Author: Trent Reinsmith

A deep dive into the statistics from UFC Vegas 69: Andrade vs. Blanchfield

UFC Vegas 69 had its ups and downs, especially the event’s main card. That portion of Saturday’s fight card opened up with a fantastic matchup between Jim Miller and Alexander Hernandez. The three fights following that crackerjack of a scrap brought the temperature inside the UFC Apex down a few degrees. However, things heated back up when Erin Blanchfield and Jessica Andrade faced off in the main event.

In the evening’s headliner, Blanchfield, who has been rising in the UFC women’s flyweight division since her promotional debut in September 2021, answered any lingering questions about her readiness to challenge fighters at the top of the division. The 23-year-old matched Andrade, a former UFC strawweight champion, in the striking department and outclassed her on the mat on her way to a second-round submission victory.

As for the Miller vs. Hernandez fight, that bout showcased Miller’s willingness to continuously pursue a finish, even when the potential for that stoppage win seems out of reach. On the other side of the ledger, Hernandez, who has struggled with adversity in the past, showed resiliency and toughness in getting the win.

Below, we take a deep dive into the stats — and look at the UFC records Blanchfield and Miller claimed — from the UFC Vegas 69 fight card, which streamed on ESPN+.

Total Fights: 11

Unanimous Decisions: 5

KOs/TKOs: 2

Submissions: 4

Fights by Weight Division

Heavyweight: 1

Light heavyweight: 3

Welterweight: 1

Lightweight: 2

Featherweight: 1

Women’s Bantamweight: 1

Flyweight: 1

Women’s Flyweight: 1

Total Knockdowns Landed: 2

Total Submission Attempts: 7

Total Reversals: 7

Total Significant Strikes Attempted: 1,932

Total Significant Strikes Landed: 850

Total Significant Head Strikes Attempted: 1,329

Total Significant Head Strikes Landed: 424

Total Significant Body Strikes Attempted: 333

Total Significant Body Strikes Landed: 231

Total Significant Leg Strikes Attempted: 270

Total Significant Leg Strikes Landed: 195

Total Significant Distance Strikes Attempted: 1,726

Total Significant Distance Strikes Landed: 689

Total Significant Clinch Strikes Attempted: 159

Total Significant Clinch Strikes Landed: 129

Total Significant Ground Strikes Attempted: 47

Total Significant Ground Strikes Landed: 32

Total Strikes Attempted: 2,390

Total Strikes Landed: 1,237

Total Takedowns Attempted: 51

Total Takedowns Landed: 15

Shortest Three-Round Fight: Philipe Lins KOs Ovince Saint Preux at 0:49 of Round 1 via punch to head at distance.

Latest Finish in a Three-Round Fight: Nazim Sadykhov stops Evan Elder at 0:38 of Round 3 via doctor stoppage due to a cut.

Most Takedowns Landed: Jamal Pogues lands five takedowns on 11 attempts on Josh Parisian.

Most Submission Attempts: Clayton Carpenter three submission attempts vs. Juancamilo Ronderos.

Most Knockdowns Landed: Two fighters with one knockdown apiece, Philipe Lins and Evan Elder.

Most Significant Strikes Landed in a Three-Round Fight: Alexander Hernandez lands 108 significant strikes on 234 attempts vs. Jim Miller.

New UFC records from UFC Vegas 69

Total UFC Fights: Jim Miller participated in his 41st fight in the UFC. Andrei Arlovski is second to Miller with 39 UFC bouts.

Submission Attempts: With his one submission attempt vs. Alexander Hernandez, Jim Miller has the most submission attempts in UFC history with 47. Charles Oliveira is second with 40 submission attempts.

Total UFC Lightweight Fights: Jim Miller has 38 fights in the UFC lightweight division. Three other fighters: Clay Guida, Gleison Tibau and Joe Lauzon are tied for second with 27 fighters each.

Total UFC Lightweight Fight Time: Jim Miller has 6:18:59 of UFC lightweight fight time. Clay Guida is second with 5:10:50.

