5 stats you don't want to miss ahead of UFC 308
UFC 308, which will be headlined by a featherweight championship showdown between reigning champion Ilia Topuria and former divisional kingpin Max Holloway, is one of the most hotly anticipated cards of the year. It will go down on Oct. 26 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
The co-headliner is a middleweight bout between former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev. Its winner will likely enter the 185-pound title picture. Heading into the star-studded event, today, we look at a few interesting statistics related to UFC 308 and the fighters on the card.
#5 UFC 308 is the MMA organization's 20th event in Abu Dhabi
The UFC's first event to be held in Abu Dhabi was 'UFC 112: Invincible' which transpired on April 10, 2010. It was the first UFC event in all of the Middle East.
As reported by U.A.E.-based outlet, The National, the upcoming UFC 308 event would mark the MMA organization's 20th event in Abu Dhabi.
#4 Max Holloway's UFC featherweight accolades
Max Holloway is an ex-UFC featherweight champion and the reigning BMF champion. His BMF championship won't be at stake at UFC 308, but Ilia Topuria's UFC featherweight championship will.
As indicated in a tweet by Jed I. Goodman, Holloway holds multiple records in the UFC's featherweight division. The Hawaiian holds the record for the highest number of wins (20), the most number of stoppage wins (11), the highest total fight time (6:47:23 hours), and the highest number of total strikes landed (3096) in the 145-pound weight class.
This doesn't include statistics from Holloway's lightweight and catchweight UFC bouts.
#3 Ilia Topuria stands apart from other current UFC champions
Ilia Topuria is the only current UFC champion who's in his 20s. The organization's other champions are aged 30 or above, in both the men's and women's divisions.
The current men's champions and their respective ages are as follows: Alexandre Pantoja (UFC flyweight champion, 34), Merab Dvalishvili (bantamweight, 33), Ilia Topuria (featherweight, 27), Islam Makhachev (lightweight, 32), Belal Muhammad (welterweight, 36), Dricus du Plessis (middleweight, 30), Alex Pereira (light heavyweight, 37) and Jon Jones (heavyweight, 37).
The current women's champions and their respective ages are as follows: Zhang Weili (strawweight, 35), Valentina Shevchenko (flyweight, 36), and Julianna Pena (bantamweight, 35).
#2 Four undefeated fighters
Maintaining an unbeaten record at MMA's highest level is considered an enormous accomplishment. Barring a select few, even the greatest fighters who compete in the premier mixed martial arts organization, UFC, have suffered defeats.
The UFC 308 card features not one, but four undefeated MMA fighters - UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria (15-0 MMA), middleweight contender Khamzat Chimaev (13-0), featherweight Lerone Murphy (14-0, 1 draw), and middleweight Shara Magomedov (14-0).
#1 Max Holloway's terrifying striking
As reported by ESPN MMA, Max Holloway (3378 significant strikes) is the only fighter in the history of the UFC who's landed 3,000 or more significant strikes in MMA bouts in the organization.
Second, with 2,069 significant strikes, is ex-UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland. Furthermore, per UFC Stats, Holloway's total strikes landed in the UFC is 3,622.