UFC on ESPN+ 23 pre-event facts: Frankie Edgar is UFC’s fight time iron man

UFC on ESPN+ 23 pre-event facts: Frankie Edgar is UFC’s fight time iron man

The UFC’s final event of the year – and the decade – takes place Saturday with UFC on ESPN+ 23. The 13-fight lineup goes down at Sajik Arena in Busan, South Korea and streams entirely on ESPN+.

A matchup of featherweight contenders headlines the card. After the original booking between Frankie Edgar (23-7-1 MMA, 17-7-1 UFC) and Chan Sung Jung (15-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) fell through in November 2018, the pair will finally share the octagon.

For more on the numbers behind the main event, check below for 60 pre-event facts about UFC on ESPN+ 23.

* * * *

Main event

Edgar, 38, is the oldest of the 26 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.

Edgar’s five losses in UFC championship fights are tied with B.J. Penn for most in company history behind Randy Couture (six).

Edgar is 8-4 since he dropped to the UFC featherweight division in February 2013.

Edgar’s total fight time of 7:12:33 in UFC competition is the most in company history.

Edgar’s 1,559 significant strikes landed in UFC competition are third most in company history behind Max Holloway (2,071) and Michael Bisping (1,567).

Edgar’s 68 takedowns landed in UFC competition are tied for fourth most in company history behind Georges St-Pierre (90), Gleison Tibau (84) and Demetrious Johnson (74).

Edgar’s 259 total strikes landed against Cub Swanson at UFC Fight Night 57 are the second most in a single UFC/WEC featherweight contest behind Holloway’s 307 against Brian Ortega at UFC 231.

Edgar’s submission of Swanson at the 4:56 mark of Round 5 at UFC Fight Night 57 is tied for the third-latest stoppage in a UFC bout behind Demetrious Johnson at UFC 186 (4:59, Round 5) and Yair Rodriguez at UFC Fight Night 139 (4:59, Round 5).

Edgar is one of two fighters in UFC history to defeat a single opponent on three separate occasions inside the octagon. He did so against B.J. Penn. Tito Ortiz (Ken Shamrock) also accomplished the feat.

Edgar is the only fighter in UFC history to suffer three knockdowns in a single round and not lose the fight. The feat occurred in his UFC 125 draw with Gray Maynard.

Jung competes in his sixth consecutive UFC headliner. He’s 3-2 in previous main event fights.

Jung is the only South Korean fighter in history to challenge for a UFC title. He lost to then-champ Jose Aldo at UFC 163 in August 2013.

Jung has alternated wins and losses in his past five fights. He won his most recent bout at UFC on ESPN+ 21.

Jung is 2-1 since he returned from a more than three-year layoff from competition in February 2017.

Jung has earned 14 of his 16 career victories by stoppage. That includes all five of his UFC wins.

Jung’s 6.2-second knockout of Mark Hominick at UFC 140 is the third fastest knockout in UFC history behind Jorge Masvidal’s five-second win at UFC 239 and Duane Ludwig’s six-second finish at UFC Fight Night 3.

Jung is the only featherweight in UFC/WEC combined history to earn multiple knockout wins in less than one minute.

Jung registered the first twister submission finish in UFC history when he defeated Leonard Garcia at UFC Fight Night 24. Bryce Mitchell has the only other finish using the technique in company history.

Jung has received seven fight-night bonus in seven UFC fights.

Jung’s seven fight-night bonuses for UFC featherweight bouts are tied with Holloway, Cub Swanson and Yair Rodriguez for most in divisional history.

Co-main event

Volkan Oezdemir (16-4 MMA, 4-3 UFC) has earned 13 of his 16 career victories by stoppage. He’s finished 12 of those wins by knockout.

Oezdemir is one of eight modern-era fighters to earn back-to-back knockouts in less than one minute each. Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Walt Harris, Francis Ngannou, Johnny Walker, Mike Swick, Caio Magalhaes and Ilir Latifi also accomplished the feat.

