Yahoo Sports UFC 299 pre-event facts: Inside the numbers of stacked Miami lineup
The final event in the 200s-era of numbered UFC cards goes down Saturday at UFC 299, and the event from Kaseya Center (pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+) is one of the most stacked in recent memory.
A lineup filled with a plethora of former title challengers, top-ranked contenders and more, is headline by a bantamweight title rematch. Reigning champ Sean O'Malley (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) will attempt to make his first defense while simultaneously trying to avenge his only career loss against Marlon Vera (21-8-1 MMA, 15-7 UFC), who won the first matchup by first-round TKO at UFC 252 in August 2020.
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts for UFC 299.
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Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera
Sean O'Malley
O’Malley is one of eight fighters to hold the undisputed UFC bantamweight championship.
O’Malley is one of two fighters to win a UFC championship after being signed to the promotion through Dana White’s Contender Series. Jamahal Hill also accomplished the feat.
O’Malley has earned 13 of 17 career victories by stoppage. He’s finished all six of his UFC stoppage victories by knockout.
O’Malley’s six knockout victories in UFC bantamweight competition are tied for second in divisional history behind T.J. Dillashaw (seven).
O’Malley lands 7.29 significant strikes per minute in UFC competition, the highest rate in bantamweight history.
O’Malley lands 61.2 percent of his significant strike attempts in UFC bantamweight competition, the best rate in divisional history.
O’Malley’s eight fight-night bonuses for UFC bantamweight fights are tied with Dillashaw for most in divisional history.
Marlon Vera
Vera competes in his 20th UFC bantamweight bout, tied with Pedro Munhoz for the most appearances in divisional history.
Vera’s 13 victories in UFC bantamweight competition are tied with Dillashaw for second-most in divisional history behind Aljamain Sterling (14).
Vera’s 10 stoppage victories in UFC bantamweight competition are most in divisional history.
Vera’s six knockout victories in UFC bantamweight competition are tied for second-most in divisional history behind Dillashaw (seven).
Vera’s two knockout victories stemming from head kicks in UFC bantamweight competition are most in divisional history.
Vera’s 10 knockdowns landed in UFC bantamweight competition are tied with Petr Yan, Cody Garbrandt and Montel Jackson for most in divisional history.
Vera is one of two fighters in UFC history to score three knockdowns in back-to-back fights. Conor McGregor also accomplished the feat.
Vera is one of six fighters in UFC history to have two performances with three or more knockdowns landed. McGregor, Donald Cerrone, Anderson Silva, John Lineker and Israel Adesanya also accomplished the feat.
Vera is one of 11 fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a front kick. He accomplished the feat at UFC 268. There have been 12 such finishes overall, with Lyoto Machida being the only fighter to win twice with the technique.
Vera’s four submission victories in UFC bantamweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Urijah Faber (six) and Rani Yahya (six).
Vera’s -112 significant strike differential (159 vs. 271) at UFC on ESPN 35 is the largest negative differential for any winner in UFC history.
Dustin Poirier vs. Benoit Saint-Denis
Dustin Poirier
Dustin Poirier (29-8 MMA, 21-7 UFC) won a UFC title in his 22nd octagon appearance, the third most of any interim or undisputed champion in company history behind Charles Oliveira (28) and Michael Bisping (26).
Poirier is one of 10 fighters in UFC history to earn 21 or more octagon victories.
Poirier is 13-4 with one no contest since he moved up to the UFC lightweight division in April 2015.
Poirier’s eight knockout victories in UFC lightweight competition are second-most in divisional history behind Drew Dober (nine).
Poirier is the only lightweight in UFC history to land 150 or more significant strikes in three separate fights.
Poirier and Dan Hooker combined for 390 total strikes landed at UFC on ESPN 12, the single-fight record for a UFC lightweight bout.
Poirier is one of six fighters in UFC history to earn two or more submission victories by D’Arce choke. Tony Ferguson, Khamzat Chimaev, Julian Erosa, Vicente Luque and Kevin Holland also accomplished the feat.
Poirier is one of seven fighters in UFC history to be awarded 13 or more fight-night bonuses.
Benoit Saint-Denis
Benoit Saint-Denis’ (13-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) five-fight UFC winning streak at lightweight is tied with Paddy Pimblett for the second-longest active streak in the division behind Islam Makhachev (12).
Saint-Denis has earned all 13 of his career victories by stoppage.
