UFC Fight Night 237 pre-event facts: Can Brian Ortega avoid fourth loss in five fights?
The UFC returns to Mexico for the seventh time in its history on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 237, which takes place at Mexico City Arena in Mexico City and streams on ESPN+.
The main event will see former champion Brandon Moreno (21-7-2 MMA, 9-3-2 UFC) take on Brandon Royval (15-7 MMA, 5-3 UFC) in a rematch of their November 2020 bout, which Moreno won by first-round TKO.
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 Fight Night 237.
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Brandon Moreno vs. Brandon Royval
Brandon Moreno
Moreno was the first champion in UFC history to be born in Mexico.
Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo fought to the fourth draw in UFC title fight history at UFC 256.
Moreno and Figueiredo are the only set of fighters in UFC history to fight each other three consecutive times.
Moreno is one of seven fighters in UFC history to earn a between-rounds stoppage in a title fight. He accomplished the feat at UFC 283.
Moreno is 6-2-2 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in September 2019.
Moreno’s nine victories in UFC flyweight competition are tied for fifth-most in divisional history behind Demetrious Johnson (13), Joseph Benavidez (13), Alexandre Pantoja (11) and Figueiredo (10).
Moreno’s six stoppage victories in UFC flyweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Figueiredo (seven) and Johnson (seven).
Moreno’s three submission victories in UFC flyweight competition are tied for fourth-most in divisional history behind Johnson (five), Pantoja (four) and Muhammad Mokaev (four).
Moreno’s seven fight-night bonuses for UFC flyweight bouts are second-most in divisional history behind Johnson (nine).
Brandon Royval
Royval has earned 13 of his 15 career victories by stoppage.
Royval has earned four of his five UFC victories by stoppage.
Royval’s three submission victories in UFC flyweight competition are tied for fourth-most in divisional history behind Johnson (five), Pantoja (four) and Mokaev (four).
Yair Rodriguez vs. Brian Ortega
Yair Rodriguez
Yair Rodriguez (15-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) is one of 11 fighters in UFC history to earn 10 featherweight victories.
Rodriguez’s knockout of Chan Sung Jung at the 4:59 mark of Round 5 at UFC Fight Night 139 is tied with Demetrious Johnson’s finish at UFC 186 for the latest stoppage in a UFC fight.
Rodriguez’s nine fight-night bonuses for UFC featherweight bouts are tied for second-most in divisional history behind Max Holloway (10).
Brian Ortega
Brian Ortega (15-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) is 1-3 in his past four fights dating back to December 2018.
Ortega has earned nine of his 14 career victories by stoppage. That includes all six of his UFC wins.
Ortega’s six stoppage victories in UFC featherweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Holloway (10) and Ricardo Lamas (seven).
Ortega is the only fighter in UFC history to earn four consecutive third-round stoppage victories.
Ortega’s three submission victories in UFC featherweight competition are tied for fifth-most in divisional history behind Charles Oliveira (six), Chas Skelly (four), Makwan Amirkhani (four) and Daniel Pineda (four).
Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Ricky Turcios
Raul Rosas Jr. (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC), at 18, became the youngest fighter in history to earn an octagon victory when he won at UFC 282.
Rosas Jr. has earned seven of his eight career victories by stoppage. That includes both of his UFC wins.
Edgar Chairez vs. Daniel Lacerda
Daniel Lacerda’s (11-5 MMA, 0-4 UFC) five-fight winless skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since July 2021.
Lacerda’s average fight time of 4:43 in UFC flyweight competition is the shortest in divisional history.
Claudio Puelles vs. Fares Ziam
Claudio Puelles’ (12-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) 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.
Fares Ziam (14-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) has earned all four of his UFC victories by decision.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 237.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
