Yahoo Sports UFC Fight Night 233 pre-event facts: Khalil Rountree on cusp of knockdown record vs. Anthony Smith
The UFC’s penultimate event of 2023 goes down Saturday with UFC Fight Night 233, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streams on ESPN+.
Ranked bantamweights meet in the main event of the card, which was originally scheduled to take place in Shanghai before being shifted to “Sin City” on short notice. Song Yadong (20-7-1 MMA, 9-2-1 UFC) takes on Chris Gutierrez (20-5-2 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC) in a matchup of names looking to take the next step in a loaded 135-pound weight class.
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 from UFC Fight Night 233.
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Song Yadong
Yadong is 7-2-1 since he dropped to the UFC bantamweight division.
Yadong has earned six of his nine UFC victories by stoppage.
Yadong’s five knockout victories in UFC bantamweight competition are tied for fifth-most in divisional history behind T.J. Dillashaw (seven), Marlon Vera (six), Rob Font (six) and Sean O’Malley (six).
Chris Gutierrez
Gutierrez is 6-2-1 since he dropped to the UFC bantamweight division.
Gutierrez is one of 10 fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a spinning backfist. He accomplished the feat at UFC on ESPN 33.
Gutierrez is the only fighter in UFC history to earn knockouts by knee, spinning backfist and leg kicks.
Gutierrez lands 57.7 percent of his significant strike attempts in UFC bantamweight competition, the third-best rate in divisional history behind O’Malley (61.2 percent) and Jack Shore (58.4 percent).
Gutierrez defends 67.2 percent of opponents’ significant strike attempts in UFC bantamweight competition, the third-highest rate among active fighters in the weight class behind Aiemann Zahabi (72.3 percent) and Miles Jons (71.6 percent).
Anthony Smith
Anthony Smith (37-18 MMA, 12-8 UFC) is 8-5 since he moved up to the UFC light-heavyweight division in June 2018.
Smith is 12-7 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in February 2016. He’s 19-5 since he was first released from the promotion in June 2013.
Smith has earned 33 of his 36 career victories by stoppage. That includes 11 of his 13 UFC wins.
Smith’s seven stoppage victories in UFC light heavyweight competition since 2018 are tied with Paul Craig for most in the division.
Khalil Rountree
Khalil Rountree’s (12-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) four-fight UFC winning streak at light heavyweight is tied with Jamahal Hill for the second-longest active streak in the division behind Carlos Ulberg (five).
Rountree’s 12 knockdowns landed in UFC light heavyweight competition are third-most in divisional history behind Mauricio Rua (14) and Chuck Liddell (14).
Rountree’s six knockout victories in UFC light heavyweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Liddell (nine) and Rua (eight).
Rountree’s four knockdowns landed at UFC 236 are the single-fight record for a UFC light heavyweight bout.
Tim Elliott vs. Su Mudaerji
Tim Elliott (19-13-1 MMA, 8-11 UFC) is 6-7 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in December 2016.
Elliott’s seven decision victories in UFC flyweight competition are tied with Benavidez for most in divisional history.
Elliott landed 270 total strikes at UFC 164, the single-fight record for a UFC flyweight bout.
Elliott has landed 60 takedowns in UFC flyweight competition, the most in divisional history.
Andre Muniz vs. Junyong Park
Junyong Park’s (17-5 MMA, 7-2 UFC) four-fight UFC winning streak at middleweight is tied for the fourth-longest active streak in the division behind Dricus Du Plessis (six), Caio Borralho (five) and Brendan Allen (five).
Tatsuro Taira vs. Carlos Hernandez
Tatsuro Taira (14-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) is one of 10 fighters in UFC history to earn a submission victory by triangle-armbar combination. He accomplished the UFC Fight Night 218. He’s the only flyweight to win with the technique.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
