5 UFC records you have probably never heard of
Everyone knows about some of the most famous UFC records and the fighters that hold them; Charles Oliveira, for instance, holds the record for most submission wins inside the Octagon with 12, while Donald Cerrone’s November win over Mike Perry gave him the record for not only the most UFC wins ever (21) but also the most finishes inside the Octagon as well (15).
Some UFC records, however, are far more obscure – this is usually because they’re simply not publicised, are held by fighters who have now been blacklisted by the promotion, or are for whatever reason not deemed overly important.
That doesn’t make them any less interesting though. Here are 5 UFC records you probably didn’t know about.
#1 Most pay-per-view main events – Randy Couture (18)
Randy Couture might be on the outs with the UFC now due to his 2013 move to Bellator – a move that saw him abandon a spot as a UFC analyst for Fox in the process – but it’s impossible to deny his status as a genuine headliner for the promotion over the years.
There have been bigger stars and more successful fighters than ‘The Natural’, but none have main evented as many UFC pay-per-view shows as Couture, who ended his active UFC career in 2011. ‘Captain America’ appeared in a total of 18 main events, beating out superstars like Georges St-Pierre (17), Anderson Silva (16) and Tito Ortiz (16).
The most likely reason for Couture holding this record is his sheer longevity. His first pay-per-view main event came all the way back in 1997 at Ultimate Japan, as he defeated Maurice Smith to win his first UFC Heavyweight title. His final main event came over a decade later, at 2010’s UFC 109, where he choked out a fellow legend in Mark Coleman in one of his final bouts.
Over his 18 main events, Couture fought 10 times as a Heavyweight and 8 times as a Light-Heavyweight. Impressively, he also came out on top in 11 of his pay-per-view main events – cementing his status as a legend even if the UFC no longer recognise him.