The UFC’s 11th annual International Fight Week festivities are upon us, all of which concludes Saturday with UFC 290 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ABC, ESPN and ESPN+.
A tentpole of the UFC’s yearly schedule features two championship fights at the top of the bill. In the main event, Alexander Volkanovski (25-2 MMA, 12-1 UFC) and Yair Rodriguez (15-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) meet in a featherweight championship unification bout, while in the co-headliner, flyweight Brandon Moreno (21-6-2 MMA, 9-2-2 UFC) takes on streaking challenger Alexandre Pantoja (25-5 MMA, 9-3 UFC).
For more on the numbers behind both title fights, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about UFC 290.
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Alexander Volkanovski
Volkanovski is the only Australian-born champion in UFC history.
Volkanovski will become the fourth fighter in UFC history to make an attempted title defense after losing a championship bout. The previous fighters are 3-0.
Volkanovski’s five victories in UFC featherweight championship bouts are tied with Max Holloway for second-most in divisional history behind Jose Aldo (eight).
Volkanovski’s 10-fight UFC winning streak at featherweight is the longest active streak in the division.
Volkanovski is one of four fighters in UFC history to start 12-0 with the promotion. Anderson Silva, Kamaru Usman and Khabib Nurmagomedov also accomplished the feat.
Volkanovski’s average fight time of 18:00 in UFC featherweight competition is the longest in divisional history.
Volkanovski lands 56.6 percent of his significant strike attempts in UFC featherweight competition, the third-best accuracy rate in divisional history behind Bryce Mitchell (59.1 percent) and Jimmy Hettes (57.3 percent).
Volkanovski lands 6.97 significant strikes per minute in UFC featherweight competition, the fourth-best output rate in divisional history behind Billy Quarantillo (8.18), Shane Burgos (7.4) and Holloway (7.1).
Yair Rodriguez
Rodriguez is one of four fighters to hold the interim UFC featherweight title. The previous three went on to hold the undisputed belt.
Rodriguez is one of 10 fighters in UFC history to earn 10 featherweight victories.
Rodriguez’s knockout of Chan Sung Jung at the 4:59 mark of Round 5 at UFC Fight Night 139 is tied with Demetrious Johnson’s finish at UFC 186 for the latest stoppage in a UFC fight.
Rodriguez’s nine fight-night bonuses for UFC featherweight bouts are tied with Holloway and Cub Swanson for most in divisional history.
Brandon Moreno
Moreno was the first champion in UFC history to be born in Mexico.
Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo fought to the fourth draw in UFC title fight history at UFC 256.
Moreno and Figueiredo are the only set of fighters in UFC history to fight each other three consecutive times.
Moreno earned the seventh between-rounds stoppage in UFC title-fight history at UFC 283.
Moreno is 6-1-2 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in September 2019.
Moreno’s nine victories in UFC flyweight competition are tied for fourth-most in divisional history behind Demetrious Johnson (13), Joseph Benavidez (13) and Figueiredo (10).
Moreno’s six stoppage victories in UFC flyweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Figueiredo (seven) and Johnson (seven).
Moreno’s three submission victories in UFC flyweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Johnson (five) and Pantoja (four).
Moreno’s six fight-night bonuses for UFC flyweight bouts are second-most in divisional history being Johnson (nine).
Alexandre Pantoja
Pantoja’s nine victories in UFC flyweight competition are tied for fourth-most in divisional history behind Johnson (13), Benavidez (13) and Figueiredo (10).
Pantoja’s six stoppage victories in UFC flyweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Figueiredo (seven) and Johnson (seven).
Pantoja’s four submission victories in UFC flyweight competition are tied for second-most in divisional history behind Johnson (five).
Robert Whittaker
Robert Whittaker (24-6 MMA, 15-4 UFC) is the only New Zealand-born fighter in history to win a UFC championship.
Whittaker is one of 12 undisputed middleweight champions in UFC history.
Whittaker is 12-2 since he moved up to the UFC middleweight division in November 2014.
Whittaker’s eight fight-night bonuses for UFC middleweight bouts are tied for second-most in divisional history behind Anderson Silva (12).
Dricus Du Plessis
Dricus Du Plessis’ (19-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) five-fight UFC winning streak at middleweight is the longest active streak in the division.
