UFC on ABC 7 pre-event facts: Tony Ferguson needs win to avoid longest losing skid in octagon

The UFC visits Abu Dhabi on Saturday for the first of two events in 2024, this being UFC on ABC 7 at Etihad Arena on Yas Island (ABC, ESPN2, ESPN+).

The loaded fight night lineup features a number of notable names, former champions and more. In the bantamweight main event, [autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) will take on unbeaten [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (17-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC).

For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts for UFC on ABC 7.

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Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov

Cory Sandhagen

Sandhagen competes in his sixth UFC main event. He’s 4-1 in previous headliners.

Sandhagen’s 28-second knockout victory at UFC Fight Night 184 marked the second-fastest flying knee finish in UFC history behind Jorge Masvidal’s five-second win at UFC 239.

Sandhagen is one of three fighters in UFC history to earn knockouts stemming from a flying knee and a spinning wheel kick. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos and Edson Barboza also accomplished the feat.

Sandhagen is one of 14 fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a spinning wheel kick. He accomplished the feat at UFC Fight Night 179.

Sandhagen and Petr Yan combined for 318 significant strikes landed at UFC 267, the second most in a single UFC bantamweight fight behind Marlon Vera vs. Font (430) at UFC on ESPN 35.

Sandhagen and Rob Font landed 43 significant strikes at UFC on ESPN 50, the second lowest single-fight total in UFC history for a non-title, five-round bout that went to a decision. It was the fourth lowest overall in company history.

Umar Nurmagomedov

Nurmagomedov’s four-fight UFC winning streak at bantamweight is tied for the fourth-longest active streak in the division behind Merab Dvalishvili (nine), Mario Bautista (six) and Montel Jackson (five).

Shara Magomedov vs. Michał Oleksiejczuk

[autotag]Shara Magomedov[/autotag] (13-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has earned 11 of his 13 career victories by stoppage. He’s finished all of those wins by knockout.

[autotag]Michal Oleksiejczuk[/autotag] (19-8 MMA, 7-6 UFC) is 3-3 since he dropped to the UFC middleweight division in August 2022.

Oleksiejczuk’s average fight time of 3:19 in UFC middleweight competition is second-shortest in divisional history behind Drew Mcfedries (2:07).

Marlon Vera vs. Deiveson Figueiredo

Marlon Vera

[autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag] (21-9-1 MMA, 15-8 UFC) competes in his 21st UFC bantamweight bout, tied with Pedro Munhoz for the most appearances in divisional history.

Vera’s total fight time of 4:24:51 in UFC bantamweight competition is the most in divisional history.

Vera’s 13 victories in UFC bantamweight competition are tied with T.J. Dillashaw for second-most in divisional history behind Aljamain Sterling (14).

Vera’s 10 stoppage victories in UFC bantamweight competition are most in divisional history.

Vera’s six knockout victories in UFC bantamweight competition are tied for second-most in divisional history behind Dillashaw (seven).

Vera’s two knockout victories stemming from head kicks in UFC bantamweight competition are most in divisional history.

Vera’s 10 knockdowns landed in UFC bantamweight competition are tied for second-most in divisional history behind Jackson (11).

Vera is one of two fighters in UFC history to score three knockdowns in back-to-back fights. Conor McGregor also accomplished the feat.

Vera is one of six fighters in UFC history to have two performances with three or more knockdowns landed. McGregor, Donald Cerrone, Anderson Silva, John Lineker and Israel Adesanya also accomplished the feat.

Vera is one of 11 fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a front kick. He accomplished the feat at UFC 268. There have been 12 such finishes overall, with Lyoto Machida being the only fighter to win twice with the technique.

Vera’s four submission victories in UFC bantamweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Urijah Faber (six) and Rani Yahya (six).

Vera’s -112 significant strike differential (159 vs. 271) at UFC on ESPN 35 is the largest negative differential for any winner in UFC history.

