UFC 281 pre-event facts: History at stake for multiple fighters on huge card
The UFC returns to New York on Saturday for its annual event at Madison Square Garden with UFC 281, which has a main card that airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
A doubleheader of championship bouts is featured at the top of the card, with middleweight champion Israel Adesanya (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) set to take on former two-time kickboxing rival Alex Pereira (6-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) in the headlining act.
The co-main event will see strawweight champion Carla Esparza (19-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) attempt to kick off her second reign in positive fashion when she meets former titleholder Zhang Weili (22-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC).
For more on the numbers behind both title bouts, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts for UFC 281.
* * * *
Israel Adesanya
Israel Adesanya
Adesanya is one of 13 fighters in UFC history to win an undisputed title with an undefeated record.
Adesanya is one of 11 undisputed middleweight champions in UFC history.
Adesanya’s five consecutive UFC title defenses are second-most among current champions behind women’s flyweight champ Valentina Shevchenko (seven).
Adesanya’s seven victories in UFC middleweight title fights are second-most in history behind Anderson Silva (11)
Adesanya’s 12-fight UFC winning streak at middleweight is longest active streak in the division.
Adesanya’s 12 knockdowns landed in UFC middleweight competition are tied with Nate Marquardt for second-most in divisional history behind Silva (13).
Adesanya’s four knockdowns landed against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236 are the single-fight record for a UFC title bout.
Adesanya’s seven fight-night bonuses for UFC middleweight bouts are tied for fourth-most in divisional history behind Silva (12), Yoel Romero (eight) and Robert Whittaker (eight).
Alex Pereira
Alex PereiraCarla Esparza
Pereira, a former GLORY kickboxing champion, owns two victories over Adesanya in kickboxing.
Pereira’s three-fight UFC winning streak at middleweight is the third-longest active streak in the division behind Adesanya (12) and Andre Muniz (five).
Pereira has earned five of his six career victories by stoppage.
Pereira has earned all five of his career stoppage victories by knockout.
Carla Esparza
Carla Esparza
Esparza was the first UFC strawweight champion. She lost the belt to Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 185 in March 2015
Esparza’s gap of 2,612 day between UFC title reigns is the longest in company history.
Esparza is 9-3 since losing the UFC strawweight title for the first time to Jedrzejczyk in March 2015.
Esparza competes in her 15th UFC strawweight bout, tied with Tecia Torres for the third-most appearances in divisional history behind Angela Hill (20) and Randa Markos (18).
Esparza’s 10 victories in UFC strawweight competition are tied with Jedrzejczyk for most in divisional history.
Esparza’s six-fight UFC winning streak at strawweight is the longest active streak in the division.
Esparza has earned eight of her 10 UFC victories by decision.
Esparza has completed at least one takedown against 13 of her 14 UFC opponents.
Esparza’s 44 takedowns landed in UFC strawweight competition are most in divisional history.
Zhang Weili
Zhang Weili
Weili, a former strawweight champion, is the only Chinese fighter in history to win a UFC title.
Weili has earned 18 of her 22 career victories by stoppage.
Weili’s two knockout victories in UFC strawweight competition are tied for second-most in divisional history behind Jessica Andrade (three).
Weili and Jedrzejczyk combined for 351 significant strikes landed at UFC 248, the third most in UFC title-fight history. Max Holloway vs. Brian Ortega hold the record with 400 total at UFC 231.
Dustin Poirier
Dustin Poirier
[autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] (28-7 MMA, 20-6 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since Dec. 11, 2021. The 336-day layoff is the longest of his more than 13-year career.
Poirier won a UFC title in his 22nd octagon appearance, the third most of any interim or undisputed champion in company history behind Charles Oliveira (28) and Michael Bisping (26).
Poirier’s 20 UFC victories are tied for fifth-most in company history behind Jim Miller (24), Andrei Arlovski (23), Donald Cerrone (23), Demian Maia (22) and Charles Oliveira (21).
Poirier is 12-3 (with one no contest) since he moved up to the UFC lightweight division in April 2015.