Total UFC Lightweight Submission Attempts: Jim Miller has 44 submission attempts in UFC lightweight fights. Joe Lauzon is second with 29.

UFC Women’s Flyweight Control Time Percentage: Erin Blanchfield has a control time percentage of 55.4 percent in UFC flyweight fights. Taila Santos is second with 46.3 percent.

UFC Women’s Flyweight Top Position Percentage: Erin Blanchfield has a top position percentage of 48.6 percent in UFC flyweight fights. Gillian Robertson is second at 41.9 percent.

UFC Women’s Flyweight Submission Average Per 15 Minutes: Erin Blanchfield averages 1.57 submissions per 15 minutes of UFC women’s flyweight fight time. Taila Santos is second at 1.5.

Stats via UFC Stats

The real winners and losers from UFC Vegas 69

It seems as if the jury is in on 23-year-old Erin Blanchfield and the verdict is that she is ready to face the top of the UFC women’s flyweight division.

Blanchfield has yet to do anything but win since she joined the UFC in September 2021. The former Invicta FC competitor moved to 5-0 with her second-round submission win over former UFC women’s strawweight champion Jessica Andrade in the main event of UFC Vegas 69. Known for her submission skills, Blanchfield showed growth and confidence in her striking game before she locked up a rear-naked choke to end Andrade’s night at the 1:37 mark of the second round.

Following her victory, Blanchfield called for the winner of the upcoming matchup between flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso. That bout takes place on March 4 and the UFC should strongly consider Blanchfield as the next 125-pound title challenger.

Before the main event, UFC Vegas 69’s main card delivered three straight lackluster bouts, which was disappointing because the main card opener, a lightweight scrap between Jim Miller and Alexander Hernandez, was a bout worthy of consideration for “Fight of the Night” honors.

Read on for the winners and losers from UFC Vegas 69, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streamed on ESPN+.

Winners

Erin Blanchfield: Erin Blanchfield made her UFC debut in September 2021. Since then, she has fought — and defeated — progressively tougher opponents. During that time I’ve been beating the drum that the UFC matchmakers had no reason to rush her up the flyweight ranks because of her age. My thinking was — and I stress WAS — that at 23, the UFC should give the young up-and-comer time to mature and develop. However, following her submission win over Jessica Andrade in the main event of Saturday’s fight card, it’s time for me to put that opinion to rest.

Blanchfield looked excellent in defeating the favored Andrade, who was coming off a one-sided shellacking of Lauren Murphy in January. Blanchfield’s striking was on point during the first round of Saturday’s scrap and once she got the takedown in the second round, she wasted no time in becoming the first woman in nearly seven years to defeat Andrade via submission.

I don’t know where Blanchfield’s ceiling will be in the UFC’s flyweight division, but I’m fairly certain it is far higher than her current spot as the No. 10 ranked fighter in the official UFC flyweight rankings.

Marcin Prachnio: Marcin Prachnio’s game plan to kick the hell out of William Knight’s legs paid dividends, as he coasted to a win after landing 63 significant leg strikes.

Jim Miller vs. Alexander Hernandez: Jim Miller had success early with his pressure and striking, but as the fight wore on, Alexander Hernandez was able to use Miller’s pressure and aggression against him and that allowed Hernandez to take over the fight. To Miller’s credit, he never took his foot off the gas, which might have been to his detriment, but Miller, throughout his long UFC career, has always been a fighter who looks for a finish as we found out when he nearly found the submission in the closing seconds of the third round.

As for Hernandez, he needed this win to help his confidence. He performed well in a tough fight and dealt with adversity without folding.

Nazim Sadykhov vs. Evan Elder: This was a good lightweight scrap to close out the prelims. Nazim Sadykhov and Evan Elder put on a fast-paced striking battle. Sadykhov appeared to be the more powerful striker, but Elder’s ability to use angles to limit Sadykhov’s ability to find counters was impressive.

