UFC 291 arguably was the event of the year on paper coming in, and the fights lived up to the hype with nine finishes in 11 bouts at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
The main event delivered perhaps the best knockout of the year so far when Justin Gaethje (25-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) got revenge on Dustin Poirier (29-8 MMA, 21-7 UFC) in their lightweight “BMF” title rematch courtesy of a brutal second-round head kick finish.
A number of historic feats occurred throughout the lineup. For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 291.
Event stats
The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $271,500.
Gaethje, Derrick Lewis, Bobby Green and Kevin Holland earned $50,000 UFC 291 fight-night bonuses.
Debuting fighters went 0-1 on the card.
UFC 291 drew an announced attendance of 18,467 for a live gate of $6,556,443.97.
Betting favorites went 8-3 on the card.
Betting favorites fell to 16-10 in UFC headliners this year.
Total fight time for the 11-bout card was 1:33:16.
Justin Gaethje def. Dustin Poirier
Gaethje had earned 22 of his 25 career victories by stoppage.
Gaethje has earned six of his eight UFC victories by knockout.
Gaethje has been awarded 12 fight-night bonuses in 12 UFC appearances.
Gaethje’s 12 UFC fight-night bonuses since 2017 are most of any fighter in the company.
Poirier fell to 13-4 (with one no contest) since he moved up to the UFC lightweight division in April 2015.
Poirier fell to 3-1 when facing an opponent for the second time in his career.
Poirier has suffered six of his seven UFC losses by stoppage.
Alex Pereira def. Jan Blachowicz
Alex Pereira (8-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) was successful in his light heavyweight debut.
Jan Blachowicz (29-10-1 MA, 12-7-1 UFC) has suffered five of his seven UFC losses by decision.
Derrick Lewis def. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
Lewis’ (27-11 MMA, 18-9 UFC) 18 victories in UFC heavyweight competition are second-most in divisional history behind Arlovski (23).
Lewis’ 14 stoppage victories in UFC heavyweight competition are most in divisional history.
Lewis’ 14 knockout victories in UFC competition are most in company history.
Lewis’ 14 knockout victories in UFC competition stemming from punches are the most in company history.
Lewis’ eight knockouts stemming from ground strikes in UFC competition are tied with Cain Velasquez for most in company history.
Lewis’ eight fight-night bonuses for UFC heavyweight bouts are tied with Stefan Struve for second-most in divisional history behind Stipe Miocic (nine).
Marcos Rogerio de Lima (21-9-1 MMA, 10-7 UFC) fell to 7-4 in the UFC when competing at heavyweight.
De Lima suffered his first knockout loss since April 26, 2012 – a span of 4,111 days and 21 fights.
Bobby Green def. Tony Ferguson
Green (30-15-1 MMA, 11-9-1 UFC) has earned four of his 11 UFC victories by stoppage.
Green has landed 1,637 significant strikes in UFC lightweight competition, the most in divisional history.
Tony Ferguson’s (25-9 MMA, 15-7 UFC) six-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since June 2019.
Kevin Holland def. Michael Chiesa
Holland (25-9 MMA, 11-6 UFC) improved to 4-1 since he dropped to the UFC welterweight division in March 2022.
Holland has earned 21 of his 25 career victories by stoppage.
Michael Chiesa’s (18-7 MMA, 11-7 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since January 2021.
Chiesa fell to 4-3 since he moved up to the welterweight division in December 2018.
Chiesa has suffered six of his seven career losses by stoppage.
Chiesa’s three submission losses by D’Arce choke in UFC competition are most in company history.
Gabriel Bonfim def. Trevin Giles
Gabriel Bonfim (15-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has earned all 15 of his career victories by stoppage.
Bonfim has earned both of his UFC victories by submission.
Trevin Giles (16-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) fell to 2-2 since he dropped to the welterweight division in January 2022.
Giles has suffered all five of his career losses by stoppage. He’s been finished by submission in three of those defeats.
CJ Vergara def. Vinicius Salvador
CJ Vergara (12-4-1 MMA, 3-2 UFC) has earned two of his three UFC victories by decision.
Vinicius Salvador (14-6 MMA, 0-2 UFC) has suffered both of his UFC losses by decision.
Roman Kopylov def. Claudio Ribeiro
Roman Kopylov (11-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) has earned all 10 of his career stoppage victories by knockout.
Kopylov has earned all three of his UFC victories by knockout.
Kopylov’s three-fight knockout streak in UFC competition is second-longest among active fighters in the company behind Sergei Pavlovich (six).
Claudio Ribeiro (11-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has suffered three of his four career losses by stoppage.
Ribeiro has suffered both of his UFC losses by knockout.
Jake Matthews def. Darrius Flowers
Jake Matthews (18-6 MMA, 12-6 UFC) improved to 8-3 since he moved up to the UFC welterweight division in November 2017.
Matthews has earned seven of his 12 UFC victories by stoppage.
Darrius Flowers (12-6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has suffered all six of his carer losses by stoppage.
Flowers has suffered five of his six career losses by submission.
Uros Medic def. Matthew Semelsberger
Uros Medic (9-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) was successful in his welterweight debut.
Medic has earned all nine of his career victories by stoppage. He’s finished all three of his UFC wins by knockout.
Medic earned the seventh knockout in UFC history stemming from a spinning back elbow.
Matthew Semelsberger (11-6 MMA, 5-4 UFC) suffered the first stoppage loss of his UFC career.
Miranda Maverick def. Priscila Cachoeira
Miranda Maverick (12-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC) has earned nine of her 10 career stoppage victories by submission.
Priscila Cachoeira (12-5 MMA, 4-5 UFC) fell to 4-5 in her past nine fights after starting her career 8-0.
Cachoeira has suffered all three of her career stoppage losses by submission.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 291.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