Oezdemir lands 5.04 significant strikes per minute in UFC light heavyweight competition, the second highest rate among active fighter in the weight class behind Ion Cutelaba (5.27).

Aleksander Rakic (12-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) enters the event on a 12-fight winning streak. He hasn’t suffered a defeat since his MMA debut in October 2011.

Rakic’s four-fight UFC winning streak in light heavyweight competition is tied for the second longest active streak in the division behind Dominick Reyes (six).

Rakic has earned 10 of his 12 career victories by stoppage. He’s finished nine of those wins by knockout.

Rakic is one of seven fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a spinning backfist. He accomplished the feat at UFC 231.

Rakic landed 78 significant ground strikes at UFC Fight Night 134, the single-fight record for a UFC light heavyweight bout.

Remaining main card

Dooho Choi (14-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since Jan. 14, 2019. The 351-day layoff is the longest of his more than 10-year career.

Choi enters the event on the first losing skid of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since July 2016.

Choi’s average fight time of 5:26 in UFC featherweight competition is the second shortest in divisional history behind Mike de la Torre (4:25).

Choi has earned all three of his UFC victories by first-round knockout in a total fight time of four minutes and 33 seconds.

Choi’s 18-second knockout of Juan Puig at UFC Fight Night 57 stands as the second-fastest debut in UFC featherweight history behind Makwan Amirkhani’s eight-second win at UFC on FOX 14.

Charles Jourdain (9-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC), 24, is the youngest of the 26 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.

Da Un Jung (12-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) enters the event on an 11-fight winning streak. He hasn’t suffered a defeat since October 2015.

Kyung Ho Kang (16-8 MMA, 5-2 UFC) is 3-1 since he returned to competition from a nearly 3.5-year layoff in January 2018.

Kang has completed at least one takedown in seven of his eight UFC appearances.

Kang lands 64 percent of his takedown attempts in UFC bantamweight competition, the highest rate in divisional history.

Preliminary card

Ciryl Gane (5-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) makes his third UFC appearance since debuting with the promotion in August.

Gane has earned all five of his career victories by stoppage. He’s finished both of his UFC wins by submission.

Gane’s victory at 4:46 of Round 3 at UFC on ESPN+ 20 is the latest submission in a UFC heavyweight fight.

Dong Hyun Ma (16-10-3 MMA, 3-4 UFC) is 3-3 since he dropped to the UFC lightweight division in June 2016.

Alexandre Pantoja (21-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) lands 4.40 significant strikes per minute in UFC flyweight competition, the second highest rate in divisional history behind John Lineker (5.43).

Matt Schnell’s (13-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) three-fight UFC winning streak in flyweight competition is tied for the second longest active streak in the division behind Henry Cejudo (four).

Schnell’s victory at 1:23 of Round 1 at UFC on ESPN 5 is second fastest submission in UFC flyweight history.

Schnell earned the first triangle choke submission in UFC flyweight history at UFC on ESPN 5.

Schnell’s two submission victories by triangle choke in UFC competition are tied for the most in company history.

Said Nurmagomedov (13-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) is one of five fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a spinning back kick to the body. He accomplished the feat at UFC on ESPN+ 2.

Amanda Lemos (6-1-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since July 16, 2017. The 888-day layoff is the longest of her more than five-year career.

Lemos drops two weight classes to the strawweight division after making her UFC debut at women’s bantamweight.

Ryan Benoit (10-5 MMA, 3-3 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since Nov. 18, 2017. The 763-day layoff is the longest of his nearly 11-year career.

Benoit moves up to the UFC bantamweight division after spending his previous promotional appearances at flyweight.

Benoit has alternated wins and losses over his past nine fights. He won his most recent bout at UFC Fight Night 121 in November 2018.

Benoit is one of three fighters to earn a knockout victory stemming from a head kick in UFC flyweight history. Louis Smolka and Dustin Ortiz also accomplished the feat.

UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.