Fight Facts: UFC 319 ‘Du Plessis vs. Chimaev’

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: 8,320
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 744

The Ultimate Fighting Championship made sure that if pay-per-views are to be a thing of the past, the last few they have on deck will go out swinging. UFC 319 was no exception, racing towards “Event of the Year” status only for the main event to disappoint the masses. This blockbuster event featured twin spinning dynamos, a surprise “The Ultimate Fighter” finale match and the coronation of the Chechen grim reaper.

You’ll Get Caught Up in the…Crossfire: UFC 319 saw two consecutive bouts end by spinning back elbow from Lerone Murphy and Carlos Prates. This event becomes the first to feature multiple knockouts of this variety, with the ninth and 10th in company history performed back-to-back.

He Did It: Khamzat Chimaev won a UFC title in his 15th pro fight, advancing his spotless record to 15-0 by running roughshod over then-champ Dricus Du Plessis. He has only gone the distance on three occasions.

Pitter Patter: En route to a dominant victory, Chimaev connected with 37 significant strikes on his opponent. However, in terms of total strikes, Chimaev set the single-fight UFC record with 529, blowing past Max Holloway’s 447 against Calvin Kattar.

Let’s Get at ‘Er: In addition to his 529 total strikes dealt to Du Plessis, “Borz” took his foe down 12 times. Placing himself tied in the top eight for the most in a single UFC bout, his total serves as the second-highest in a middleweight match—Makhmud Muradov’s 13 on Bryan Barberena are the most.

Ca$h Money: The new champ born in Chechnya picked up a “Performance of the Night” bonus for his steamrolling of Du Plessis. He has pocketed seven across his nine UFC outings.

I Think You’ve Had Enough: Murphy lamped the debuting Aaron Pico with a spinning back elbow in a bit over three minutes. The Brit remained undefeated with his triumph, while notching his first stoppage since 2021.

Now You’ve Had Enough: Prates also demolished his foe with a spinning back elbow, laying waste to Geoff Neal with one second left in the opening frame. The Fighting Nerds representative claimed his 20th stoppage victory across his 22 pro wins.

A Pageian Performance: Dancing around Jared Cannonier and potshotting him to pick up a decision victory, Michael Page has gone the distance in all four of his UFC bouts. This is marked shift from his tenure in Bellator MMA, where “MVP” dispatched his foe in 12 of his 17 wins.

Old Lion Gets Some Glory: After a lengthy layoff, Tim Elliott came back to tap Kai Asakura with a guillotine choke in the second stanza. The Missouri native grounded Asakura twice, adding to his total that now reads 61, the most in UFC flyweight history.

Keep Feeding Him: On ultra-short notice, Dana White’s Contender Series pick Baysangur Susurkaev debuted four days after winning a contract. “Hunter” tapped Eric Nolan after overcoming some adversity, thereby keeping his flawless record intact and boosting his stoppage rate to 90%.

One of Two Outcomes: Michal Oleksiejczuk punched out Gerald Meerschaert in the first frame to put himself on his first win streak since 2022. The Polish powerhouse has recorded finishes in 17 of 21 pro victories, with 13 of those taking place in Round 1.

Having the Judges Over for Dinner: Getting past Jessica Andrade at the hands of the judges, Lupita Godinez settled for another decision win. Full-lengthy bouts account for 11 of her last 12 outings, while winning only 21% of her fights inside the distance.

You Ain’t Got No Alibi: To take home the six-figure contract and a trophy for winning the flyweight bracket of “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 33, Joseph Morales made good of his second stint with the promotion by wrangling Alibi Idiris with a triangle choke. “Bopo” has now performed this submission three times professionally: once in the first round, this time in the second and his previous fight in the third.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC 319, Chimaev had never fought past the third round (14 fights), Du Plessis had never lost on the scorecards (25 fights) and Idiris had never been defeated (10 fights).

I’d Rather Burn Up in Flames Than Fade Away: In every one of his UFC appearances, “DDP” has walked out to the Octagon accompanied by Airbourne’s “Live It Up.” Saturday’s defeat marks the first time he had lost in the promotion with that song playing.

Dun Dun DUNDUN: While multiple fighters have come to the promotion from Rizin Fighting Federation, Asakura is the only one to ever select the Rizin Theme composed by Eiichi Saeki. He has lost after both of those energizing walkouts.