Fight Facts: UFC Fight Night 177

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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: 5,771
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 532

The Ultimate Fighting Championship powered on with a card that made the most of losing its main event. Although light on name value, the action delivered by the truckload, with the show culminating in a “Fight of the Night”-winning 25-minute scrap. UFC Fight Night 177 featured a pair of undefeated finishers doing what they do best, a frequent underdog pulling off yet another upset and a significant historical distinction for a main event fighter.

57 Flavors of Punches: In a battle that earned FOTN honors, Michelle Waterson won her first UFC bout against an opponent that landed more than 57 significant strikes. Angela Hill officially outstruck her 131-128, but Waterson emerged victorious by close decision.

Not Again: Much like her recent defeat in May, Hill dropped a contentious split verdict to Waterson. In the process, Hill extended her record for the most losses for any female fighter in UFC history with nine.

The Jorge Masvidal of 115: Hill’s unsuccessful split decision was her third under the UFC banner, breaking the record held with several others for the most split decision losses in UFC women’s divisional history.

Welcome to Wokedog: The appearance for Hill as the headliner marked the first time a Black woman had ever served in the marquee matchup on a UFC card. In comparison, Maurice Smith drew the main event assignment at UFC 14 as the first non-tournament headliner for a Black male fighter. Smith won a unanimous decision in a thrilling battle to capture the heavyweight title from Mark Coleman.

The Bulldozering: Ottman Azaitar needed 93 seconds to lift his spotless record to 13-0 by smashing Khama Worthy. Across those 13 wins, “The Bulldozer” has finished his opponent 12 times, with 10 now coming in the first round.

Roxy Rebound: Since she prevailed in Invicta Fighting Championships in 2017 over Sarah D'Alelio, Roxanne Modafferi has alternated wins and losses in her last nine bouts. Modafferi rebounded from a setback to Lauren Murphy by taking a decision over Andrea Lee in their rematch.

The Happy Bettor: Like her fight with Maycee Barber earlier this year and her 2019 pairing with Antonina Shevchenko, Modafferi came in as a sizeable +230 underdog and still won. “The Happy Warrior” is the first female fighter in company history to close as an underdog of +200 or more on three separate occasions and win.

This Stat Will Soon Be Moot: Although controversial, Ed Herman officially put together his first three-fight win streak since 2012. When he won that third match in February 2012, 14 of the 23 other fighters on Saturday’s card—including his opponent—had yet to make their professional debuts.

An Asterisk the Size of a Light Heavyweight: Herman notched the second win by kimura in 2020 inside the Octagon when he tapped Mike Rodriguez. The first also came at light heavyweight, when Jim Crute submitted Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC Fight Night 168. More kimuras have come in nine months through 2020 than 2019 saw all year – only one came in 2019, when Lando Vannata finished Marcos Mariano at UFC 234.

Kimuraweight: The kimura from Herman was the 10th in UFC light heavyweight history. Fighters in the division have secured more submissions by kimura than any other weight class, with the 155- and 170-pound divisions seeing eight each over the years.

Ding Punch Done: Seven seconds into the third round, Billy Quarantillo knocked out Kyle Nelson with a pair of punches. This stoppage this early ties the record for the quickest in UFC history to come in the beginning of any round other than the first. Damir Hadzovic also stopped Marcin Held at seven seconds of the third stanza at UFC Fight Night 109 in 2017.

Eubanking Rounds: Since starting her career in Invicta with two knockouts across three bouts, Sijara Eubanks has needed to involve the judges in every bout since. All seven of her subsequent bouts have ended, win or lose, by unanimous verdict. On Saturday, Eubanks took a decision against Julia Avila.

The Hard-Hitting Hillbilly Hit Hard: Kevin Croom made his debut on short notice and submitted Roosevelt Roberts with a modified guillotine choke in 31 seconds. The win at lightweight is the eighth-fastest finish in modern divisional history, as well as its third-fastest submission.

A King Kong He Was: Bullying Roque Martinez until he locked up the arm-triangle choke, Alexander Romanov remained undefeated at 12-0. All 12 of his wins have come inside the distance, with 10 within the first two rounds. This was first time that “King Kong” had ever secured a finish in the second frame.

Weaver Turner Overdrive: For his 10th win as a professional, Jalin Turner submitted Brok Weaver with a rear-naked choke. All ten of those wins have come before judicial intervention, and each within the first two frames. Every time Turner has fought beyond the second round, he has lost.

Could This Be the Beginning? Even though hundreds of UFC catchweight fights have taken place because a fighter missed weight or the promotion opted to schedule the match at that amount, Turner’s bout with Weaver is just the second in UFC history to take place at 165 pounds. The first came in 2006, when Hermes Franca submitted Joe Jordan at UFC 61.

Head Kick-Naked Choke: In a fight she was losing on two judges’ scorecards, Sabina Mazo came back to pull off a rear-naked choke of Justine Kish in the third round. The comeback marked Mazo’s first career win by tapout, with her previous victories all coming by head kick knockout or decision.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC Fight Night 177, Alan Patrick (17 fights), Avila (nine fights) and Anthony Ivy (11 fights) had never lost on the scorecards; Roberts had never lost consecutive bouts (12 fights) and Kish had never been finished (nine fights).

What A Performance: Making her walk accompanied by “WAP” by Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion, Eubanks became the first fighter in UFC history to walk out to this popular new song. “SarJ” ended her night getting her hand raised.

And I Think to Myself: Also a first for recorded UFC walkout music, Croom walked out to “What A Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong. The short-notice newcomer sprang a huge upset by submitting Roberts.