Now that the year has come to a close, and with a major assist from UFC research analyst and live statistics producers Michael Carroll, here are some of 2023’s most significant milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances.
EVENT FEATS
The UFC held 43 events in 19 different cities across seven countries and four continents.
Within those events, there were 520 fights across 12 different weight classes (including catchweight bouts).
Those 520 fights combined for a total cage time of 93 hours, 59 minutes and 21 seconds.
The longest event of the year was “UFC 286: Edwards vs. Usman 3” in in London, at 2:57:58.
The shortest event of the year was “UFC on ABC 4: Rozenstruik vs. Almeida” in in Charlotte, N.C., at 1:31:36.
At those events, the UFC drew an announced total attendance of 363,518 for a live gate total of $119,603,778.36 (Note: live-gate was not announced for 21 events).
The highest reported attended event of the year was “UFC 290: Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez” at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (19,204), while the lowest attended event (not including cards at the UFC Apex) was “UFC Fight Night 221: Yan vs. Dvalishvili” at The Theatre at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas (2,361).
The highest reported income gate of the year was “UFC 295: Prochazka vs. Pereira” in New York ($12,432,563) while the lowest reported income gate of the year (not including cards at the UFC Apex) was “UFC Fight Night 221: Yan vs. Dvalishvili” in Las Vegas ($452,669.71).
In 2023, 189 fight-night bonuses were given out for a sum of $9.45 million.
In 2023, athletes were paid $8,188,000 million in Promotional Guidelines Compliance money.
The most knockouts at a single event went to seven different events with seven each.
The most submissions at a single event went to “UFC Fight Night 232: Allen vs. Craig” with six.
The most fights to go to a decision at a single event went to “UFC 286: Edwards vs. Usman 3” and “UFC Fight Night 224: Aspinall vs. Tybura” with nine each.
Betting favorites went 341-163 over the course of the year. Sixteen fights ended in a draw, no contest or had even odds.
Betting favorites went 26-16 in event headliners. One main event ended in a draw, no contest or had even odds.
“UFC Fight Night 223: Dern vs. Hill” and “UFC Fight Night 232: Allen vs. Craig” had the most favorites come through victorious, with 11 winning. On the flip side, seven underdogs won at “UFC Fight Night 222: Blaydes vs. Pavlovich” and “UFC Fight Night 229: Dawson vs. Green.”
A total of 41 fighters officially missed weight for their respective contests. The 32 fighters in that group to compete went 15-17 in their respective bouts.
A total of 125 fighters made their UFC debut in 2023. Those fighters went 61-63 with one no contest. Debuting fighters who faced an opponent with at least one bout of UFC experience went 49-51 with one no contest.
A variety of circumstances caused a total of 29 UFC main event or co-main event fights to be adjusted, postponed or canceled entirely.
OTHER EVENT FEATS
Canadian fighters went 6-0 at “UFC 289: Nunes vs. Aldana” in Vancouver.
“UFC 290: Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez” was the first event in modern history with four sub-minute finishes.
“UFC on ESPN 51: Luque vs. dos Anjos” featured seven first-round stoppage results, tied with eight other events for most in modern company history.
“UFC on ESPN 52: Dariush vs. Tsarukyan” was the first event in company history to feature two knockouts stemming from slams.
“UFC Fight Night 221: Yan vs. Dvalishvili” set a single-event record for most takedowns landed with 59.