The fight ended with a nasty cut in a bad location above Elder’s eyebrow. With that outcome, I wouldn’t be against the UFC matchmakers running this one back at a later date.

Cageside doctor: The cageside doctor who did not hesitate to stop the Nazim Sadykhov vs. Evan Elder matchup deserves credit for making the right call. That cut was in a horrible spot. Had the fight continued, any strike landing above Elder’s right eye would have only exacerbated the damage.

Mayra Bueno Silva: The biggest favorite on the UFC Vegas 69 fight card, Mayra Bueno Silva cruised to a submission win over Lina Lansberg. The 31-year-old is on a three-fight winning streak since she moved back to 135 pounds.

Bueno Silva is confident on her feet and patient and a scary fighter on the mat. After her win, she called for a top-ranked opponent. Her victory over the No. 12 ranked Lansberg was not competitive. With that, if Bueno Silva is up for a big test, the UFC should give it to her.

Jamall Emmers: Despite being inactive since August 2021, Jamall Emmers outworked and outclassed the favored Khusein Askhabov in their featherweight scrap.

Philipe Lins: Philip Lins stunned Ovince Saint Preux with the first strike he attempted in their light heavyweight scrap. That straight left opened the door for Lins to pressure his opponent with a flurry of strikes. Lins never gave Saint Preux the time and space he needed to recover from that left or mount any defense. The best way to describe Lins’ first-round knockout win would be to call it a thrashing.

With his first-round knockout win, the 2018 PFL heavyweight tournament winner moved to 2-2 in the UFC. Lins has back-to-back UFC victories since he moved to LHW with the promotion.

A.J. Fletcher: A.J. Fletcher carried an 0-2 record into his UFC Vegas 69 prelim bout opposite Themba Gorimbo. Fletcher was well prepared for his opponent’s style, using an elbow to set up a submission win in the second round.

As an added bonus, Fletcher’s first UFC win came on his 26th birthday.

Clayton Carpenter: Clayton Carpenter looked confident in his striking early in his flyweight matchup against Juancamilo Ronderos. He didn’t lose any of that self-assurance when the fight went to the ground. While on his back, Carpenter looked for a triangle choke, an armbar and then when a swept led him to top position, Carpenter secured a body lock and the fight-finishing rear-naked choke.

The 26-year-old Carpenter is a young and solid 125-poinder, but he faced an overmatched opponent in this matchup. I don’t think the UFC needs to rush Carpenter up the flyweight ranks, but he deserves a more experienced UFC opponent in his next outing.

As far as UFC debuts go, Carpenter’s was excellent.

Laura Sanko: In her first color commentary gig on a UFC card that didn’t take place in the middle of the night, Laura Sanko avoided the fate of some of the promotion’s other commentary team members — saying something that took away from the broadcast. While some UFC commentators try to hard to be funny, show that they don’t understand the scoring criteria or let viewers know they did very little research before an event, Sanko avoided those traps. She was well prepared and worked well with her partners at this event, Paul Felder and Brendan Fitzgerald. Sanko deserves to be in the regular rotation of UFC color commentators.

Losers

Jessica Andrade: The favored fighter in the main event, Jessica Andrade looked either unprepared or unconcerned with the striking of her opponent, Erin Blanchfield. Perhaps Andrade’s performance against Lauren Murphy in January gave her a false sense of superiority. Whatever the case, Andrade squandered an opportunity to put herself in the title picture at 125 pounds with her submission loss to Blanchfield at UFC Vegas 69.

William Knight: William Knight might have cost himself his UFC job in losing on Saturday. Knight had no answer — and seemingly didn’t attempt to find one — in losing to a man with a history of racking up leg kicks.

Knight left Las Vegas with three consecutive defeats.

Khusein Askhabov: I’m probably not the only one disappointed in the UFC debut of Khusein Askhabov, who entered UFC Vegas 69 with a 23-0 record. I don’t think Askhabov should be written off, but he needs a big bounce-back performance in his next outing.

