Fight Facts: UFC on ESPN 72 ‘Dolidze vs. Hernandez’

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Fight Facts is a breakdown of all of the interesting information and Octagon oddities on every card, with some puns, references and portmanteaus to keep things fun. These deep stat dives delve into the numbers, providing historical context and telling the stories behind those numbers.

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TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC FIGHTS: 8,308
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 743

The Ultimate Fighting Championship put on what should be its final Apex show for a few months. While on paper fans were not impressed, what transpired during Fight Night turned out to be quite enjoyable, with more than one “of the Year” candidate arising. UFC on ESPN 72, also known as UFC Vegas 109, featured a slam heard 'round the world, an elbow butcher carving up his quarry and a fighter who now lays claim to the most decisions in promotional history.

Cardio as a Weapon: Anthony Hernandez became the fifth fighter in company history to achieve stoppages in Rounds 2, 3, 4 and 5 by tapping Roman Dolidze in the fourth frame. Unlike B.J. Penn, Frankie Edgar, Islam Makhachev and Max Holloway, “Fluffy” has not recorded a finish in the first round as well.

After 15 Whole Minutes: Getting the job done in stanza No. 4, Hernandez became the eighth middleweight in organizational history to render a stoppage in that period. Half of those eight have taken place within the last 14 months.

Hey Maia: The submission was Hernandez’ fifth at 185 pounds, putting him in a tie for third-most in the history of the weight class. Brendan Allen’s six and Gerald Meerschaert’s 11 sit atop the leaderboard.

There’s Levels to This Wrestling: Grounding Dolidze nine times en route to victory, Hernandez further padded his lead to 54 for the most takedowns in UFC middleweight history. No active 185er holds more than 31 (Jacob Malkoun).

That’s the Ceiling: Former flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg broke a three-fight skid when he earned a decision nod over Ode Osbourne. The match took place at 135 pounds, but it was not his first appearance in that division. The Aussie won a pair of bantamweight bouts in Eternal MMA early in his career.

Overloss: Taking home a win on the scorecards over Angela Hill, Iasmin Lucindo handed “Overkill” her 15th defeat as a member of the UFC roster. That total stands as the most by any female fighter to ever compete in the Octagon.

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Does Not Account for Three/Five Rounders: Longtime strawweight vet Hill heard the final bell for the 23rd time in the UFC cage. She passes Rafael dos Anjos for the most full-length matches in organizational history.

Touchy Judges: Andre Fili picked up a split call against Christian Rodriguez in an upset. “Touchy” ties Gleison Tibau for the most wins from split decisions in UFC history with five apiece.

Elbow Sharpening: Christian Leroy Duncan tore through Eryk Anders with a spinning back elbow and follow-up punches to get himself on a win streak. The Brit has now performed 10 of 12 pro wins inside the distance, with four of those via elbow strikes.

Walk Away: Unable to get Raffael Cerqueira out of there, Julius Walker settled for a unanimous decision victory. The Missouri native had never before won a fight that heard the final bell.

Slam Like a Pog: Massive -825 favorite Elijah Smith slammed Toshiomi Kazama nearly through the cage floor to register an obvious frontrunner for “Knockout of the Year.” While one of 21 slam knockouts in company history, his is the first for a bantamweight.

Absorbing Power: For the first time since 2016, Joselyne Edwards has strung together three stoppage victories, following her clubbing of Priscila Cachoeira in under half a round. The previous woman to earn a clean knockout at 135 pounds was Cachoeira over Josiane Nunes. Before then? Nunes against Bea Malecki.

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Anti-Hippocratic Oath: In 63 seconds, Uros Medic destroyed Gilbert Urbina with one punch. “The Doctor” has seen all 11 of his wins come inside the distance.


Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC on ESPN 72, Dolidze had never been finished (18 fights), Rodriguez (15 fights) and Miles Johns (19 fights) had never dropped consecutive bouts and Cachoeira had never been knocked out (19 fights).

Do Your Dance: Making his promotional debut in February, Walker made his walk to the cage accompanied by ABBA’s “Dancing Queen.” He did so again for his sophomore outing against Cerqueira, joining Pannie Kianzad as the only other fighter in company history to win after selecting an ABBA tune.