DIVISIONAL INFO
HEAVYWEIGHT
Number of fights: 35
Knockouts: 14
Submissions: 5
Decisions: 15
Other: 1
Champion at beginning of year: Vacant
Champion at end of year: Jon Jones
Most fights in divisional history: Andrei Arlovski (40)
Longest winning streak in division: Jailton Almeida (4)
Most wins in divisional history: Arlovski (23)
Most stoppages in divisional history: Derrick Lewis (14)
Most knockouts in divisional history: Lewis (14)
Most submissions in divisional history: Frank Mir (8)
Most fight-night bonuses: Stipe Miocic (9)
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Number of fights: 35
Knockouts: 13
Submissions: 5
Decisions: 16
Other: 1
Champion at beginning of year: Vacant
Champion at end of year: Alex Pereira
Most fights in divisional history: Mauricio Rua, Ovince Saint Preux (24)
Longest winning streak in division: Carlos Ulberg, Khalil Rountree (5)
Most wins in divisional history: Jon Jones (20)
Most stoppages in divisional history: Glover Teixeira (13)
Most knockouts in divisional history: Chuck Liddell (9)
Most submissions in divisional history: Teixeira (7)
Most fight-night bonuses: Teixeira (10)
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Number of fights: 56
Knockouts: 25
Submissions: 11
Decisions: 18
Other: Two
Champion at beginning of year: Alex Pereira
Champion at end of year: Sean Strickland
Most fights in divisional history: Michael Bisping (24)
Longest winning streak in division: Dricus Du Plessis (6)
Most wins in divisional history: Bisping (16)
Most stoppages in divisional history: Anderson Silva (11)
Most knockouts in divisional history: Silva, Thiago Santos, Uriah Hall (8)
Most submissions in divisional history: Gerald Meerschaert (10)
Most fight-night bonuses: Silva (12)
WELTERWEIGHT
Number of fights: 61
Knockouts: 14
Submissions: 20
Decisions: 27
Champion at beginning of year: Leon Edwards
Champion at end of year: Edwards
Most fights in divisional history: Neil Magny (31)
Longest winning streak in division: Shavkat Rakhmonov, Jack Della Maddalena, Ian Garry (6)
Most wins in divisional history: Magny (21)
Most stoppages in divisional history: Matt Brown (15)
Most knockouts in divisional history: Brown (13)
Most submissions in divisional history: Gunnar Nelson (7)
Most fight-night bonuses: Chris Lytle (10)
LIGHTWEIGHT
Number of fights: 77
Knockouts: 35
Submissions: 10
Decisions: 30
Other: 2
Champion at beginning of year: Islam Makhachev
Champion at end of year: Makhachev
Most fights in divisional history: Jim Miller (39)
Longest winning streak in division: Makhachev (12)
Most wins in divisional history: Miller (22)
Most stoppages in divisional history: Miller (15)
Most knockouts in divisional history: Drew Dober (9)
Most submissions in divisional history: Charles Oliveira (10)
Most fight-night bonuses: Donald Cerrone, Joe Lauzon (15)
FEATHERWEIGHT
Number of fights: 60
Knockouts: 17
Submissions: 12
Decisions: 31
Champion at beginning of year: Alexander Volkanovski
Champion at end of year: Volkanovski
Most fights in divisional history: Max Holloway, Darren Elkins (26)
Longest winning streak in division: Volkanovski (11)
Most wins in divisional history: Holloway (20)
Most stoppages in divisional history: Holloway (11)
Most knockouts in divisional history: Holloway (9)
Most submissions in divisional history: Charles Oliveira (6)
Most fight-night bonuses: Holloway (10)
WOMEN'S FEATHERWEIGHT
Number of fights: 4
Knockouts: Zero
Submissions: Zero
Decisions: 4
Champion at beginning of year: Amanda Nunes
Champion at end of year: Vacant
Most fights in divisional history: Megan Anderson, Felicia Spencer, Norma Dumont (6)
Longest winning streak in division: Dumont (3)
Most wins in divisional history: Dumont (5)
Most stoppages in divisional history: Anderson, Spencer (3)
Most knockouts in divisional history: Anderson, Spencer, Cris Cyborg (3)
Most submissions in divisional history: Four fighters with 1
Most fight-night bonuses: Four fighters with 1
BANTAMWEIGHT
Number of fights: 55
Knockouts: 16
Submissions: 9
Decisions: 27
Other: 3
Champion at beginning of year: Aljamain Sterling
Champion at end of year: Sean O’Malley
Most fights in divisional history: Pedro Munhoz (20)
Longest winning streak in division: Merab Dvalishvili (8)
Most wins in divisional history: Sterling (14)
Most stoppages in divisional history: Marlon Vera (10)
Most knockouts in divisional history: T.J. Dillashaw (7)
Most submissions in divisional history: Rani Yahya, Urijah Faber (6)
Most fight-night bonuses: O’Malley, Dillashaw (8)
WOMEN'S BANTAMWEIGHT
Number of fights: 19
Knockouts: Zero
Submissions: 4
Decisions: 14
Other: 1
Champion at beginning of year: Amanda Nunes
Champion at end of year: Vacant
Most fights in divisional history: Raquel Penning (16)
Longest winning streak in division: Pennington (4)
