The UFC returned to Orlando, Fla., for the first time in nearly four years Saturday with UFC on ESPN 42, which took place at Amway Center and saw nine out of 14 fights end in a stoppage.
Stephen Thompson (17-6-1 MMA, 12-6-1 UFC) earned the most memorable result of all in the main event. The longtime welterweight contender went to war with Kevin Holland (23-9 MMA, 9-6 UFC). He emerged on top by fourth-round TKO due to corner stoppage and netted another Fight of the Night award in the process.
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC on ESPN 42.
Event stats
UFC on ESPN 42 featured seven knockout results, tied with seven other cards for the single-event record in company history.
The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $297,500.
Debuting fighters went 1-0 at the event.
Holland, Thompson, Sergei Pavlovich and Roman Dolidze earned $50,000 UFC on ESPN 42 fight-night bonuses.
UFC on ESPN 42 did not have a live gate or announced attendance number.
Betting favorites went 7-7 on the card.
Betting favorites fell to 24-16 in UFC headliners this year.
Total fight time for the 14-bout card was 2:27:29.
Stephen Thompson def. Kevin Holland
Thompson improved to 4-4 in UFC headliners.
Thompson has earned all six of his UFC stoppage victories by knockout.
Thompson’s eight fight-night bonuses for UFC welterweight fights are tied with Vicente Luque for second-most in divisional history behind Chris Lytle (10).
Holland fell to 2-1 since he dropped to the UFC welterweight division in March.
Holland fell to 0-3 in UFC headliners.
Holland suffered the first TKO loss of his career.
Rafael dos Anjos def. Bryan Barberena
Rafael dos Anjos (33-14 MMA, 21-12 UFC) was successful in his return to the welterweight division.
Dos Anjos became the first fighter in UFC history to cross eight hours of octagon time.
Dos Anjos’ 21 victories in UFC competition are tied for fourth-most in company history behind Jim Miller (24), Andrei Arlovski (23), Donald Cerrone (23) and Demian Maia (22).
Bryan Barberena (18-9 MMA, 9-7 UFC) fell to 8-6 since he moved up to the UFC welterweight division in January 2016.
Barberena suffered his first submission loss since Feb. 6, 2010 – a span of 4,683 days and 24 fights.
Matheus Nicolau def. Matt Schnell
Matheus Nicolau (19-2-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) improved to 4-0 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in March 2021.
Nicolau improved to 6-1 since he dropped to the UFC flyweight division in July 2016.
Nicolau’s four-fight UFC winning streak at flyweight is the longest active streak in the division.
Matt Schnell (16-7 MMA, 6-5 UFC) has suffered six of his seven career losses by stoppage.
Sergei Pavlovich def. Tai Tuivasa
Pavlovich’s (16-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) five-fight UFC winning streak in heavyweight competition is the second-longest active streak in the division behind Francis Ngannou (six).
Pavlovich has earned 14 of his 16 carer victories by stoppage.
Pavlovich has earned all 14 of his career stoppage victories by knockout.
Pavlovich has earned all five of his UFC victories by first-round knockout.
Pavlovich’s five-fight UFC stoppage streak is tied with Islam Makhachev and Jalin Turner for the longest streak among active fighters in the company.
Tai Tuivasa (15-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) fell to 5-5 in his past 10 fights after starting his career 10-0.
Tuivasa has suffered four of his five career losses by stoppage.
Roman Dolidze def. Jack Hermansson
Dolidze (12-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) improved to 4-1 since he dropped to the middleweight division in March 2020.
Dolidze’s four-fight UFC winning streak at middleweight is tied with Alex Pereira for the second-longest active streak in the division behind Andre Muniz (five).
Dolidze has earned 10 of his 12 career victories by stoppage.
Dolidze has earned all four of his UFC stoppage victories by knockout.
Jack Hermansson (23-8 MMA, 10-6 UFC) has suffered four of his six UFC losses by stoppage.
Eryk Anders def. Kyle Daukaus
Eryk Anders (15-7 MMA, 7-7 UFC) has earned nine of his 14 career victories by stoppage.
Anders has earned all four of his UFC stoppage victories by knockout.
Kyle Daukaus (11-4 MMA, 2-4 UFC) has suffered both of his career stoppage losses by knockout.
Phil Rowe def. Niko Price
Phil Rowe (10-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has earned all 10 of his career victories by stoppage.
Rowe has earned all three of his UFC victories by knockout.
Niko Price (15-6 MMA, 7-6 UFC) has suffered five of his six career losses by stoppage.
Angela Hill def. Emily Ducote
Angela Hill (15-12 MMA, 10-12 UFC) earned her ninth victory in UFC strawweight competition, tied for third-most in divisional history behind Joanna Jedrzejczyk (10) and Carla Esparza (10).
Hill improved to 9-10 since she returned to the UFC for a second stint in February 2017.
Hill has earned eight of her 10 UFC victories by decision.
Emily Ducote (12-7 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has suffered six of her seven career losses by decision.
Clay Guida def. Scott Holtzman
Clay Guida’s (38-22 MMA, 18-16 UFC) has earned 15 victories in UFC lightweight competition, tied for the fifth-most in divisional history behind Miller (21), Cerrone (17), Gleison Tibau (16) and Beneil Dariush (16).
Guida improved to 6-5 since he returned to the UFC lightweight division in June 2017.
Guida’s 76 takedowns landed in UFC competition are third-most in company history behind Georges St-Pierre (90) and Tibau (84).
Scott Holtzman’s (14-6 MMA, 7-6 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since February 2020.
Holtzman has suffered four of his six career losses by decision.
Michael Johnson def. Marc Diakiese
Michael Johnson (21-18 MMA, 13-14 UFC) improved to 2-4 since he returned to the lightweight division in October 2019.
Johnson has earned eight of his 13 UFC victories by decision.
Marc Diakiese (16-6 MMA, 7-6 UFC) has suffered four of his six career losses by decision.
Jonathan Pearce def. Darren Elkins
Jonathan Pearce’s (14-4 MMA, 5-1 UFC) five-fight UFC winning streak at featherweight is tied for the fourth-longest active streak in the division behind Alexander Volkanovski (10), Arnold Allen (10) and Bryce Mitchell (six).
Darren Elkins’ (27-11 MMA, 17-10 UFC) fell to 3-6 in his past nine fights dating back to July 2018.
Elkins’ 56 takedowns landed in UFC featherweight competition are most in divisional history.
Natan Levy def. Genaro Valdez
Natan Levy (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) earned both of his UFC victories by decision.
Genaro Valdez (10-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) has suffered consecutive losses after starting his career 10-0.
Valdez suffered the first decision loss of his career.
Marcelo Rojo vs. Francis Marshall
Francis Marshall (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) earned the first knockout victory of his career.
Marcelo Rojo’s (16-9 MMA, 0-3 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victor since September 2019.
Rojo has suffered all three of his UFC losses by stoppage.
Yazmin Jauregui def. Istela Nunes
Yazmin Jauregui (10-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has earned seven of her 10 career victories by stoppage.
Jauregui has earned all seven of her career stoppage victories by knockout.
Jauregui became the second in UFC history to land multiple knockdowns in a strawweight fight.
Istela Nunes (6-4 MMA, 0-3 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of her career. She hasn’t earned a victory since July 2018.
Nunes has suffered three of her four career losses by stoppage.
Nunes suffered the first knockout loss of her career.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 42.
