Arguably the biggest UFC card of the year goes down Saturday with UFC 244, and on top of a stacked pay-per-view main card from Madison Square Garden in New York, there’s also a deep preliminary lineup set to air on ESPN2 and ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.
The featured bout on the preliminary portion is a big one in the light heavyweight division. Corey Anderson (12-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) is set to meet Johnny Walker (17-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC) in what could potentially serve as a title eliminator at 205 pounds.
For more on the numbers behind that key bout, as well as the rest of the scheduled fights, check below for 40 pre-event facts about the UFC 244 preliminary card.
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Featured ESPN2 prelim
Anderson’s three-fight UFC winning streak at light heavyweight is tied for the third longest active streak in the division behind Dominick Reyes (six) and Aleksander Rakic (four).
Anderson’s 61-second knockout of Matt Van Buren at The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale stands as the fastest finish in a “TUF” tournament final.
Anderson’s 52 takedowns landed in UFC light-heavyweight competition are most in divisional history.
Anderson lands 50 percent of his takedown attempts in UFC light-heavyweight competition, the third highest rate in divisional history behind Lyoto Machida (65 percent) and Jan Blachowicz (52 percent).
Anderson lands 4.96 takedowns per 15 minutes of fighting in UFC light heavyweight competition, the highest rate in divisional history.
Anderson’s 12 takedowns landed against Patrick Cummins at UFC Fight Night 128 are the single-fight record for a UFC light-heavyweight bout.
Anderson’s 12 takedowns landed vs. Cummins at UFC Fight Night 128 are tied for the fifth most in a single UFC fight.
Walker’s three-fight UFC winning streak at light heavyweight is tied for the third longest active streak in the division behind Reyes (six) and Rakic (four).
Walker has earned 16 of his 17 career victories by stoppage. That includes all three of his UFC wins.
Walker is one of seven fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a spinning backfist. He accomplished the feat at UFC on ESPN+ 2.
Walker is one of two fighters in UFC history to win a light heavyweight bout by knockout stemming from a flying knee. James Irvin also accomplished the feat.
Walker is one of five fighters in modern UFC history to win a light heavyweight bout by knockout in 15 seconds or less. He accomplished the feat at UFC on ESPN+ 2.
Other ESPN2 prelims
Shane Burgos (12-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) defends 94.4 percent of all opponent takedown attempts in UFC featherweight competition, the best rate in divisional history.
Burgos lands 7.06 significant strikes per minute in UFC featherweight competition, the highest rate in divisional history.
Makwan Amirkhani’s (15-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) eight-second knockout of Andy Ogle at UFC on FOX 14 is tied for the second fastest knockout in UFC/WEC featherweight history behind Chan Sung Jung’s 6.2-second finish of Mark Hominick at UFC 140.
Amirkhani’s eight-second finish of Ogle stands as the fastest debut win UFC/WEC featherweight history.
Amirkhani became the first featherweight fighter in UFC history to earn a victory without throwing or landing a single strike when he submitted Masio Fullen at UFC Fight Night 69.
Amirkhani absorbs just 1.62 significant strikes per minute in UFC featherweight competition, the second best rate in divisional history behind Rani Yahya (1.05).
Brad Tavares (17-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since July 6, 2018. The 485-day layoff is the longest of his more than 12-year career.
Tavares’ total fight time of 3:50:38 in UFC middleweight competition is the most of any active fighter in the weight class and fourth most in divisional history.
Edmen Shahbazyan (10-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC), 21, is the youngest of the 24 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.
Shahbazyan’s three-fight UFC winning streak at middleweight is tied for the third longest active streak in the division behind Israel Adesanya (seven) and Paulo Costa (five).
Shahbazyan has earned nine of his 10 career victories by stoppage. That includes three of his four UFC wins.
Andrei Arlovski (28-18 MMA, 17-12 UFC), 40, is the oldest of the 24 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.
Arlovski competes in his 31st UFC bout, the most in heavyweight history and the fourth most appearances in company history behind Donald Cerrone (33), Jim Miller (33) and Jeremy Stephens (32).
Arlovski is 7-8 (with one no-contest) since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in June 2014.
Arlovski’s total fight time of 4:33:13 in UFC heavyweight competition is the most in divisional history.
Arlovski’s 17 victories in UFC heavyweight competition are most in divisional history.
Arlovski’s 11 stoppage victories in UFC heavyweight competition are tied with Gabriel Gonzaga and Stefan Struve for second most in divisional history behind Frank Mir (13).
Arlovski’s nine knockout victories in UFC heavyweight competition are tied for fourth most in divisional history behind Cain Velasquez (10), Derrick Lewis (10) and Junior Dos Santos (10).
Arlovski’s 10 knockdowns landed in UFC heavyweight competition are tied with Velasquez for second most in divisional history behind Dos Santos (14).
Arlovski landed 152 significant strikes at UFC on ESPN 4, the single-fight record for a three-round UFC heavyweight bout.
Arlovski defends 80.6 percent of all opponent takedown attempts in UFC heavyweight competition, the third highest rate in divisional history behind Marcin Tybura (81.5 percent) and Alexander Volkov (81.5 percent).
Arlovski’s eight knockout losses in UFC/WEC/PRIDE/Strikeforce competition are tied with Mir, Gonzaga and Antonio Silva for second most in combined organizational history behind Alistair Overeem (11).
Jair Rozenstruik (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has earned seven of his eight career victories by stoppage.
Rozenstruik’s nine-second knockout at UFC on ESPN+ 12 is the second fastest in UFC heavyweight history behind Todd Duffee’s seven-second finish at UFC 102.
ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass prelims
Katlyn Chookagian (12-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) competes in her fifth UFC women’s flyweight bout, tied for the second most appearances in divisional history behind Gillian Robertson (six).
Chookagian is 3-1 since she dropped to the UFC flyweight division in January 2018.
Chookagian has earned nine of her 12 career victories by decision. That includes all four of her UFC wins.
Jennifer Maia (17-5-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) has earned her past six victories by decision. That includes both of her UFC wins.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
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