Most wins in divisional history: Nunes (13)
Most stoppages in divisional history: Nunes (8)
Most knockouts in divisional history: Nunes (6)
Most submissions in divisional history: Ronda Rousey (6)
Most fight-night bonuses: Rousey (7)
FLYWEIGHT
Number of fights: 38
Knockouts: 11
Submissions: 10
Decisions: 16
Other: 1
Champion at beginning of year: Deiveson Figueiredo
Champion at end of year: Alexandre Pantoja
Most fights in divisional history: Joseph Benavidez (19)
Longest winning streak in division: Pantoja, Muhammad Mokaev (5)
Most wins in divisional history: Benavidez, Demetrious Johnson (13)
Most stoppages in divisional history: Figueiredo, Johnson (7)
Most knockouts in divisional history: Benavidez (5)
Most submissions in divisional history: Johnson (5)
Most fight-night bonuses: Johnson (9)
WOMEN'S FLYWEIGHT
Number of fights: 34
Knockouts: 4
Submissions: 8
Decisions: 22
Champion at beginning of year: Valentina Shevchenko
Champion at end of year: Alexa Grasso
Most fights in divisional history: Gillian Robertson, Katlyn Chookagian (13)
Longest winning streak in division: Erin Blanchfield, Manon Fiorot (6)
Most wins in divisional history: Shevchenko, Chookagian (9)
Most stoppages in divisional history: Robertson (7)
Most knockouts in divisional history: Shevchenko (4)
Most submissions in divisional history: Robertson (6)
Most fight-night bonuses: Molly McCann (3)
WOMEN'S STRAWWEIGHT
Number of fights: 35
Knockouts: 9
Submissions: 6
Decisions: 20
Champion at beginning of year: Zhang Weili
Champion at end of year: Weili
Most fights in divisional history: Angela Hill (23)
Longest winning streak in division: Tatiana Suarez, Loopy Godinez (6)
Most wins in divisional history: Hill, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Carla Esparza (10)
Most stoppages in divisional history: Jessica Andrade (6)
Most knockouts in divisional history: Andrade (4)
Most submissions in divisional history: Mackenzie Dern (4)
Most fight-night bonuses: Andrade (8)
CHAMPIONSHIP FEATS
Brandon Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo became the first set of fighters to face each other in four championship bouts with their UFC 283 contest.
Jamahal Hill became the first fighter to win a title after signing with the promotion through Dana White’s Contender Series when he claimed light heavyweight gold at UFC 283.
Alexa Grasso became the first Mexican female champion in history when she claimed the women’s flyweight belt at UFC 285.
Jon Jones became the eighth fighter in history to win titles in two weight classes when he won the heavyweight belt at UFC 285.
Jones became the third fighter in history to win titles at heavyweight and light heavyweight, joining Daniel Cormier and Randy Couture.
Jones became the first fighter in history to win 15 championship fights.
Israel Adesanya became the first two-time middleweight champion in history when he reclaimed the belt at UFC 287.
Aljamain Sterling became the first bantamweight champion to record three consecutive title defenses with his win at UFC 288.
Alexandre Pantoja became the fourth fighter in UFC history to force a title change by split decision when he defeated Brandon Moreno for the flyweight belt at UFC 290.
Alexander Volkanovski became the fourth fighter in history to make an title defense after losing a championship bout with his UFC 290 win, joining Israel Adesanya, Max Holloway and B.J. Penn. The group is 4-0.
Justin Gaethje became the second “BMF” champion when he defeated Dustin Poirier at UFC 291. Jorge Masvidal was first to accomplish the feat.
Zhang Weili’s disparity of +267 in total strikes landed (296-to-29) at UFC 292 is the second-biggest margin in a title fight. Kamaru Usman outlanded Tyron Woodley by a +276 margin at UFC 235.
Sean O'Malley became the second fighter to win a championship after being signed to the promotion through Dana White’s Contender Series when he claimed bantamweight gold at UFC 292. Hill also accomplished the feat.
Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko at Noche UFC marked the sixth championship fight in modern history to end in a draw.
Alex Pereira became the ninth fighter in history to win titles in two weight classes at UFC 295.
Pereira’s 11 MMA fights to become a two-division champion are the fewest in company history.
Pereira’s seven UFC fights to become a two-division champion are the fewest in company history.
Colby Covington became the 8th fighter in history to fall to 0-3 in undisputed championship fights with his loss at UFC 296.
INDIVIDUAL FEATS
Figueiredo became the first fighter to face the same UFC opponent four consecutive times with his bout against Moreno at UFC 283.
Jessica Andrade landed 231 significant strikes at UFC 283, the single-fight record for a women’s flyweight bout.