Ovince Saint Preux: UFC veteran Ovince Saint Preux dropped to 1-3 with the UFC since December 2020 with a knockout loss to Philipe Lins. All three of those losses have come by way of knockout. The only strike Saint Preux landed was an early leg kick.

Juancamilo Ronderos: Juancamilo Ronderos was 4-0 before he joined the UFC as a short-notice fighter in May 2021. All of those wins came with the Warrior Wednesday promotion in 2019. On Saturday, Ronderos fell to 0-2 in the UFC with two first-round rear-naked choke losses. It will be a surprise to see Ronderos, who turned 28 on weigh-in day for UFC Vegas 69, get a third opportunity to step into the octagon.

UFC: I know the UFC and its boosters like to claim that fight cards like UFC Vegas 69 — which is to say low on recognizable names — “always” deliver. That sounds great, but when the majority of UFC Fight Night cards fall into that category as of late, a maybe isn’t enough to tune into ESPN+ (nearly) every weekend. I’d be surprised if many hardcore fans are weighing the opportunity cost of these events and deciding that watching every UFC Apex event is not worth the time, at least not live.

In short, the UFC needs to concentrate on improving the quality of its fight cards.

UFC matchmakers: Sandwiching two light heavyweight fights and a heavyweight scrap between the main card opener and the main event was not the best way to keep fans engaged and interested in UFC Vegas 69.

Dana White’s Power Slap once again squanders the majority of its lead-in from AEW Wrestling

The good news for Dana White and his slap fighting league is that the show did not slip below last week’s low of 275,000 viewers. The bad news is that the Week 5 episode of Power Slap: Road to the Title didn’t gain viewers over last week. The 10 p.m. TBS programming of White’s latest attempt to break into a new “sport” held steady at 275,000 viewers for its February 15 broadcast.

The show, which got the attention of two members of the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, once again squandered the majority of its lead-in from the 8 p.m. AEW Wrestling broadcast. AEW was the No. 4 rated cable show for Wednesday evening. The TBS broadcast drew 824,000 viewers and a 0.27 rating in the 18-49 demographic. Power Slap’s ratings in that age group were 0.09. The slap fighting broadcast was the No. 55 rated cable show on the evening.

Before TBS showed the fifth episode of Power Slap, New Jersey’s Ninth District Representative Bill Pascrell Jr. and Nebraska’s Second District Representative Don Bacon reached out to TBS and Warner Bros. Discovery regarding their involvement in “The Power Slap.”

Pascrell wrote of the show, “Where are the warnings to this mindless violence? Traumatic brain injury isn’t entertainment.”

As the letter notes, Pascrell and Bacon are the “co-founders and co-leaders of the Congressional Traumatic Brain Injury Task Force and the authors of the Traumatic Brain Injury Act.”

The congressmen “strongly suggested” that Warner Bros and TBS “reconsider broadcasting this problematic programming.” They also slammed the “paltry $2000 and optional cursory screening from the Cleveland Clinic” in exchange for the traumatic brain injury these people will receive.

Below are the ratings for the first four weeks from Power Slap:

Week 1: 295,000 viewers, 0.10 share, No 45. rated program for the night.

Week 2: 413,000 viewers, 0.13 share, No. 30 rated program for the night.

Week 3: 284,000 viewers, 0.09 share, No. 51 rated program for the night.

Week 4: 275,000 viewers, 0.08 share, No. 68 rated program for the night.

TBS delayed the debut broadcast of Power Slap for a week following TMZ’s release of White slapping his wife on New Year’s Eve while he and his family were on vacation. White said of the delay, “We pushed it back a week because I was supposed to come back (from vacation) and do this whole media tour, which obviously wasn’t going to happen when I got back.”

The NSAC has named the officials for the co-main event of UFC 285 between Valentina Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso.

Valentina Shevchenko looks to make her eighth successful defense of the UFC women’s flyweight title on March 4 when she meets Alexa Grasso in the co-main event of the UFC 285-pay-per-view card.

