The UFC’s penultimate pay-per-view of the year goes down Saturday with UFC 244, which takes place at Madison Square Garden in a New York with a five-fight main card lineup that follows prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.
In a rarity for a numbered event, no official UFC belt is on the line in the headliner. The fictitious “BMF” title is up for grabs, though, and Jorge Masvidal (34-13 MMA, 11-6 UFC) is set to clash with Nate Diaz (20-11 MMA, 15-9 UFC) in a welterweight contest to decide who gets bragging rights for that label.
Outside of Masvidal vs. Diaz, the card has a lot more to offer. For a deeper diver into the numbers, check below for 50 pre-event facts about the UFC 244 main card.
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Main event
Masvidal competes in his first pay-per-view main event. He’s 1-1 in previous UFC headliners.
Masvidal is 6-4 since he returned to the welterweight division is July 2015.
Masvidal has earned all five of his UFC welterweight stoppage victories by knockout.
Masvidal’s five-second knockout of Ben Askren at UFC 239 is the record for fastest in UFC history.
Masvidal is one of five fighters in UFC history to finish a bout by submission at the 4:59 mark of Round 2. He accomplished the feat at UFC on FOX 8.
Diaz competes in his eighth UFC welterweight bout. He’s 4-3 when fighting in the division.
Diaz’s nine submission victories in UFC competition are tied for the fourth most in company history behind Charles Oliveira (13), Demian Maia (11) and Royce Gracie (10).
Diaz’s five submission victories from a bottom position in UFC/WEC competition are tied with Anthony Pettis for most in combined company history.
Diaz is one of three modern-era fighters to earn four consecutive submission victories in UFC competition. Oliveira and Maia also accomplished the feat.
Diaz has landed 2,131 total strikes in UFC competition, the fourth most in company history behind Georges St-Pierre (2,591), Frankie Edgar (2,195) and Jon Fitch (2,185).
Diaz lands 5.70 significant strikes per minute in UFC welterweight competition, the second highest rate in divisional history behind Duane Ludwig (6.72)
Diaz’s 238 significant strikes landed against Donald Cerrone at UFC 141 are the second most a single UFC fight behind Max Holloway’s 290 landed at UFC 231. It’s also the most in a three-round UFC fight.
Diaz’s 15 fight-night bonuses for UFC bouts are tied with Joe Lauzon for second most in company history behind Cerrone (18).
Co-main event
Kelvin Gastelum (15-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) is 4-2 (with one no contest) since he returned to the UFC middleweight division in December 2016. He’s 5-2 (with one no contest) in the organization at 185 pounds.
Gastelum has suffered three of his four career losses by decision.
Darren Till (17-2-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC) has suffered consecutive losses after starting his career on an 18-fight unbeaten streak.
Till moves up to the UFC middleweight division for the first time. He spent his previous eight octagon appearances at welterweight.
Till has outlanded his opponent in all of his UFC victories.
Till is one of five fighters in UFC history to land zero significant strikes in a championship bout defeat, as he did against Tyron Woodley at UFC 228. His 9:19 of cage time is the most of any fighter in the group. The previous high was 3:54.
Featured bout
Stephen Thompson (14-4-1 MMA, 9-4-1 UFC) enters the event on the first losing skid of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since November 2017.
Thompson is 1-3-1 in his past five fights dating back to November 2016.
Thompson’s nine knockdowns landed in UFC welterweight competition are tied for fourth most in divisional history behind Thiago Alves (13), Jake Ellenberger (11) and Tyron Woodley (10).
Vicente Luque’s (17-6-1 MMA, 10-2 UFC) has earned 15 of his 17 career victories by stoppage. That includes nine of his 10 UFC wins.
Luque’s six-fight UFC winning streak in welterweight competition is tied for the fifth longest active streak in the division behind Kamaru Usman (10), Leon Edwards (eight), Santiago Ponzinibbio (seven) and Colby Covington (seven).
Luque’s nine stoppage victories since 2015 in UFC welterweight competition are most in the division during that span.