Poirier’s eight knockout victories in UFC lightweight competition are most in divisional history.
Poirier is the only lightweight in UFC history to land 150 or more significant strikes in three separate fights.
Poirier and Dan Hooker combined for 390 total strikes landed at UFC on ESPN 12, the single-fight record for a UFC lightweight bout.
Poirier is one of five fighters in UFC history to earn two or more submission victories by D’Arce choke. Ferguson, Khamzat Chimaev, Julian Erosa and Vicente Luque also accomplished the feat.
Poirier is one of seven fighters in UFC history to be awarded 12 or more fight-night bonuses.
Michael Chandler
Michael Chandler
[autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] (23-7 MMA, 2-2 UFC) is a three-time Bellator lightweight champion.
Chandler is one of four fighters in Bellator/UFC/WEC/PRIDE/Strikeforce history with three title reigns in a single weight class. Randy Couture, Douglas Lima and Patricio Freire also accomplished the feat.
Chandler has earned 18 of his 23 career victories by stoppage. He’s finished both of his UFC wins by knockout.
Chandler is one of nine fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a front kick. He accomplished the feat vs. Tony Ferguson at UFC 274.
Chandler’s six victories in Bellator championship fights are second-most in company history behind Freire (12).
Chandler’s 18 victories in Bellator competition are third-most in company history behind Freire (22) and A.J. McKee (19).
Chandler’s 13 stoppage victories in Bellator competition are tied with Freire and McKee for most in company history.
Frankie Edgar
Frankie Edgar
[autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag] (24-10-1 MMA, 18-10-1 UFC) is one of 15 fighters in history to earn victories in three different UFC weight classes.
Edgar’s total fight time of 7:55:09 in UFC competition is the most in company history.
Edgar is 1-2 since he dropped to the bantamweight division in August 2020.
Edgar’s submission of Cub Swanson at the 4:56 mark of Round 5 at UFC Fight Night 57 is tied for the third-latest stoppage in a UFC bout behind Demetrious Johnson at UFC 186 (4:59, Round 5) and Yair Rodriguez at UFC Fight Night 139 (4:59, Round 5).
Edgar is the only fighter in UFC history to suffer three knockdowns in a single round and not lose the fight. The feat occurred in his UFC 125 draw with Gray Maynard.
Edgar’s 73 takedowns landed in UFC competition are tied for fourth-most in company history behind Georges St-Pierre (90), Gleison Tibau (84), and Demetrious Johnson (74).
Edgar is one of two fighters in UFC history to defeat a single opponent on three separate occasions inside the octagon. He did so against B.J. Penn. Tito Ortiz also accomplished the feat against Ken Shamrock.
Edgar is one of three fighters in UFC history to earn a fight-night bonus in three different weight classes. Conor McGregor and Jared Cannonier also accomplished the feat.
Edgar is the only fighter in UFC history to earn a “Fight of the Night” bonus in three different weight classes.
Edgar’s five losses in UFC championship fights are tied with Penn for second-most in company history behind Couture (six).
Chris Gutierrez
Chris Gutierrez
[autotag]Chris Gutierrez[/autotag] (18-4-2 MMA, 6-1-1 UFC) is 4-1-1 in UFC bantamweight competition.
Gutierrez is one of 10 fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a spinning backfist. He accomplished the feat at UFC on ESPN 33.
Gutierrez is the only fighter in UFC history to earn knockouts by spinning backfist and by leg kicks.
Gutierrez lands 58.5 percent of his significant strike attempts in UFC bantamweight competition, the third-best rate in divisional history behind Sean O’Malley (60.8 percent) and Montel Jackson (59.4 percent).
Dan Hooker
Dan Hooker
[autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag] (21-12 MMA, 11-8 UFC) returns to the lightweight division after an unsuccessful one-fight stint at featherweight.
Hooker is 1-4 in his past five fights dating back to June 2020.
Claudio Puelles
Claudio Puelles
[autotag]Claudio Puelles[/autotag]’ (12-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) five-fight UFC winning streak at lightweight is tied for the fourth-longest active streak in the division behind Islam Makhachev (10), Beneil Dariush (eight) and Rafael Fiziev (six).
