The UFC brings a numbered event back to England for the first time since October 2016 on Saturday with UFC 286, which takes place at The 02 in London with a main card that airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.
A highly anticipated trilogy bout for the UFC welterweight title takes center stage in the main event. After avenging a unanimous decision loss to Kamaru Usman (20-2 MMA, 15-1 UFC) from December 2015 with a shocking head kick knockout at UFC 278 in August, Leon Edwards (19-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) will attempt to make his first title defense in the rubber match on his home soil.
For more on the numbers behind the main event, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about UFC 286.
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Leon Edwards
Edwards is the only Jamaican-born champion in UFC history
Edwards is one of two British titleholders in UFC history. Michael Bisping also accomplished the feat.
Edwards’ 11-fight UFC unbeaten streak at welterweight is the longest active streak in the division.
Edwards’ victory at the 4:04 mark of Round 5 at UFC 278 marked the fourth-latest stoppage in a UFC championship fight.
Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad at UFC Fight Night 187 is one of two main events in company history to end in a no contest due to a fouled fighter behind unable to continue.
Edwards’ eight-second knockout of Seth Baczynski at UFC Fight Night 64 is the third fastest in UFC welterweight history. Jorge Masvidal holds the record with his five-second finish of Ben Askren at UFC 239 this month.
Edwards’ victory at 4:59 of Round 3 at UFC Fight Night 127 is tied for the second latest knockout in a three-fight UFC fight behind Ricky Simon’s victory over Merab Dvalishvili at 5:00 of Round 3 at UFC Fight Night 129.
Kamaru Usman
Usman enters the event on the heels of his first defeat since May 2013.
Usman is one of two fighters in UFC history to start 15-0 with the promotion. Anderson Silva also accomplished the feat.
Usman’s 15-fight UFC winning streak, which ended at UFC 278, was the second-longest in company history behind Silva (16).
Usman’s 15 victories in UFC welterweight competition are tied for fifth-most in divisional history behind Neil Magny (20), Georges St-Pierre (19), Matt Brown (16) and Matt Hughes (16).
Usman’s average fight time of 17:07 in UFC welterweight competition is the second-longest in divisional history behind Rafael dos Anjos (17:52)
Usman has defended 97.2 percent of all opponent takedown attempts in UFC welterweight competition, the highest rate in divisional history.
Usman’s 12 takedowns landed at The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale are tied for second-most in a single UFC welterweight fight. Luigi Fioravanti holds the record with 13 at UFC 82.
Usman out-landed Tyron Woodley by a margin of 336-60 (+275) in total strikes at UFC 235, the record for a UFC championship fight.
Usman landed 192 body strikes at UFC 235, the single-fight UFC record.
Justin Gaethje
Justin Gaethje (23-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) is the only fighter MMA history to win titles in UFC and WSOF.
Gaethje has earned 20 of his 23 career victories by stoppage. That includes five of his six UFC wins.
Gaethje is the only fighter in UFC history to land 100 or more significant strikes in each of his first three promotional appearances.
Gaethje lands 7.46 significant strikes per minute in UFC lightweight competition, the second-highest rate in divisional history behind Frank Camacho (8.91).
Gaethje lands 60.2 percent of significant strike attempts in UFC lightweight competition, tied with Islam Makhachev for the best rate in divisional history.
Gaethje is the only fighter in UFC history to win at least one fight-night bonus in each of his first seven octagon appearances.
Gaethje has been awarded 10 fight-night bonuses in nine UFC appearances.
Gaethje’s 10 UFC fight-night bonuses since 2017 are most of any fighter in the company.
Rafael Fiziev
Rafael Fiziev’s (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) six-fight UFC winning streak at lightweight is the third-longest active streak in the division behind Makhachev (11) and Beneil Dariush (eight).
Fiziev has earned nine of his 12 career victories by stoppage.
Fiziev is one of 14 fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a wheel kick. He accomplished the feat at UFC on ESPN 31.