Luque’s nine stoppage victories in UFC welterweight competition are tied for third most in divisional history behind Matt Brown (12) and Matt Hughes (12).
Luque is one of six fighters in UFC history to earn their first nine victories with the promotion by stoppage. Vitor Belfort, Don Frye, Gabriel Gonzaga, Royce Gracie and Joe Lauzon also accomplished the feat.
Luque lands 55.6 percent of his significant strike attempts in UFC welterweight competition, the second best rate in divisional history behind Gunnar Nelson (56.8 percent).
Luque and Bryan Barberena combined for 332 significant strikes at UFC on ESPN 1, the third most for a three-round fight in UFC history behind Karol Rosa vs. Lara Procopio (336) at UFC on ESPN+ 15 and Diaz vs. Cerrone (334) at UFC 141.
Luque’s two D’Arce choke victories in UFC competition are tied with Dustin Poirier for second most in company history behind Tony Ferguson (three).
Luque is one of 17 fighters in UFC history to earn a submission victory by anaconda choke. He accomplished the feat at UFC on FOX 17.
Remaining main card
Derrick Lewis (21-7 MMA, 12-5 UFC) enters the event on a losing skid for the first time in his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since July 2018.
Lewis makes his 18th UFC heavyweight appearance since 2014, the most in the division and tied for the second most fights on the roster behind Cerrone (22).
Lewis’ 10 stoppage victories in UFC heavyweight competition are tied for fifth most in divisional history behind Frank Mir (13), Andrei Arlovski (11), Gabriel Gonzaga (11) and Stefan Struve (11).
Lewis’ 10 knockout victories in UFC heavyweight competition are tied with Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos for most in divisional history.
Lewis’ 10 knockout victories in UFC competition since 2014 are second most among active fighters in the organization behind Thiago Santos (11).
Lewis’ six knockouts stemming from ground strikes in UFC competition are tied with Randy Couture for second most in company history behind Velasquez (eight).
Lewis is the only fighter in history to have his first eight UFC fights end in a knockout.
Lewis’ knockout of Alexander Volkov at UFC 229 despite a -82 significant strike differential marked the greatest statistical striking comeback in UFC history.
Lewis and Francis Ngannou combined for 31 total strikes landed at UFC 226, the second fewest in a three-round UFC fight that went the distance behind Jens Pulver vs. Joao Roque (23) at UFC 26 in June 2000.
Blagoy Ivanov (18-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) is a former WSOF (now PFL) heavyweight champion. He defended that title four consecutive times.
Kevin Lee (17-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) enters the event with consecutive losses for the first time in his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since April 2018.
Lee is 1-3 in his past four fights dating back to October 2017.
Lee returns to the lightweight division after an unsuccessful one-fight stint at welterweight.
Lee has completed at least one takedown in 14 of his 15 UFC fights.
Lee’s 35 takedowns landed since 2014 in UFC lightweight competition are most in the division.
Lee’s 257 significant ground strikes landed in UFC lightweight competition are second most in divisional history behind Khabib Nurmagomedov (308).
Lee’s 96 significant ground strikes landed at UFC Fight Night 128 are the second most in a single UFC fight behind Neil Magny’s 100 landed at UFC Fight Night 85.
Gregor Gillespie’s (13-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) six-fight UFC winning streak in lightweight competition is tied for the third longest active streak in the division behind Tony Ferguson (12) and Nurmagomedov (11).
Gillespie’s five-fight UFC stoppage streak is tied with Charles Oliveira and Marlon Vera for the longest active streak in the company.
Gillespie has earned 11 of his 13 career victories by stoppage. That includes five of his six UFC wins.
Gillespie lands 7.44 takedowns per 15 minutes of fighting in UFC competition, the highest rate in divisional history.
Gillespie has been controlled by his opponent on the ground for just seven seconds over the course of six UFC fights.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
UFC 244 pre-event facts: Behind the numbers of Jorge Masvidal vs. Nate Diaz 'BMF' title fight
