 69 seconds in November 2023; Jon Jones never fought him, and the UFC made the Englishman undisputed champion when Jones retired.

Which German-born fighter took Alexander Volkanovski's featherweight title in 2024?

Ilia Topuria was born in Halle, Germany, later settled in Spain and knocked out Alexander Volkanovski in the second round at UFC 298 in February 2024, ending a featherweight reign of more than four years.

Middleweight Dricus du Plessis became the first UFC champion from which country in 2024?

South Africa's first UFC champion, Dricus du Plessis, won the middleweight belt on a split decision in Toronto in January 2024 and made his first defence by submitting Israel Adesanya.

Wanderlei Silva holds the records for most wins, knockouts and title defences in which promotion?

Pride made Wanderlei Silva a star, and fans waited years for him to meet Chuck Liddell; it only happened once Silva joined the UFC, at UFC 79, where Liddell won on points.

Lyoto Machida's father was a master of which style of karate?

Shotokan master Yoshizo Machida, one of Brazil's highest-ranked karateka, raised his sons in the art, and Lyoto carried its stance and timing into the cage to win the light heavyweight title in 2009.

After retiring from MMA in 2019, Cain Velasquez began a career in what?

Professional wrestling took Cain Velasquez to Mexico's AAA and then WWE, where in October 2019 he met Brock Lesnar, whom he had beaten for the UFC title nine years earlier; this time Lesnar won.

What was Robbie Lawler's nickname?

Robbie 'Ruthless' Lawler was behind on all three scorecards against Rory MacDonald at UFC 189 in 2015 when he stopped him a minute into the fifth round to keep the welterweight title.

T.J. Dillashaw gave up his bantamweight belt in 2019 after testing positive for which banned substance?

Erythropoietin (EPO), a banned blood-booster, turned up in the sample T.J. Dillashaw gave around his 32-second loss to Henry Cejudo; he vacated the title before he could be stripped and was banned for two years.

Whom did T.J. Dillashaw dethrone at UFC 173 in 2014 to win the bantamweight title?

Renan Barão was unbeaten in 32 fights when T.J. Dillashaw, an 8-to-1 underdog, stopped him in the fifth round at UFC 173 in May 2014 to take the bantamweight title.

Henry Cejudo won Olympic gold in 2008 in which sport?

Freestyle wrestling made Henry Cejudo an Olympic champion at 21 in Beijing; in the UFC he won the flyweight title and defended it by stopping T.J. Dillashaw in 32 seconds.

Rose Namajunas was born in Milwaukee to parents from which country?

Lithuania was home to both of Rose Namajunas's parents before she was born in Milwaukee in 1992; she was named after her great-grandmother Rožė, the wife of an officer in the pre-war Lithuanian army.

Who became the oldest first-time champion in UFC history at 42 by submitting Jan Błachowicz in 2021?

Glover Teixeira had lost his first light heavyweight title fight on points seven years earlier; at UFC 267 in October 2021 he choked out Jan Błachowicz in the second round to take the belt at last.

Which UFC Hall of Fame wing honours fighters who turned professional before the Unified Rules of 2000?

Pioneer Wing fighters turned professional before 17 November 2000, the date chosen to mark the Unified Rules' adoption; that is why Anderson Silva, who debuted in 1997 but reached the UFC only in 2006, counts as a pioneer.

Who knocked out Michael Bisping with a famous overhand right at UFC 100 in 2009?

Dan Henderson knocked Michael Bisping cold in the second round at UFC 100 in July 2009, settling a rivalry that had built while the two coached opposing teams on The Ultimate Fighter 9.

Israel Adesanya against Robert Whittaker in 2019 broke the UFC attendance record in which city?

Melbourne's Marvel Stadium held more than 57,000 for UFC 243 in October 2019; Adesanya dropped Whittaker with a right hand as the horn ended round one, then knocked him out in the second.

Which venue hosted UFC 306 in September 2024, a one-off show that cost about $20 million to stage?

