Fight Facts: UFC on ESPN 70 ‘Lewis vs. Teixeira’

Fight Facts is a breakdown of all of the interesting information and Octagon oddities on every card, with some puns, references and portmanteaus to keep things fun. These deep stat dives delve into the numbers, providing historical context and telling the stories behind those numbers.

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TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC FIGHTS: 8,258
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 739

The Ultimate Fighting Championship cruised to Music City on Saturday, posting up in the capital region of Tennessee. With the Contender Series looming, athletes knew it was now or never to impress the brass. As a result, many of the combatants recorded impressive finishes to maintain their spot on the roster. UFC Nashville, also known as UFC on ESPN 70, featured a knockout leader that may never be caught, an Aussie who has practically grown up in the Octagon and the end of the “Lucky” era.

No Ordem nem Progresso: Brazilian athletes have yet to win a single UFC main event this year, following Tallison Teixeira’s defeat to Derrick Lewis. Athletes from the home nation of the Gracies are a combined 0-9 in their main attractions with the promotion in 2025, with seven stoppage losses between them.

20 for 40: Lewis notched his 20th win with the promotion by putting Teixeira away. He is one of 13 in company history to achieve this many victories, and the second heavyweight to do so—Andrei Arlovski the first.

Still Hot: “The Black Beast” performed his 16th knockout as a UFC fighter, putting more distance between the next closest man of Matt Brown (13). His 11 knockdowns throughout his career are good for the second-most in heavyweight history, behind Junior Dos Santos’ 14.

Punchy: All 16 finishes recorded in the Octagon by Lewis have come via his fists. He ties Donald Cerrone for the third-most stoppages in organizational history. They trail Jim Miller’s 19 and Charles Oliveira’s 20.

Bad Call: En route to a contentious split decision loss, Stephen Thompson was taken down by Gabriel Bonfim five times. While his career takedown defense rate still resides over 60%, “Wonderboy” now sports a record of 1-7-1 when grounded at least once.

Face-First Boston-Based Brawler: Steve Garcia tried to become the first fighter to knock out Calvin Kattar, but had to settle for a one-sided decision. While his five-fight knockout streak came to a close, he became the first man to drop Kattar in the Octagon.

Rubber Man: Lifting his pro finish rate above 75%, Morgan Charriere punched out Nate Landwehr early into the third frame. “The Last Pirate” has notched stoppage wins in each of his last five triumphs.

Bigger, Badder: Landing a rear-naked choke on Austen Lane, Vitor Petrino successfully debuted at heavyweight. The Brazilian has earned stoppages in three-quarters of his pro wins.

Pain: Chris Curtis took home the split verdict over Max Griffin, and three of Curtis’ last four appearances have gone to a split call. On the other hand, this was Griffin’s sixth UFC splitter. Only two fighters have gone to more: Gleison Tibau (seven) and Clay Guida (eight).

Jake the Snake: Running through Chidi Njokuani courtesy of a rear-naked choke, Jake Matthews performed his fifth such choke. While company leader Demian Maia stands at eight, Matthews ties Maia and Mickey Gall for the most landed at welterweight.

Bye: Going out on her second career losing streak—the first was a decade ago—Lauren Murphy dropped a decision to Eduarda Moura and called it a career. The former flyweight title challenger retires at the age of 41 with notable victories over names like Roxanne Modafferi, Miesha Tate and Joanne Wood.

Heeled: Snagging his third heel hook in a row—this of the inverted variety—Valter Walker handled Kennedy Nzechukwu in under a minute. He and Rousimar Palhares are the only fighters to land more than one in the Octagon, with Walker trailing Palhares’ five.

Anchors: Both Mike Davis and Fatima Kline closed as betting favorites of -750 or higher at this event, and they both won by knockout. Of the 22 bouts in the UFC this year with someone at -750 or above, 86% of those favored have gotten their hands raised.


Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC Nashville, Teixeira had never been defeated (eight fights), Lane had never been submitted (20 fights) and Martinez had never been finished (nine fights).

Back in Black and Blue: As is his custom, Landwehr made his walk to the cage accompanied by AC/DC’s “Back in Black,” and suffered a stoppage loss. The win percentage of that track has plummeted as of late, with just over 29% of all fighters selecting it across UFC history prevailing at night’s end.