Fight Facts: UFC on ABC 7 ‘Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov’

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: 7,789
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 700

The Ultimate Fighting Championship staged its 700th event by taking to the Middle East, plugging in several fighters not often seen stateside. Russians largely won the day, with three unbeaten men from the region staying that way at night’s end. UFC on ABC 7 featured a bantamweight unchallenged thus far, an iron chin that finally took a dent and a dubious record for a beloved talent.

Chalk Dust Everywhere: Of the 13 fights on the card, only one betting upset occurred. At +170 odds, Sam Hughes took out the unbeaten Victoria Dudakova (-200), while there was one pick ‘em between Jai Herbert and Rolando Bedoya.

All Ending in ‘Ov’: Umar Nurmagomedov is tied with Movsar Evloev and Shavkat Rakhmonov for the best undefeated record among active fighters in major promotions, moving to 18-0 with a decision victory over Cory Sandhagen. Movlid Khaybulaev (21-0, 1 NC) recently retired due to injury, Valentin Benishev (19-0) has never competed for a noteworthy organization and Shamil Musaev (16-0-1) is incorrectly listed at 18-0-1 on other databases.

The Ever-Elusive Nurmagomedov: In his first five UFC outings, Nurmagomedov absorbed 26 significant strikes. Sandhagen trashed that tally, connecting with 71 of his own in a spirited losing effort.

Shara the Bullet Dodger: While he came up short by decision, Michal Oleksiejczuk managed to ground Sharabutdin Magomedov on three occasions. Before this matchup, he had landed four takedowns in total across 14 UFC outings.

Contender in Two Divisions: Victorious over Marlon Vera, Deiveson Figueiredo picked up the win on the scorecards to watch his finish rate fall to 75%. “Daico” has seen half of his career decisions take place in his last four outings.

Flyweight Power Transfers Up: In the third round of their encounter, Figueiredo dropped Vera with a right hand, becoming the first fighter ever to knock the durable Ecuadorian down. Vera came into the pairing with a flawless knockdown ratio of 12:0.

Steel in His Head: While he did not get his hand raised, Vera has still never suffered a stoppage loss as a pro. All 10 of his defeats have come at the hands of the judges.

Best Outcome, Least Damage: Michael Chiesa recorded his first submission since tapping Carlos Condit with a kimura in 2018 by hitting a rear-naked choke on Tony Ferguson. He has yet to finish a fight with strikes, with about two-thirds of his victories coming via sub.

Strangleholder: Throughout his UFC tenure, Chiesa has landed six rear-naked chokes on opponents. Kenny Florian (seven) and Demian Maia (eight) are the only two combatants in company history with more on their ledgers.

From Streak to Streak: Ferguson now holds the unfortunate distinction of the worst losing streak in UFC history, having dropped eight straight. He breaks a tie with B.J. Penn, although Sam Alvey’s winless stretch of nine in a row is still in his sights.

See You Next Time: After his loss, Ferguson issued a partial retirement. If he does not compete again, he says farewell to the sport with several records in the UFC lightweight division. His 10 stoppages are tied for the fourth-most, he resides in the top 10 with 14 wins, and his win streak of 12 is second only to Islam Makhachev’s current run.

Tough, Tough Out: Mackenzie Dern needed all three rounds to get past Lupita Godinez. The Mexican has gone to the scorecards in 14 of her 17 pro bouts, never losing via finish.

A Short List: Dern registered her ninth win at 115 pounds by getting past Godinez. Only four women in the history of the weight class have prevailed more times: Carla Esparza, Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Jessica Andrade (10 apiece) and Angela Hill (11).

Lighting a New Fire: Keeping his 100% finish rate intact, Joel Alvarez hammered Elves Brener with knees and punches to procure the late finish. Three of his four knockout victories have come for the Spaniard inside the Octagon.

Finding His Hands: Before pounding Brener out, Alvarez successfully dropped his opponent. It marked his first knockdown in eight UFC fights, while he more than doubled his record for significant strikes landed with 95.

Professionally Handled: Azamat Murzakanov crushed Alonzo Menifield with punches to push his spotless record to 14-0. “The Professional” has recorded 10 knockouts as a pro, with just under 80% of his wins coming inside the distance.

Clobbered the Hometown Kid: Kaue Fernandes drummed out Mohammed Yahya with a flurry of punches to earn his first UFC victory. Seven of the nine wins for the Brazilian have come by stoppage, including five of his last six.

Laying and Praying: For the second time in his career, Shamil Gaziev settled for a win via decision, smothering Don'Tale Mayes en route to a trio of 30-27 scores. His finish rate fell to 85% as a result.

Making Sayif Saud Proud: Outworking Russia’s Victoria Dudakova across their 15-minute endeavor, Sam Hughes snared the split decision call. “Sampage” handed Dudakova her first career loss by doing so.

Some Country: Before joining the UFC, Jai Herbert had only gone the distance once across 11 bouts. Including a unanimous decision win over Rolando Bedoya, “The Black Country Banger” has brought the judges into the equation in four in a row.

He Is a Woman-Beater: The three wins for Sedriques Dumas in the Octagon have all come via decision following his victory over current .500 fighter Denis Tiuliulin. Those full-length bouts account for all but one of his decision wins in his career.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC on ABC 7, Nurmagomedov had never competed beyond the third round (17 fights), Brener had never been finished (20 fights) and Yahya had never dropped consecutive bouts (16 fights).

The Party Never Stops: As he has done since at least 2014, Ferguson walked to the cage accompanied by Freestyle’s “The Party Has Just Begun.” He remains the lone fighter to pick the tune and maintains a positive win/loss record despite the historic losing run.

She Wants: Repeating the song she used for her UFC debut, Dudakova walked out to “Ich Will” by Rammstein. She is still the only fighter in nearly a decade who has selected any music from the notorious German metal band.