Saint-Denis’ five-fight UFC stoppage steak is the second-longest among active fighters in the company behind Shavkat Rakhmonov (six).
Kevin Holland vs. Michael Page
Kevin Holland
Kevin Holland (25-10 MMA, 11-7 UFC) is 4-2 since he dropped to the UFC welterweight division in March 2022.
Holland’s 21-day turnaround between UFC main events (UFC on ESPN 21 and UFC on ABC 2) is tied with Deiveson Figueiredo (UFC 255 and UFC 256) for the shortest span in company history.
Holland is one of three fighters in UFC history to go 5-0 in a calendar year. Roger Huerta (2007) and Neil Magny (2014) also accomplished the feat, but Holland did it the fastest at 210 days.
Michael Page
Michael Page (21-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his promotional debut following a 19-fight Bellator stint where he went 17-2.
Page’s 17 victories in Bellator competition are fourth-most in company history behind Patricio Freire (22), A.J. McKee (20) and Michael Chandler (18).
Page’s 11 knockout victories in Bellator competition are tied with Patrick Freire for most in company history.
Page’s 10 stoppage victories in Bellator welterweight competition are for most in divisional history.
Gilbert Burns vs. Jack Della Maddalena
Gilbert Burns
Gilbert Burns (22-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC) is 3-3 in his past six fights dating back to February 2021.
Burns is 7-3 since he returned to the welterweight division in August 2019.
Burns’ three armbar submission victories in UFC competition are tied for third-most in company history behind Demetrious Johnson (four) and Royce Gracie (four).
Jack Della Maddalena
Jack Della Maddalena (17-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) is on a 16-fight winning streak after starting his career 0-2.
Della Maddalena’s six-fight UFC winning streak at welterweight is tied for the second-longest active streak in the division behind Ian Machado Garry (seven).
Della Maddalena lands 7.2 significant strikes per minute in UFC welterweight competition, the second-highest rate in divisional history behind Daniel Rodriguez (7.55).
Della Maddalena defends 67.9 percent of all opponent significant strike attempts in UFC welterweight competition, the best rate among active fighters in the weight class.
Petr Yan vs. Song Yadong
Petr Yan
Petr Yan’s (16-5 MMA, 8-4 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since October 2021.
Yan fell to 1-4 in his past five fights dating back to March 2021.
Yan became the first fighter in UFC history to lose a title by disqualification against Sterling at UFC 259.
Yan is one of two fighters in UFC history to hold the interim and undisputed bantamweight titles. Renan Barao also accomplished the feat.
Yan’s 10 knockdowns landed in UFC bantamweight competition are tied with Vera, Garbrandt and Jackson for most in divisional history.
Song Yadong
Song Yadong (21-7-1 MMA, 10-2-1 UFC) is 8-2-1 since he dropped to the UFC bantamweight division.
Curtis Blaydes vs. Jailton Almeida
Curtis Blaydes
Curtis Blaydes (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) is one of 12 heavyweights in UFC history to reach 12 octagon victories.
Blaydes’ 62 takedowns landed in UFC heavyweight competition are most in divisional history.
Blaydes’ 14 takedowns landed against Alexander Volkov at UFC on ESPN 11 is the single-fight record for a UFC heavyweight bout.
Blaydes’ 14 takedowns landed are tied for the third-most in a single UFC fight behind Khabib Nurmagomedov (21 at UFC 160) and Sean Sherk (16 at UFC 73).
Blaydes’ three knockout victories stemming from elbow strikes in UFC competition are tied with Paul Felder for most in company history.
Jailton Almeida
Jailton Almeida (19-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) is 4-0 since he moved up to the UFC heavyweight division in May 2022.
Almeida’s four-fight UFC winning streak at heavyweight is the longest active streak in the division.
Almeida registered 21:10 of ground control time at UFC Fight Night 231, the single-fight UFC heavyweight record and fourth most overall in company history.
Almeida absorbed just two significant strikes in the first five fights of his UFC career.
Katlyn Cerminara vs. Maycee Barber
Katlyn Cerminara
Katlyn Cerminara (18-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC) competes in her 14th UFC women’s flyweight bout, the most appearances in divisional history.
Cerminara’s nine victories in UFC women’s flyweight competition are tied with Valentina Shevchenko for most in divisional history.
Cerminara has earned 15 of her 18 career victories by decision. That includes all 11 of her UFC wins.
