Merab Dvalishvili’s game plan for his UFC Vegas 71 main event bout opposite former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan was clear before the first frame even ended. Dvalishvili wanted to use pressure via attempted takedowns and strikes to prevent Yan from getting the time and space he needed to mount any offense of his own.
With the Team Serra-Longo talent’s bottomless gas tank, the plan was a smashing success. Not only did Dvalishvili’s approach earn him a one-sided unanimous decision win, it also gave him a UFC record in takedown attempts and a career-best in significant strikes landed in a single fight.
Heading into Saturday’s card, Dvalishvili’s UFC career best in significant strikes landed was 73 on 128 attempts in a three-round matchup opposite Gustavo Lopez—on the prelims of the UFC Vegas 2 fight card. Against Yan, ‘The Machine’ connected on 147 of 338 strike attempts over five rounds. As for his UFC record in takedown attempts, Dvalishvili went 11 for 49 in that department, crushing the previous high of 33, which Cain Velasquez set against Junior dos Santos at UFC 155.
Saturday’s fight card was a showcase for the bantamweight division. Not only did Dvalishvili put on a career-best performance, but Jonathan Martinez scored a meaningful win over Said Nurmagomedov, Mario Bautista extended his winning streak to four straight with a submission of Guido Cannetti, Davey Grant scored a rare inverted triangle submission of Raphael Assuncao and Victor Henry picked up a win over Tony Gravely.
Below, we take a deep dive into the stats from Saturday’s UFC event. UFC Vegas 71 took place at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. The entire fight card streamed on ESPN+.
- Total Fights: 13
- Unanimous Decisions: 6
- Split Decision: 1
- KOs/TKOs: 1
- Submissions: 5
Fights by Weight Division
- Heavyweight: 2
- Light heavyweight: 1
- Middleweight: 1
- Welterweight: 1
- Bantamweight: 5
- Flyweight: 1
- Women’s flyweight: 1
- Catchweight: 1
- Total Knockdowns Landed: 3
- Total Submission Attempts: 14
- Total Reversals: 12
- Total Significant Strikes Attempted: 2,183
- Total Significant Strikes Landed: 1,160
- Total Significant Head Strikes Attempted: 1,585
- Total Significant Head Strikes Landed: 674
- Total Significant Body Strikes Attempted: 387
- Total Significant Body Strikes Landed: 300
- Total Significant Leg Strikes Attempted: 211
- Total Significant Leg Strikes Landed: 186
- Total Significant Distance Strikes Attempted: 1,840
- Total Significant Distance Strikes Landed: 883
- Total Significant Clinch Strikes Attempted: 244
- Total Significant Clinch Strikes Landed: 198
- Total Significant Ground Strikes Attempted: 99
- Total Significant Ground Strikes Landed: 79
- Total Strikes Attempted: 2,861
- Total Strikes Landed: 1,771
- Total Takedowns Attempted: 59
- Total Takedowns Landed: 175
- Shortest Three-Round Fight: Alexander Volkov TKOs Alexander Romanov at 2:16 of Round 1 via punches to head on the ground.
- Latest Finish in a Three-Round Fight: Davey Grant submits Raphael Assuncao via inverted triangle from bottom side control.
- Most Takedowns Landed: Merab Dvalishvili lands 11 takedowns on 49 attempts vs. Petr Yan (five round fight).
- Most Submission Attempts: Four fighters with two submission attempts: Nikita Krylov, Said Nurmagomedov, Josh Fremd and Victor Henry.
- Most Knockdowns Landed: Three fighters with one knockdown: Karl WIlliams, Davey Grant and Bruno Silva.
- Most Significant Strikes Landed in a Three-Round Fight: Victor Henry lands 154 significant strikes on 244 attempts vs. Tony Gravely.
New UFC records from UFC Vegas 71
- Merab Dvalishvili set a UFC single fight record with 49 takedown attempts.
Stats via UFC Stats
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