J. Hill landed 232 significant strikes at UFC 283, the single-fight record for a light heavyweight bout.
Glover Teixeira became the first light heavyweight to earn 10 fight night bonuses with his performance at UFC 283.
Tatsuro Taira became the first flyweight to earn a triangle-armbar submission finish with his win at UFC Fight Night 218.
Rinya Nakamura’s 33-second victory at UFC Fight Night 218 marked the second-fastest finish by a debuting featherweight behind Nick Denis’ 22-second win at UFC on FX 1 in January 2012.
Nurullo Aliev became the first Tajikistan-born fighter to earn an octagon victory at UFC Fight Night 220.
Davey Grant earned just the fourth inverted triangle choke submission in history at UFC Fight Night 221. Cole Miller, Olivier Aubin-Mercier and Jordan Leavitt also accomplished the feat.
Merab Dvalishvili attempted 49 takedowns at UFC Fight Night 221, the single-fight record in company history.
Max Hollowayrecorded his 15th performance of 100 or more significant strikes landed at UFC on ESPN 44, the most in company history.
Sergei Pavlovich’s six-fight first-round knockout streak, reached at UFC Fight Night 222, is the longest in company history.
Matt Brown became the second fighter to reach 13 octagon knockouts at UFC on ABC 4, joining Derrick Lewis.
Jim Miller became the first fighter in history to reach 25 octagon victories at UFC on ESPN 46.
Charles Oliveira became the first fighter to reach 20 octagon finishes at UFC 289.
Jared Cannonier and Marvin Vettori combined for 394 significant strikes landed at UFC on ESPN 47, the single-fight record for a UFC middleweight bout.
Cannonier’s 241 significant strikes landed at UFC on ESPN 47 set the single-fight record for a UFC middleweight bout.
Neil Magny became the first fighter to reach 14 decision victories in the octagon at UFC on ABC 5.
Ilia Topuria was awarded just the fourth 50-42 scorecard in history at UFC on ABC 5. Holloway, Rich Franklin and Dave Menne also accomplished the feat.
Denise Gomes’ 20-second knockout at UFC 290 marked the fastest finish in strawweight history.
Norma Dumont became the first in history to reach five women’s featherweight victories with her win at UFC on ESPN 49.
Uros Medic earned the seventh knockout in history stemming from a spinning back elbow at UFC 291.
Michael Chiesa became the first in history to suffer three submission losses by D’Arce choke in octagon competition at UFC 291.
Derrick Lewis became the first fighter to reach 14 octagon knockouts at UFC 291.
Cory Sandhagen and Rob Font landed 43 significant strikes at UFC on ESPN 50, the second lowest single-fight low in UFC history for a non-title, five-round bout that went to a decision.
Da'Mon Blackshear earned just the third Twister submission finish in history at UFC on ESPN 51. Bryce Mitchell and Chan Sung Jung also accomplished the feat.
Karine Silva became the first female in history to earn three consecutive victories by first-round submission with her win at UFC 292.
Brad Katona became the first two-time winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series with his victory at UFC 292.
Weili landed 296 total strikes in her victory at UFC 292, the single-fight record for a women’s fight.
Holloway became the first to reach 20 featherweight victories with his win at UFC Fight Night 225.
Alexander Volkov earned just the fourth Ezekiel choke submission in history at UFC 293. Aleksei Oleinik (twice) and Remco Pardoel also won with the technique.
Drew Dober became the first lightweight to reach nine knockouts with his finish at UFC Fight Night 229.
Terrance McKinney became the third fighter in history to earn multiple knockout victories of 20 seconds or less with his win at UFC Fight Night 230.
Jonathan Martinez became the second fighter in history to earn multiple leg kick TKO victories with his win at UFC Fight Night 230.
Edson Barboza set the Fight of the Night bonus record with his ninth award at UFC Fight Night 230.
Jailton Almeida registered 21:10 of ground control time at UFC Fight Night 231, the single-fight heavyweight record.
Loopy Godinez became the first female in history to win four fights in a calendar year with her victory at UFC 295.
J. Andrade became the first female in history to land four knockdowns in a single fight during her performance at UFC 295.
Irene Aldana and Karol Rosa combined for 349 significant strikes landed at UFC 296, a new single-fight record for a women’s bantamweight fight.
Tony Ferguson’s seven-fight losing skid with his UFC 296 defeat tied with B.J. Penn for longest in company history.