Sphere had never staged a live sporting contest before UFC 306; the promotion said the bill passed $20 million, about ten times that of a normal pay-per-view, and called the show 'one and done'.

UFC 249, delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, was eventually held in which city?

Jacksonville, Florida, got UFC 249 on May 9, 2020, with no fans in the arena, after Brooklyn fell through and ESPN and Disney executives asked the UFC to drop a plan to stage it at a tribal casino in California.

Kimbo Slice lost his first fight on The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights to which eventual winner?

Roy Nelson pinned Kimbo Slice in a crucifix and landed short punches to the head until the referee stopped it in round two, then knocked out Brendan Schaub in the final to win the season.

Who submitted wrestler CM Punk in his UFC debut at UFC 203?

Mickey Gall took CM Punk's back and choked him out in the first round at UFC 203 in September 2016; Punk's second fight, a loss to Mike Jackson, was later ruled a no contest.

Who won The Ultimate Fighter 13 before a 12-fight UFC winning streak?

Tony Ferguson knocked out Ramsey Nijem to win The Ultimate Fighter 13, yet his 12 straight wins never brought an undisputed title fight: a bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov was booked five times and fell through each time.

Justin Gaethje was the first lightweight champion of which promotion before he joined the UFC?

World Series of Fighting crowned Justin Gaethje its first lightweight champion in 2014; he defended the belt five times, joined the UFC unbeaten in 2017 and lost for the first time in his second fight there.

As of the end of 2025, which heavyweight held the UFC record for most knockout wins, with 16?

Derrick Lewis reached 16 UFC knockouts by stopping Tallison Teixeira in 35 seconds in July 2025; one of the earlier ones floored Alexander Volkov with 11 seconds left in a fight Lewis was losing.

In which Asian city did the UFC open its second Performance Institute in 2019?

Shanghai's UFC Performance Institute opened in June 2019 at 93,000 square feet, and its first job was a two-day combine at which about 50 invited athletes were tested for a future in MMA.

Who won the BMF title at UFC 300 with a knockout one second before the final bell?

Max Holloway was cruising to a decision win when, with seconds left, he stood in the centre of the cage, pointed to the floor and invited the champion to trade punches; the gamble left his opponent face down.

Which sambo world champion won the UFC lightweight title in 2022?

Islam Makhachev, a combat sambo world champion, won the vacant lightweight belt by submitting the division's former champion, a jiu-jitsu black belt, with an arm-triangle choke in the second round.

Who became the first Mexican-born UFC champion by submitting Deiveson Figueiredo in 2021?

Brandon Moreno had been cut by the UFC in late 2018; back on the roster a year later, he choked out Deiveson Figueiredo in the third round at UFC 263 in June 2021 to become its first Mexican-born champion.

Keith 'The Giant Killer' Hackney gave up about how much weight to sumo wrestler Emmanuel Yarbrough at UFC 3?

400 pounds was roughly the gap: Keith Hackney, about 200 pounds, floored the 600-pound-plus sumo wrestler with a palm strike and punched him out, hurting his hand so badly that he had to leave the tournament.

Which two-time welterweight champion was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2010?

Matt Hughes won his first welterweight title in 2001 by lifting Carlos Newton out of a triangle choke and slamming him unconscious; he regained the belt in 2004 and entered the Hall of Fame in May 2010.

In which city was UFC 38, the promotion's first event in the United Kingdom, held in 2002?

London's Royal Albert Hall, better known for concerts, staged UFC 38 in July 2002 under the billing 'Brawl at the Hall'; the UFC did not return to the UK until UFC 70 in Manchester in 2007.

From which promotion did the UFC buy 11 female fighters' contracts in 2013 to start its strawweight class?

Invicta FC, an all-women promotion founded in 2012, passed the UFC 11 strawweight contracts in December 2013 so that The Ultimate Fighter 20 could crown the new division's first champion.

Who took the middleweight title from Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319 in August 2025?

Khamzat Chimaev took Dricus du Plessis down in the opening seconds at UFC 319 and kept doing it for five rounds, winning 50-44 on all three cards to stay unbeaten and take the title.