Fiziev defend 92.1 percent of opponent takedown attempts in UFC lightweight competition, the best rate in divisional history.
Joanne Wood vs. Luana Carolina
Joanne Wood (15-8 MMA, 7-8 UFC) competes in her 11th UFC women’s flyweight bout, tied for the third-most appearances in divisional history behind Gillian Robertson (13) and Katlyn Chookagian (13).
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’s 68 leg kicks landed at UFC 238 are second-most landed in a three-round UFC fight between Joselyne Edwards, who landed 76 at UFC 275.
Luana Carolina (8-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) defends 78.3 percent of all opponent takedown attempts in UFC women’s flyweight competition, the second-best rate in divisional history behind Viviane Araujo (80 percent).
Gunnar Nelson vs. Bryan Barberena
Gunnar Nelson (18-5-1 MMA, 9-5 UFC) is 5-5 in his past nine fights after starting his career on a 15-fight unbeaten streak.
Nelson has earned 16 of his 17 career victories by stoppage. That includes seven of his eight UFC wins.
Nelson’s six submission victories in UFC welterweight competition are tied with Demian Maia and Chris Lytle for most in divisional history.
Nelson lands 59.7 percent of his significant strike attempts in UFC welterweight competition, the best rate in divisional history.
Bryan Barberena (18-9 MMA, 9-7 UFC) is 8-6 since he moved up to the UFC welterweight division in January 2016.
Barberena lands 5.98 significant striker per minutes UFC welterweight competition, the third-highest rate in divisional history behind Daniel Rodriguez (7.72) and Duane Ludwig (6.74).
Marvin Vettori vs. Roman Dolidze
Marvin Vettori (18-5-1 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) has earned six of his eight UFC victories by decision.
Vettori’s average fight time of 15:44 in UFC middleweight competition is second-longest in divisional history behind Israel Adesanya (17:55) and Sean Strickland (15:54).
Vettori landed 190 significant strikes at UFC Fight Night 196, a single-fight record for a UFC light heavyweight fight.
Vettori landed 11 takedowns at UFC on ABC 2, the single-fight UFC middleweight record.
Roman Dolidze (12-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) is 4-1 since he dropped to the middleweight division in March 2020.
Dolidze’s four-fight UFC winning streak at middleweight is tied for the second-longest active streak in the division behind Dricus Du Plessis (five).
Dolidze has earned 10 of his 12 career victories by stoppage. He’s earned all four of his UFC finishes by knockout.
Jack Shore vs. Makwan Amirkhani
Makwan Amirkhani (17-8 MMA, 7-6 UF) is 2-5 in his past seven fights dating back to November 2019.
Amirkhani’s four submission victories in UFC featherweight competition are tied with Chas Skelly for second-most in divisional history behind Charles Oliveira (six).
Amirkhani’s three anaconda choke submission victories in UFC competition are tied with Oliveira for most in company history.
Muhammad Mokaev vs. Jafel Filho
Muhammad Mokaev’s (9-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) three-fight UFC winning streak in flyweight competition is tied for the second-longest active streak in the division behind Matheus Nicolau (four).
Mokaev landed 12 takedowns in his win at UFC Fight Night 208, tied for the single-fight record for a three-fight UFC flyweight bout.
Mokaev’s 58-second finish at UFC Fight Night 204 marked the second-fastest submission in UFC flyweight history behind Ben Nguyen’s 49-second win at UFC Fight Night 110.
Jennifer Maia vs. Casey O'Neill
Casey O'Neill’s (9-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) four-fight UFC winning streak at women’s flyweight is tied for the four-longest active streak in the division behind Alexa Grasso (five), Erin Blanchfield (five) and Manon Fiorot (five).
Juliana Miller vs. Veronica Hardy
Veronica Hardy (6-4-1 MMA, 1-4 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since March 14, 2020. The 1,099-day layoff it the longest of her more than seven-year career.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 286.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