Deiveson Figueiredo

[autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag] (23-3-1 MMA, 12-3-1 UFC), a former two-time flyweight champion, is 2-0 since he moved up to the UFC bantamweight division in December.

Figueiredo is one of five flyweight champions in UFC history. Alexandre Pantoja, Brandon Moreno, Henry Cejudo and Demetrious Johnson also held the title. He and Moreno are the only members of the group to have multiple reigns.

Figueiredo and Moreno are the only opponents in UFC history to face each other four times.

Figueiredo made the fastest title-fight turnaround in UFC history at 21 days at UFC 255 and UFC 256.

Figueiredo’s 10 victories in UFC flyweight competition are fourth-most in divisional history behind Johnson (13), Joseph Benavidez (13) and Pantoja (12).

Figueiredo’s seven stoppage victories in UFC flyweight competition are tied with Johnson for most in divisional history.

Figueiredo’s four knockout victories in UFC flyweight competition are tied for second-most in divisional history behind Benavidez (five).

Figueiredo’s 11 knockdowns landed in UFC flyweight competition are most in divisional history.

Figueiredo and Moreno combined for 269 significant strikes landed at UFC 256, the single-fight record for a UFC flyweight title bout.

Tony Ferguson vs. Michael Chiesa

Tony Ferguson

[autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag]’s (25-10 MMA, 15-8 UFC) seven-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since June 2019.

Ferguson’s seven-fight UFC losing skid is tied with B.J. Penn for longest in company history.

Ferguson returns to the welterweight division. He’s 1-1 with the promotion in the weight class.

Ferguson’s 10 stoppage victories in UFC lightweight competition are tied for fourth-most in divisional history behind Jim Miller (16), Charles Oliveira (14) and Joe Lauzon (13).

Ferguson’s three D’Arce-choke victories in UFC competition are the second-most in company history behind Vicente Luque (four).

Ferguson is one of five fighters in UFC history to win a title fight by triangle choke. He accomplished the feat against Kevin Lee at UFC 216.

Michael Chiesa

[autotag]Michael Chiesa[/autotag]’s (18-7 MMA, 11-7 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since January 2021.

Chiesa is 4-3 since he moved up to the welterweight division in December 2018.

Chiesa’s three submission losses by D’Arce choke in UFC competition are most in company history.

Chiesa has completed at least one takedown against 15 of his 17 UFC opponents.

Chiesa lands 65.6 percent of his takedown attempts in UFC welterweight competition, the best rate among active fighters in the weight class.

Chiesa absorbs 0.88 significant strikes per minute in UFC welterweight competition, the lowest rate in divisional history for anyone with a minimum of five appearances.

Mackenzie Dern vs. Loopy Godinez

Mackenzie Dern

[autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag] (13-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) enters the event on the first losing skid of her career.

Dern’s four submission victories in UFC strawweight competition are the most in divisional history.

Dern’s four submission victories in UFC competition are second-most of any female in company history behind Robertson (seven).

Dern’s six fight-night bonuses for UFC strawweight bouts are tied with Rose Namajunas for second-most in divisional history behind Jessica Andrade (nine).

Loopy Godinez

[autotag]Loopy Godinez[/autotag] (12-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) became the first female in history to win four UFC fights in a calendar year in 2023.

Godinez holds the modern-era record for shortest time between three UFC appearances at 42 days. She competed on Oct. 9, Oct. 16 and Nov. 20 of 2021.

Godinez has landed 26 takedowns in UFC strawweight competition, the third-most in divisional history behind Carla Esparza (45) and Claudia Gadelha (36).

Godinez lands 60.5 percent of her takedown attempts in UFC strawweight competition, the second-best rate in divisional history behind Tatiana Suarez (65.8 percent).

Joel Alvarez vs. Elves Brener

[autotag]Joel Alvarez[/autotag] (20-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) has earned all 20 of his career victories by stoppage.

Alvarez has earned 17 of his 20 career victories by submission.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 7.

UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC on ABC 7 pre-event facts: Tony Ferguson needs win to avoid longest losing skid in octagon history