The biggest UFC event of 2023 thus far delivered in spades Saturday with UFC 285 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The 14-fight lineup featured eight finishes and two new champions crowned.
In the main event, Jon Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) returned from a 37-month layoff and joined an exclusive club of two-division titleholders. The former longtime light heavyweight champion captured heavyweight gold with a first-round submission of Ciryl Gane (11-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC).
The co-headliner saw Alexa Grasso (16-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) pull off one of the biggest title-fight upsets in recent memory when she dethroned Valentina Shevchenko (23-4 MMA, 12-3 UFC) with a fourth-round submission to capture the women’s flyweight title.
For more on the numbers coming out of both championship contests, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 285.
Event stats
The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $282,500.
Jones, Grasso, Bo Nickal, Shavkat Rakhmonov and Geoff Neal earned $50,000 UFC 285 fight-night bonuses.
Debuting fighters went 2-1 on the card.
UFC 285 drew an announced attendance of 19,471 for a live gate of $12,154,753.10.
Betting favorites went 13-1 on the card.
Betting favorites improved to 4-3 in UFC headliners this year.
Total fight time for the 14-bout card was 2:49:36.
Jon Jones def. Ciryl Gane
Jones was successful in his heavyweight debut.
Jones became the eighth fighter in UFC history to win titles in two weight classes.
Jones became the third fighter in UFC history to win titles at heavyweight and light heavyweight, joining Daniel Cormier and Randy Couture.
Jones’ 15 victories in UFC championship fights are most in company history.
His seven stoppage victories in UFC title fights are tied with Demetrious Johnson for third-most in company history behind Anderson Silva (nine) and Matt Hughes (eight).
Jones’ 19-fight UFC unbeaten streak is the longest among active UFC fighters.
Jones 19-fight UFC unbeaten streak is the longest in company history.
Gane suffered the first stoppage loss of his career with a submission defeat.
Alexa Grasso def. Valentina Shevchenko
Grasso became the first Mexican female champion in UFC history.
Grasso became the third women’s flyweight champion, joining Shevchenko and Nicco Montano.
Grasso improved to 5-0 since she moved up to the UFC women’s flyweight division in August 2020.
Grasso’s five-fight UFC winning streak in women’s flyweight competition is tied with Manon Fiorot and Erin Blanchfield for the longest active streak in the division.
Grasso has earned both of her UFC stoppage victories by submission.
Shevchenko had her nine-fight winning streak snapped for her first defeat since September 2017.
Shevchenko fell to 9-1 since she dropped to the UFC flyweight division in February 2018.
Shevchenko suffered the first submission loss of her career.
Shevchenko has completed at least one takedown in 14 of her 15 UFC appearances.
Shevchenko’s 35 takedowns landed in UFC women’s flyweight competition are most in divisional history.
Shavkat Rakhmonov def. Geoff Neal
Rakhmonov’s (17-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) five-fight UFC winning streak at welterweight is tied with Michel Pereira for the longest active streak in the division.
Rakhmonov has earned all 17 of his career victories by stoppage.
Rakhmonov’s five-fight UFC stoppage streak is tied with heavyweight Sergei Pavlovich for the longest among active fighters on the roster.
Neal (16-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) suffered the first stoppage loss of his UFC career..
Neal suffered his first submission loss since Apr. 19, 2013 – a span of 3,606 days and 17 fights.
Bo Nickal def. Jamie Pickett
Nickal (4-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has earned all four of his career victories by stoppage.
Jamie Pickett’s (13-9 MMA, 2-5 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since January 2022.
Pickett has suffered four of his six career stoppage losses by submission.
Cody Garbrandt def Trevin Jones
Cody Garbrandt (13-5 MMA, 8-5 uFC) improved to 1-0 since he returned to the bantamweight division in March 2023.
Trevin Jones’ (13-10 MMA, 1-4 UFC) four-fight losing skid is the longest of his career.
Jones has suffered eight of his 10 career losses by decision.
Derek Brunson vs. Dricus Du Plessis
Dricus Du Plessis’ (19-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) five-fight UFC winning streak at middleweight is the longest active streak in the division.
Du Plessis has earned 18 of his 19 career victories by stoppage.
Derek Brunson (23-9 MMA, 14-7 UFC) has suffered all seven of his career stoppage losses by knockout.
Amanda Ribas def. Viviane Araujo
Amanda Ribas (12-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) has earned four of her six UFC victories by decision.
Viviane Araujo (11-5 MMA, 5-4 UFC) has suffered all four of her UFC losses by decision.
Marc-Andre Barriault def. Julian Marquez
Marc-Andre Barriault (15-6 MMA, 4-5 UFC) has earned 11 of his 15 career victories by stoppage.
Julian Marquez (9-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) has suffered both of his career stoppage losses by knockout.
Ian Garry def. Song Kenan
Ian Garry’s (11-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) four-fight UFC winning streak at welterweight is tied for the second-longest active streak in the division behind Michel Pereira (five).
Garry has earned seven of his 11 career victories by stoppage.
Garry has earned both of his UFC stoppage victories by knockout.
Song Kenan (15-6 MMA, 4-3 UFC) has suffered all three of his career stoppage losses by knockout.
Tabatha Ricci def. Jessica Penne
Tabatha Ricci (8-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) earned the first stoppage victory of her UFC career with an armbar submission win.
Ricci’s three-fight UFC winning streak at strawweight is tied for the second-longest active streak in the division behind Tatiana Suarez (five).
Jessica Penne (13-7 MMA, 2-5 UFC) fell to 2-2 since she returned from a more than four-year layoff in April 2021.
Farid Basharat def. Da'Mon Blackshear
Da'Mon Blackshear (12-5-1 MMA, 0-1-1 UFC) has suffered all five of his career losses by decision.
Loik Radzhabov def. Esteban Ribovics
Esteban Ribovics (11-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) had his 11-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 285.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
