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The UFC’s busy May schedule kicked off on Saturday with UFC on ESPN 23 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The entire card aired on ESPN2 and streamed on ESPN+.
The main event of the night featured a knockout for the ages. Jiri Prochazka (28-3-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) landed just the third spinning back elbow knockout in UFC history when he flattened Dominick Reyes (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) in the second round of their light heavyweight contender matchup, seemingly securing a title shot for himself.
For more on the numbers to come out of the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for 40 post-event facts from UFC on ESPN 23.
Event stats
[vertical-gallery id=607333] The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $146,500. Debuting fighters went 1-0 at the event. [autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag] earned a $50,000 UFC on ESPN 23 fight-night bonus. Prochazka earned two bonuses for $100,000. UFC on ESPN 23 drew an announced attendance of zero for a live gate of $0. Betting favorites went 6-4 on the card. One fight ended in a draw. Betting favorites fell to 8-6 with one no contest in UFC headliners this year. Total fight time for the 11-bout card was 2:14:48.
Jiri Prochazka def. Dominick Reyes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0ttb9rt9Ow Prochazka improved to 21-1-1 in his past 23 fights dating back to June 2013. Prochazka has earned 27 of his 28 career victories by stoppage. Prochazka has earned both of his UFC victories by knockout. Prochazka earned the third spinning back elbow knockout in UFC history. Ricardo Ramos and Dong Hyun Kim also accomplished the feat. Prochazka’s became the first to receive multiple fight-night bonuses for one bout since Justin Gaethje at UFC 249 in May 2020. Reyes has suffered three consecutive losses after starting his career 12-0. Reyes has suffered both of his career stoppage losses by knockout.
Giga Chikadze def. Cub Swanson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrhFqunBoww Chikadze’s (13-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) six-fight UFC winning streak at featherweight is tied with Zabit Magomedsharipov for the third longest active streak in the division behind Arnold Allen (eight) and Alexander Volkanovski (seven). Chikadze has earned nine of his 13 career victories by stoppage. [autotag]Cub Swanson[/autotag] (27-12 MMA, 12-8 UFC) fell to 2-5 in his past seven fights. Swanson has suffered nine of his 12 career losses by stoppage. Swanson suffered his first knockout loss since June 7, 2009 – a span of 4,346 days (nearly 12 years) and 23 fights.
Ion Cutelaba vs. Dustin Jacoby
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MAY 01: (L-R) Dustin Jacoby punches Ion Cutelaba of Moldova in a light heavyweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on May 01, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
[autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag]’s (15-6-1 MMA, 4-5-1 UFC) three-fight winless skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since September 2019. Cutelaba fell to 1-3-1 in his past five fights dating back to April 2019. [autotag]Dustin Jacoby[/autotag] (14-5-1 MMA, 2-2-1 UFC) fell to 2-0-1 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in October 2020.
Sean Strickland def. Krzysztof Jotko
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fjgnAJFRvo [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (23-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) improved to 2-0 since he returned to the UFC middleweight division in October 2020. Strickland has earned six of his 10 UFC victories by decision.
Merab Dvalishvili def. Cody Stamann
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRy-88qk4jo [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag]’s (13-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC) five-fight UFC winning streak at bantamweight is the second longest active streak in the division behind Aljamain Sterling (six). Dvalishvili has earned 10 of his 13 career victories by decision. That includes all six of his UFC wins. Dvalishvili’s 46 takedowns landed in UFC bantamweight competition are most in divisional history. [autotag]Cody Stamann[/autotag] (19-4-1 MMA, 5-3-1 UFC) suffered consecutive losses for the first time in his career. Stamann has suffered three of his four career losses by decision.
Luana Pinheiro def. Randa Markos
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MAY 01: (R-L) Randa Markos of Iraq punches Luana Pinheiro of Brazil in a strawweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on May 01, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
[autotag]Luana Pinheiro[/autotag] (9-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has earned eight of nine career victories by stoppage [autotag]Randa Markos[/autotag]’ (10-11-1 MMA, 6-10-1 UFC) four-fight losing skid is the longest of her career. She hasn’t earned a victory since October 2019. Markos’ 10 UFC losses are the most for any female in company history.
Luana Carolina def. Poliana Botelho
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MAY 01: (R-L) Luana Carolina of Brazil punches Poliana Botelho of Brazil in a flyweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on May 01, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
[autotag]Luana Carolina[/autotag] (7-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) has earned both of her UFC victories by decision. [autotag]Poliana Botelho[/autotag] (8-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) fell to 1-2 since she moved up to the UFC women’s flyweight division in April 2019. Botelho has suffered three of her four career losses by decision.
TJ Brown def. Kai Kamaka
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiFT4JwOx7I [autotag]TJ Brown[/autotag] (15-8 MMA, 1-2 UFC) earned just the second decision victory of his career of his career and first since Apr. 2, 2016 – a span of 1,855 days and 15 fights.
Loma Lookboonmee def. Sam Hughes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZM6hLPfMUA [autotag]Loma Lookboonmee[/autotag] (6-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has earned five of her six career victories by decision. That includes all three of her UFC victories. [autotag]Sam Hughes[/autotag] (5-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) suffered the first decision loss of her career.
Andreas Michailidis def. KB Bhullar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2HvPbgDp8Q [autotag]Andreas Michailidis[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) became the first fighter from Greece to earn a UFC victory. [autotag]KB Bhullar[/autotag] (8-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) has suffered consecutive losses after starting his career 8-1. Bhullar suffered the first decision loss of his career.
Felipe Colares def. Luke Sanders
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YojAu-8g3ZQ [autotag]Felipe Colares[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) has earned both of his UFC victories by decision. Colares’ earned a decision victory despite a -40 significant strike differential, the largest deficit in UFC featherweight history for the winner of a decision. [autotag]Luke Sanders[/autotag] (13-5 MMA, 3-5 UFC) fell to 2-5 in his past seven fights starting his career on an 11-fight winning streak. Sanders suffered the first decision loss of his career. UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
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