During its monthly meeting on Wednesday, the Nevada State Athletic Commission selected Jason Herzog as the referee for the five-round fight. Also, the NSAC named Ben Cartlidge, Derek Cleary and Chris Lee as the judges for the 125-pound title scrap. Herzog will earn a $2,600 payday for his services and each of the judges will take home $2,300 for working the fight.

Shevchenko claimed the vacant UFC women’s flyweight title in December 2019 with a decision win over former UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Shevchenko has defended her crown seven times since that victory. Her most recent title defense came in June 2022 when she scored a split-decision win over Taila Santos at UFC 275.

Grasso enters her matchup opposite Shevchenko as the No. 5 fighter on the official UFC women’s flyweight rankings. Grasso is on a four-fight winning streak. Her most recent victory came in October 2022 when she defeated Viviane Araujo via unanimous decision. Grasso made her UFC flyweight debut in August 2020 with a decision win over Ji Yeon Kim. She had fought at strawweight before moving up to the 125-pound division.

UFC 285 takes place on March 4 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

A heavyweight bout between former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and ex-interim UFC titleholder Ciryl Gane headlines the UFC 285 fight card. The vacant UFC heavyweight title is on the line during that matchup.

The NSAC has named the officials for the heavyweight title fight main event of UFC 285

The vacant UFC heavyweight title is up for grabs on March 4 when former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones faces ex-interim UFC heavyweight titleholder Ciryl Gane in the main event of the UFC 285 pay-per-view card.

During its monthly meeting on Wednesday, the Nevada State Athletic Commission selected Marc Goddard as the referee for the five-round fight. The NSAC also named Mike Bell, Sal D’Amato and Ron McCarthy as the judges for the heavyweight title scrap. Goddard will be paid $2,600 and the judges will earn $2,300 each.

The UFC heavyweight title was left vacant in mid-January when the promotion—unable to come to an agreement that would have kept then-champion Francis Ngannou with the UFC—walked away from the negotiation table and gave up its right to match any offer Ngannou might receive from competitors.

Jones has not fought since February 8, 2020, when he defended the UFC light heavyweight title against Dominick Reyes. Jones won that fight via unanimous decision. In August 2020. Jones vacated the promotion’s 205-pound title. At the time, Jones said he was walking way from the belt because “the last I spoke with the UFC about my salary there was no negotiating.” According to Jones’ advisor Richard Schaefer, the ex-light heavyweight champion is now the “highest-paid heavyweight athlete” in the UFC and that Jones is receiving, “probably the second highest number next to Conor McGregor.”

Gane won the interim UFC heavyweight title in August 2021 with a TKO win over Derrick Lewis. Ngannou defeated Gane via decision in the January 2022 title unification bout. The MMA Factory athlete enters UFC 285 coming off a September 2022 knockout win over Tai Tuivasa.

UFC 285 takes place on March 4 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

A running tally of important stats for all UFC events in 2023, now 50 fights into the year following 2023.

With the fourth UFC event—and second pay-per-view card—of 2023 behind us, the UFC has hit the 50 fight mark for the year. The main event of Saturday’s UFC 284 PPV card, where Islam Makhachev retained his UFC lightweight title with a decision win, also marked the UFC’s fourth title fight of the year—and 15th unanimous decision.

Before Makhachev and his opponent, featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, went the five-round distance in their “Fight of the Night” bonus-winning affair, Yair Rodriguez’s claimed the interim UFC featherweight title, scoring the 12th submission of 2023 under the UFC banner.

At UFC 284, the promotion also exceeded 10,000 total strikes attempted on the year with 10,234. However, the number of significant strikes attempted so far has a ways to go before it hits five digits. That number stands at 8,542, with a landing rate of 4,239 significant strikes.

Below, take a look at all the numbers we’ll track as 2023 marches on.

The next event on the UFC schedule is UFC Vegas 69. The main event of that card, which streams on ESPN+, is a flyweight fight between Jessica Andrade and Erin Blanchfield.