Puelles’ three submission victories by kneebar in UFC competition are most in company history. No other fighter has earned more than one win with the technique.
Brad Riddell vs. Renato Moicano
Renato Moicano
[autotag]Renato Moicano[/autotag]’s (16-5-1 MMA, 8-5 UFC) five submission victories by rear-naked choke in UFC competition are tied for third-most in company history behind Demian Maia (nine) and Kenny Florian (seven).
Dominick Reyes vs. Ryan Spann
Dominick Reyes
[autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since May 1, 2021. The 560-day layoff is the longest of his nearly eight-year career.
Reyes has suffered three consecutive losses after starting his career 12-0.
Reyes’ 29-second knockout of Joachim Christensen at UFC Fight Night 112 marked the second fastest stoppage by any debuting light heavyweight in UFC history behind Ryan Jimmo’s seven-second win at UFC 149.
[autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag] (20-7 MMA, 6-2 UFC) has earned 17 of his 20 career victories by stoppage.
Erin Blanchfield vs. Molly McCann
Erin Blanchfield
[autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag]’s (9-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) seven takedowns landed at UFC 269 are the single-fight record for a UFC women’s flyweight bout.
[autotag]Molly McCann[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) one of two fighters in UFC history with multiple knockout victories stemming from a spinning back elbow. Ricardo Ramos also accomplished the feat.
McCann is one of two fighter in UFC history to land 100 or more significant strikes in three consecutive women’s flyweight fights. Sabina Mazo also accomplished the feat.
McCann’s three knockdowns landed in UFC women’s flyweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Taila Santos (three) and Ariane Lipski (three).
McCann’s three fight-night bonuses for UFC women’s flyweight bouts are most in divisional history.
Andre Petroski vs. Wellington Turman
Wellington Turman
[autotag]Wellington Turman[/autotag] (18-5 MMA, 3-3 UFC) is the only fighter to be deducted 2 points in a three-round UFC fight and win a decision. He accomplished the feat at UFC on ESPN 30.
Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Silvana Gomez Juarez
Karolina Kowalkiewicz
[autotag]Karolina Kowalkiewicz[/autotag]’s (13-7 MMA, 6-7 UFC) is 3-7 in her past 10 fights dating back to when she fought for the UFC strawweight title in November 2016.
Silvana Gomez Juarez (11-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) is the only Argentinian female to win in the UFC.
Michael Trizano vs. SeungWoo Choi
Michael Trizano
[autotag]Michael Trizano[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) is 1-3 since he dropped to the featherweight division in May 2019.
Matt Frevola vs. Ottman Azaitar
Ottman Azaitar
[autotag]Ottman Azaitar[/autotag] (13-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since Sept. 12, 2020. The 791-day layoff is the longest of his more than eight-year career.
Azaitar has earned 12 of his 13 career victories by stoppage. He’s finished 10 of those wins in Round 1.
Julio Arce vs. Montel Jackson
Julio Arce
[autotag]Julio Arce[/autotag] (18-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC) is 2-1 since he dropped to the UFC bantamweight division in July 2021.
[autotag]Montel Jackson[/autotag]’s (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) four knockdowns landed at UFC Fight Night 192 are the single-fight record for a UFC bantamweight bout.
Jackson lands 59.4 percent of his significant strike attempts in UFC bantamweight competition, the second-highest rate in divisional history behind O’Malley (60.9 percent).
Jackson absorbs 1.28 significant strike attempts in UFC bantamweight competition, the best rate in divisional history.
Jackson completes 75.9 percent of his takedown attempts in UFC bantamweight competition, the highest rate in divisional history.
Carlos Ulberg vs. Nicolae Negumereanu
Nicolae Negumereanu
[autotag]Nicolae Negumereanu[/autotag]’s (13-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) four-fight UFC winning streak at light heavyweight is the second-longest active streak in the division behind Ankalaev (nine).
Negumereanu has earned 11 of his 13 career victories by stoppage.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 281.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