Cerminara is the only fighter in UFC history to earn their first 11 octagon victories by decision.
Maycee Barber
Maycee Barber’s (13-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) five-fight UFC winning streak at women’s flyweight is tied for the third-longest active streak in the division behind Manon Fiorot (six) and Erin Blanchfield (six).
Barber is 7-2 since she moved up to the UFC women’s flyweight division in March 2019.
Barber’s seven victories in UFC women’s flyweight competition are tied for fourth-most in divisional history behind Valentina Shevchenko (nine), Cerminara (nine) and Gillian Robertson (eight).
Barber’s three knockout victories in UFC women’s flyweight competition are second-most in divisional history behind Shevchenko (four).
Barber absorbs just 2.4 significant strikes per minute in UFC women’s flyweight competition, the third-best rate in divisional history behind Shevchenko (1.88) and Natalia Silva (2.1).
Mateusz Gamrot vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Rafael dos Anjos’ (33-15 MMA, 21-13 UFC) becomes the fifth fighter in UFC history to make 35 octagon appearances.
Dos Anjos total fight time of 8:26:49 in UFC competition is the most in company history. He’s the only fighter to reach eight hours of octagon time.
Dos Anjos is one of 10 fighters in UFC history to earn 21 or more octagon victories.
Dos Anjos’ 12 decision victories in UFC competition are tied for third-most in company history behind Neil Magny (14) and Brad Tavares (13).
Pedro Munhoz vs. Kyler Phillips
Pedro Munhoz (20-8 MMA, 10-8 UFC) competes in his 21st UFC bantamweight bout, the most appearances in divisional history.
Munhoz is 1-3 with one no contest in his past five fights dating back to August 2021.
Munhoz has landed 1,211 significant strikes in UFC bantamweight competition, the most in divisional history.
Munhoz’s seven fight-night bonuses for UFC bantamweight bouts are third-most in divisional history behind Dillashaw (eight) and O’Malley (eight).
Kyler Phillips (11-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) is one of 11 fighters in UFC history to earn a triangle/armbar submission victory. He accomplished the feat at UFC 271.
Michel Pereira vs. Michał Oleksiejczuk
Michal Oleksiejczuk (19-6 MMA, 7-4 UFC) is 3-1 since he dropped to the UFC middleweight division in August 2022.
Oleksiejczuk has earned all six of his UFC stoppage victories by knockout.
CJ Vergara vs. Abu Almabaev
CJ Vergara (12-4-1 MMA, 3-2 UFC) lands 58 percent of his significant strike attempts in UFC flyweight competition, the highest rate in divisional history.
Vergara lands 5.92 significant strikes per minute in UFC flyweight competition, the highest rate in divisional history.
Joanne Wood vs. Maryna Moroz
Joanne Wood (16-8 MMA, 8-8 UFC) competes in her 12th UFC women’s flyweight bout, tied for the third-most appearances in divisional history behind Robertson (13) and Cerminara (13).
Wood is 6-5 in UFC women’s flyweight competition. She’s 7-3 in her career at 125 pounds.
Wood’s five first-round submission losses in UFC competition are tied with Tank Abbott and Melvin Guillard for most in company history.
Wood’s two knockdowns landed in UFC women’s flyweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Ariane Lipski (three) and Taila Santos (three).
Wood has landed 907 significant strikes in UFC women’s flyweight competition, the most in divisional history.
Wood’s 68 leg kicks landed at UFC 238 are third-most landed in a three-round UFC fight behind Karol Rosa (95) at UFC 296 and Joselyne Edwards (76) at UFC 275.
Maryna Moroz (11-5 MMA, 6-5 UFC) is 3-2 since she moved up to the UFC women’s flyweight division in March 2019.
Moroz’s two fight-night bonuses for UFC women’s flyweight bouts are tied for second-most in divisional history behind Molly McCann (three).
Ion Cutelaba vs. Philipe Lins
Ion Cutelaba’s (17-8-1 MMA, 6-7-1 UFC) is 2-5-1 in his past eight fights dating back to February 2020.
Cutelaba completes 58.6 percent of his takedown attempts in UFC light heavyweight competition, the second-best rate in divisional history behind Lyoto Machida (65 percent).
Philipe Lins (16-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) is 3-0 since he dropped to the UFC light heavyweight division in April 2022.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 299.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
