Fight Facts: UFC on ESPN 69 ‘Usman vs. Buckley’

Fight Facts is a breakdown of all of the interesting information and Octagon oddities on every card, with some puns, references and portmanteaus to keep things fun. These deep stat dives delve into the numbers, providing historical context and telling the stories behind those numbers.

* * *

TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC FIGHTS: 8,210
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 735

The Ultimate Fighting Championship bummed out a lot of fans in Atlanta and moms that named their children Cody in its most recent offering on ESPN. What started with some promise thanks to solid knockouts devolved into a messy, rule-avoidant slog through decision after decision. In addition to some noteworthy betting lines, UFC Atlanta, also known as UFC on ESPN 69, featured the fierce return of a welterweight juggernaut, a knockout that wasn’t and a potentially award-winning performance.

Bad Cody! Three fighters with the given name of “Cody” entered the Octagon on Saturday: Cody Brundage, Cody Garbrandt and Cody Durden. No Cody won.

Back to the Usman Grind: In the main attraction, Kamaru Usman made the main card go six for six with decisions by outworking Joaquin Buckley. “The Nigerian Nightmare” earned his 16th win at 170 pounds in the UFC, tying him with Vicente Luque for the fifth-most victories in the division’s history. Matt Hughes and Matt Brown hold 17 apiece, Georges St. Pierre owns 19 and Neil Magny celebrates 22.

Debbie Takedowner: Over the course of their five-round affair, Usman grounded Buckley four times. This gives Usman a career total in the Octagon of 63, third-most at the UFC welterweight class. Colby Covington’s 70 and the 87 for “GSP” sit above.

Thug-Adjacent: In her first three-round fight since 2023, Rose Namajunas outdueled Miranda Maverick to pick up the decision nod. “Thug Rose” has gone the distance in seven straight fights, with her finish rate now sitting at an even 50%.

Not So Shiny: “The Golden Boy” Edmen Shahbazyan could not put Andre Petroski away and earned a win by unanimous verdict. It marked just the second win on the scorecards for Shahbazyan and only the third time in his career he had gone the distance.

More Than They Garbrandt For: Beating Garbrandt over 15 minutes, Raoni Barcelos won via decision and put himself on a three-fight win streak. This victorious stretch is his longest since he joined the UFC and went 5-0.

The Unluckiest Man in the UFC: Due to a clash of heads during the finishing sequence, Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Brundage went to the scorecards 36 seconds into the third round. The technical decision makes it so that Abdul-Malik’s finish rate fell to 89%.

He Disagrees: Abdul-Malik’s technical decision is the first in the Octagon since Chris Weidman beat Bruno Silva after an eye poke at UFC on ESPN 54 in 2024. Only 11 have occurred in the history of the company.

Oumarated: Locking up the second-largest betting upset of the year in the UFC, Alonzo Menifield (+550) defeated -850 Oumar Sy by decision. The top spot still belongs to Barcelos at +650 whooping Payton Talbott (-1100) in January.

Acting Job or Knocked Silly: Paul Craig nailed Rodolfo Bellato with an illegal upkick to apparently knock the Brazilian out. As a result, the fight was ruled a no contest, marking the first in the promotion since Abdul Razak Alhassan hammered Brundage with illegal elbows in 2024.

Toughest of the TUF: “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 15 winner Michael Chiesa faced and beat Season 11 winner Court McGee on the scorecards. Chiesa has faced four TUF winners in his UFC career—Colton Smith (16), Diego Sanchez (1), Tony Ferguson (13) and now McGee—and he has beaten them all.

Well-Made Machine: Remaining flawless at 10-0, Malcolm Wellmaker iced Kris Moutinho in the opening frame. “The Machine” has dispatched eight of his 10 foes inside the distance.

Featured on the Ocho: Jose Ochoa punched out Durden early into the second round to bounce back from his first career defeat. The 24-year-old from Peru has earned all eight of his pro wins by stoppage.

Turn Him Loosa: Staging the mighty comeback, Philip Rowe decimated Ange Loosa with less than a minute left in the match. Rowe has still finished every foe he has beaten.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC Atlanta, Petroski had never lost by decision (16 fights), Sy had never been defeated (11 fights) and Loosa had never been finished (15 fights).

NNNope: Craig remains the sole combatant in UFC history to walk to the cage accompanied by Hanson’s “MMMBop.” He has yet to win after selecting it.

Separate the Art from the Artist: For the entirety of his career, Chiesa has walked out to “Stranglehold” by Ted Nugent. “The Maverick” holds a win percentage of .667 in the promotion, attributing to the song’s high victory rate.