Total Fights: 50

Title Fights: 4

Unanimous Decisions: 15

Split Decisions: 4

Majority Draws: 2

KOs/TKOs: 17

Submissions: 12

Types of Finishes

Submissions

Rear Naked Choke: 7

Arm Triangle from Mount: 1

Arm Triangle on Ground: 1

Guillotine Choke After Drop to Guard: 1

Triangle Armbar from Bottom Guard: 1

Triangle Choke from Bottom Guard: 1

Knockouts and Technical Knockouts

Punch to Head at Distance: 4

Punches to Head at Distance: 3

Elbows to Head from Mount: 2

Doctor Stoppage: 1

Flying Knee to Head: 1

Kick to Body at Distance: 1

Knees to Body at Distance: 1

Punches to Head from Back Control: 1

Punches to Head from Guard: 1

Punches to Head in Clinch: 1

Punches to Body at Distance: 1

Fights by Weight Division

Heavyweight: 4

Light heavyweight: 7

Middleweight: 4

Welterweight: 5

Lightweight: 7

Featherweight: 8

Women’s Featherweight: 1

Bantamweight: 5

Women’s bantamweight: 1

Flyweight: 6

Women’s Flyweight: 1

Women’s strawweight: 1

UFC Stat Totals in 2023

Total Knockdowns Landed: 17

Total Submission Attempts: 28

Total Reversals: 9

Total Significant Strikes Attempted: 8.542

Total Significant Strikes Landed: 4,239

Total Significant Head Strikes Attempted: 6,572

Total Significant Head Strikes Landed: 2,657

Total Significant Body Strikes Attempted: 1,259

Total Significant Body Strikes Landed: 974

Total Significant Leg Strikes Attempted: 711

Total Significant Leg Strikes Landed: 608

Total Significant Distance Strikes Attempted: 7,497

Total Significant Distance Strikes Landed: 3,425

Total Significant Clinch Strikes Attempted: 599

Total Significant Clinch Strikes Landed: 445

Total Significant Ground Strikes Attempted: 446

Total Significant Ground Strikes Landed: 360

Total Strikes Attempted: 10,234

Total Strikes Landed: 5,685

Total Takedowns Attempted: 274

Total Takedowns Landed: 91

Memorable Fight Stats in 2023

Shortest Three-Round Fight: Rinya Nakamura KOs Toshiomi Kazama at 0:33 of Round 1 via punch to head at distance at UFC Vegas 68.

Latest Finish in a Three-Round Fight: HyunSung Park submits SeungGuk Choi via rear-naked choke at 3:11 of Round 3 at UFC Vegas 68.

Most Takedowns Landed: Serghei Spivac lands six of eight takedown attempts on Derrick Lewis at UFC Vegas 68 and Jimmy Crute lands six of 12 takedown attempts on Alonzo Menifield.

Most Submission Attempts: HyunSung Park three submission attempts against SeungGuk Choi at UFC Vegas 68 and Jimmy Crute three submission attempts against Alonzo Menifield.

Most Knockdowns Landed: Rinya Nakamura scores two knockdown on Toshiomi Kazama at UFC Vegas 68 and Alonzo Menifield. scores two knockdown on Jimmy Crute.

Most Significant Strikes Landed in a Three-Round Fight: Jessica Andrade lands 231 of 369 significant strike attempts in unanimous decision win over Lauren Murphy.

Shutouts: Serghei Spivac prevents Derrick Lewis from landing any strikes or takedowns during their UFC Vegas 68 main event fight.

New UFC records in 2023

Jamahal Hill lands 232 significant strikes in a UFC light heavyweight fight for a new UFC LHW single-fight record. Hill defeated Glover Teixeira to by unanimous decision to win the UFC light heavyweight title.

Jessica Andrade lands 231 significant strikes in a UFC women’s flyweight fight for a new UFC women’s flyweight record. Andrade defeated Lauren Murphy via unanimous decision.

Jessica Andrade tied Amanda Nunes for most wins in women’s UFC history with her 15th victory with the promotion.

Stats via UFC Stats