Du Plessis has earned 18 of his 19 career victories by stoppage. He’s finished eight of those wins in Round 1.
Du Plessis lands 6.72 significant strikes per minute in UFC middleweight competition, the highest rate in divisional history.
Robbie Lawler vs. Niko Price
Robbie Lawler (29-16 MMA, 14-10 UFC) is 1-5 in his past six fights dating back to December 2017.
Lawler is 10-7 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in February 2013.
Lawler became the first fighter in UFC history to force a belt to change hands by split decision when he defeated Johny Hendricks at UFC 181 in December 2014.
Lawler is one of three fighters in UFC history to win two title fights by split decision. Aljamain Sterling and Benson Henderson also accomplished the feat.
Lawler’s significant strike disadvantage of -84 against Carlos Condit at UFC 195 marked the largest disparity in UFC title-fight history for a fighter who won a bout.
Lawler completes 73.9 percent of his takedown attempts in UFC competition, the second-highest accuracy rate in company history behind Nordine Taleb (76.2 percent).
Niko Price (15-6 MMA, 7-6 UFC) is one of three fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from an upkick. He accomplished the feat at UFC on ESPN+ 19. Jon Fitch and Irene Alana also won with the technique.
Price has earned two of the six knockout victories in UFC history stemming from the bottom position. He accomplished the feat at UFC on ESPN+ 19 and UFC Fight Night 133.
Jack Della Maddalena vs. Josiah Harrell
Jack Della Maddalena (14-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) is on a 14-fight winning streak after starting his career 0-2.
Della Maddalena has earned 13 of his 14 career victories by stoppage. He’s finished all four of his UFC wins by first-round knockout.
Della Maddalena’s four-fight UFC first-round stoppage streak is second-longest among active fighters on the roster behind heavyweight Sergei Pavlovich (six).
Della Maddalena has been awarded with a fight-night bonus in three consecutive bouts.
Yazmin Jauregui vs. Denise Gomes
Yazmin Jauregui (10-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) is one of two fighters in UFC history to land multiple knockdowns in a strawweight fight. Amanda Lemos also accomplished the feat.
Jimmy Crute vs. Alonzo Menifield
Jimmy Crute’s (12-3-1 MMA, 4-3-1 UFC) three-fight winless skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since October 2020.
Crute completes 64.3 percent of his takedown attempts in UFC light heavyweight competition, the second-best rate in divisional history behind Lyoto Machida (65 percent).
Crute is one of five fighters in UFC history to earn multiple submission victories by kimura. Krzysztof Soszynski, Rani Yahya, Frank Mir and George Sotiropoulos also accomplished the feat.
Crute’s victory at the 4:51 mark of Round 3 at UFC Fight Night 142 is the second latest finish in a three-round UFC light heavyweight fight behind Craig’s win at 4:59 of Round 3 at UFC Fight Night 127.
Alonzo Menifield (13-3-1 MMA, 5-4-1 UFC) has earned 12 of his 13 career victories by stoppage.
Menifield has earned one of 14 knockout in UFC history stemming from the crucifix position. He accomplished the feat at UFC Fight Night 207.
Menifield lands 58.7 percent of his significant strike attempts in UFC light heavyweight competition, the third-best rate in divisional history behind Carlos Ulberg (63.2 percent) and Fabio Maldonado (60.2 percent).
Menifield is one of five fighters in UFC history to earn a submission victory by Von Flue choke. He accomplished the feat at UFC 260. Jason Von Flue, Ovince Saint Preux, Cory McKenna, Jordan Rinaldi have also won with the technique.
Vitor Petrino vs. Marcin Prachnio
Marcin Prachnio (16-6 MMA, 3-4 UFC) is one of three light heavyweights in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a body kick Jan Blachowicz and Rich Franklin also accomplished the feat.
Prachnio lands 5.7 significant strikes per minute in UFC light heavyweight competition, the fourth-best rate in divisional history behind Ulberg (8.34), Jamahal Hill (6.99) and Dustin Jacoby (6.47).
Tatsuro Taira vs. Edgar Chairez
Tatsuro Taira (13-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has earned 10 of his 13 career victories by stoppage.
Taira is one of 10 fighters in UFC history to earn a submission victory by triangle-armbar combination. He accomplished the UFC Fight Night 218. He’s the only flyweight to win with the technique.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 290.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
