Fight Facts: UFC on ESPN 32 ‘Kattar vs. Chikadze’

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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: 6,444
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 590

The Ultimate Fighting Championship barely made it to the first finish line of 2022, with a 10-fight offering that brought little in the way of entertainment value until the last few matches. The main event delivered as anticipated, thus elevating this event from a major disappointment to one where several key pieces of information were discerned. UFC on ESPN 32 featured the end of a wonderfully bizarre streak, an eye-popping strike total in the headliner and unorthodox holiday-themed walkout music.

Like An Andy Capp Comic: When the dust settled, Calvin Kattar and Giga Chikadze threw 749 significant strikes at one another, with 402 coming from Kattar and the remaining 347 from Chikadze. In the process, these two featherweights cracked the top 10 for the most significant strikes attempted in a single UFC fight, clocking in beneath Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington’s first 755-strike battle in 2019.

Y’all Musta Forgot Calvin: A personal best for Kattar, he landed 144 significant strikes on Chikadze, including 127 to the head. “The Boston Finisher” connected with almost as many significant strikes as the Georgian’s previous six opponents combined (161 in total).

Saved By the Bell: The Massachusetts native landed a knockdown towards the tail end of the fifth round. In the prior four UFC bouts that Kattar had dropped a foe, he had recorded a finish; Chikadze survived to the final bell.

The Shoe’s On the Other Foot: The former Glory featherweight tournament finalist suffered a knockdown for the first time since joining the roster. To that point, Chikadze had racked up six knockdowns, including at least one in each of his last five outings, but he had yet to be dropped.

Five-Round Cardio of Sorts: Win or lose, Chikadze had yet to go into the fifth round as a professional MMA fighter until Kattar pushed him there. While he had reached Round 5 as a kickboxer, those rounds are only three minutes in length.

Phase 1 vs. Phase 2: Chikadze’s first four UFC bouts – all decisions – went his way without much additional fanfare. Since his knockout of Jamey Simmons in 2020, each of his last four outings has been accompanied by post-fight bonuses, including the “Fight of the Night” check he split with Kattar.

But Why Was It the Co-Main? Jake Collier submitted Chase Sherman around the midpoint of the fight for the second stoppage of the night. In doing so, Collier handed Sherman his eighth loss on the roster, and “The Vanilla Gorilla” is now tied for the seventh-most defeats in UFC heavyweight history alongside names like Alistair Overeem and Junior dos Santos. Andrei Arlovski’s 14 are the most, but he also holds the most wins as well.

The Perfect Imperfect Streak: Collier made his UFC debut in 2014 at middleweight, losing by knockout to Vitor Miranda. He won his next fight, and then lost the one after, following that pattern to date. The now-heavyweight Collier has gone 10 straight bouts without amassing consecutive victories or defeats.

He Likes It Raw: For just the second time in his 19-fight career, Brandon Royval won by decision. “Raw Dawg” saw his career finish rate lowered to 85% in victory over Rogerio Bontorin, and notched his first win at the hands of the judges since beating Charles Johnson at LFA 48 in 2018.

Got Maia’s Number: Katlyn Chookagian officially entered into her 10th UFC flyweight bout when she faced and defeated Jennifer Maia, placing her one short of Gillian Robertson for the most in the history of the division. Of note, Chookagian’s first match with Maia came at a catchweight after Maia missed weight.

Fuzzy Flyweight Math: If counting the first Maia win among those at flyweight as Chookagian successfully made weight, Chookagian has recorded eight wins in the division since dropping to the division in 2018. She ties champ Valentina Shevchenko for the most triumphs in UFC flyweight history.

150 Long Minutes of History: No matter the weight division, every one of Chookagian’s 10 UFC wins has come by decision. She is now the first fighter in UFC history to record her first 10 victories all on the scorecards.

Slava Claws Out: Earning the lone knockout of the night along with a $50,000 check for his effort, Viacheslav Borshchev folded Dakota Bush with body shots to force the first-round stoppage. “Slava” celebrates a knockout rate of 83% in his young career, with each of his last four wins knockouts within two rounds.

Tire Brito Out, Check: Bill Algeo handled newcomer Joanderson Brito to win a unanimous decision. While his last six outings have all reached the final bell, it was only the second time Brito had fought 15 minutes in his last 11 fights dating back to 2017.

Ugly Fight: After three grueling rounds, Jamie Pickett won a decision over UFC debutant Joseph Holmes. “Ugly Man Joe” posts a 100% finish rate when he wins, while he has only been beaten on the scorecards.

Crusher Gonna Crush: By beating Ramiz Brahimaj in a clear-cut decision, Court McGee finds himself on his first win streak since 2013. “The Crusher” has not finished a foe since 2010, spanning 17 fights and eight victories.

Strong Streak Shattered: Stepping up on extremely short notice and up a division, Charles Rosa lost a decision to T.J. Brown. The defeat put “Boston Strong” on the first losing streak of his UFC tenure, and ended a record-tying stretch of 11 straight fights where he had alternated wins and losses.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC on ESPN 32, Sherman had never been submitted (23 fights), Bush had never been knocked out (11 fights) and Brito had never lost on the scorecards (15 fights).

Christmas Cheer: Walking out to a mashup starting with Christmas song “Jingle Bells” before leading into “Good Day” by Greg Street featuring Nappy Roots, Borshchev is the first fighter in UFC history to select this holiday music as his walkout tune. “Slava Claus” went on to record the only stoppage due to strikes of the evening.

Great Song, Not So Much About the Artist: With McGee getting his hand raised after “Stranglehold” by Ted Nugent played as his walkout music, the win percentage of the rock hit lifted above .700. As such, it accompanies the highest win rate of any music with at least 20 recorded uses.