When all is said and done, UFC 290 will go down as one of the best Ultimate Fighting Championship cards of 2023.
AlexanderVolkanovski re-asserted his dominance over the rest of thefeatherweight division with a third-round technical knockoutvictory over YairRodriguez in Saturday’s main event at the T-Mobile Arena in LasVegas. Meanwhile, AlexandrePantoja claimed the flyweight crown in far more dramaticfashion, taking a split verdict over BrandonMoreno in the evening’s co-headliner. Elsewhere, Dricus DuPlessis staked his claim to the No. 1 contender’s spot at 185pounds with an impressive stoppage of ex-champ RobertWhittaker in another featured bout.
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Here is a by-the-numbers look at UFC 290, with statistics courtesyof UFCStats.com.
6: Victories in featherweight title fights for Volkanovski. That’sthe second most in the history of the division behind only Jose Aldo(eight).
149: Total strikes for Volkanovski. By comparison, Rodriguez landed57. Volkanovski also held a 66-to-40 edge in significantstrikes.
7: Takedowns landed in 12 attempts for Volkanovski, who used thatto log 7:13 of control time. Rodriguez did not attempt a takedown,nor did he enjoy a single second of control time. The seventakedowns is a UFC career best for Volkanovski.
37: Significant ground strikes for Volkanovski. Rodriguez landedjust two.
5: Undisputed flyweight champions after Pantoja claimed the beltwith his victory over Moreno. Pantoja joins Moreno, DeivesonFigueirdo, HenryCejudo and DemetriousJohnson as the only men to have held the 125-pound strap.
276: Combined significant strikes landed by Pantoja (129) andMoreno (147). Moreno outlanded his opponent 41 to 33 in Round 2, 26to 23 in Round 3, 31 to 20 in Round 4 and 27 to 25 in Round 5.Pantoja held a 28-to-22 advantage in the opening stanza, when hescored the fight’s only knockdown.
.600: Significant striking accuracy for Moreno, who landed 147 of245 attempts. Pantoja was less accurate, landing 129 of 274attempts for a 47 percent success rate.
6: Takedowns landed in 11 attempts for Pantoja, who secured 8:26 ofcontrol time in victory. Moreno meanwhile, landed two of fourtakedowns and logged 4:01 of control time.
3-0: Unofficial record for Pantoja against Moreno after UFC 290.That mark includes a decision win at UFC Fight Night 129 and anexhibition submission win on “The Ultimate Fighter 24.”
5: Finishes since 2020 for Dricus DuPlessis, who defeated ex-champ RobertWhittaker via second-round technical knockout on Saturdaynight. That ties Du Plessis with BrendanAllen and GeraldMeerschaert for the most finishes in the middleweight divisionduring that timeframe.
33: Significant strikes landed by Du Plessis in the decisive secondstanza. Whittaker, meanwhile, landed nine significant strikes inthe period.
125: Significant strikes landed by Dan Hooker ina split-decision win over JalinTurner at lightweight. Turner, meanwhile, landed 100significant strikes. Hooker outlanded his foe 38 to 34 in Round 1,44 to 34 in Round 2 and 43 to 32 in Round 3. Hooker also had thefight’s only knockdown and submission attempt.
3: Combined significant strikes absorbed by Bo Nickal intwo UFC appearances and two bouts on Dana White’s Contender Series.The three-time NCAA champion outlanded Valentine Wooburn 7-2 insignificant strikes en route to a 38-second technical knockoutvictory in their middleweight feature.
7: Welterweight knockout victories for RobbieLawler, who ended a memorable UFC tenure with a first-roundstoppage of Niko Price inthe evening’s featured prellim. That ranks fifth in promotionhistory at 170 pounds behind Matt Brown(13), Thiago Alves(eight), JingliangLi (eight) and VicenteLuque (eight).
0:38: Time of Lawler’s victory, the fastest finish of his UFCcareer and the second-quickest of his 47-bout professional tenureoverall. The fastest: a 22-second KO of JoeyVillasenor at Pride 32 on Oct. 21, 2006.
121: Total strikes landed by TatsuroTaira in a three-round verdict over EdgarChairez in a 130-pound catchweight affair. By comparison,Chairez landed 26 total strikes. Tairo also landed two of threetakedown attempts and logged 9:53 of control time compared to 25seconds for his opponent. That helped Taira survive being knockeddown by Chairez in a competitive opening stanza.
0:20: Time of DeniseGomes’ first-round technical knockout victory against thepreviously undefeated YazminJauregui. That is the quickest finish in UFC strawweighthistory.
17: Significant strikes ladned by Gomes in that brief period.Jauregui failed to land any strikes in defeat.
1: Submission defeat in 23 professional outings for MarcinPrachnio, who succumbed to an arm-triangle choke from VitorPetrino in the third round of their preliminary lightheavyweight encounter.
11: Takedowns landed by Petrino in two UFC appearances. Afterlanding seven in a three-round verdict against AntonTurkalj at UFC Fight Night 221 in March, the Brazilian landedfour while logging 8:39 of control time against Prachnio.
0:17: Time of JesusSantos Aguilar’s one-punch knockout of ShannonRoss in their preliminary flyweight affair. That is thesecond-fastest KO in the history of the division behind onlyDustinOrtiz’s 15-second finish of HectorSandoval at UFC Fight Night 114 on Aug. 5, 2017.
4: Finishes under one minute at UFC 290, a modern era record forthe promotion. Bo Nickal,RobbieLawler, DeniseGomes and JesusSantos Aguilar all got the job done in less than 60 seconds onSaturday night.
5: Knockdowns suffered by Ross in his last three bouts — two in theUFC and one on Dana White’s Contender Series.
114: Significant strikes — out of 115 total — landed by EstebanRibovics in Round 2 and 3 of his unanimous decision victoryover KamuelaKirk at lightweight. Ribovics landed just one significantstrike in the opening stanza, when Kirk attached himself to thisback and logged 4:37 of control time.
