UFC 268 pre-event facts: Kamaru Usman threatening Anderson Silva’s win-streak record

Kamaru Usman

Usman enters the event on an 18-fight winning streak. He hasn’t suffered a defeat since May 2013.

Usman is one of two fighters in UFC history to start 14-0 with the promotion. Anderson Silva also accomplished the feat.

Usman’s 14-fight UFC winning streak is the longest active streak in the company.

Usman’s 14-fight UFC winning streak is the second-longest in company history behind Silva (16).

Usman’s 14-fight UFC winning streak at welterweight is the longest active streak in the division, and the longest overall in divisional history.

Usman has defended 100 percent of all opponent takedown attempts in UFC competition, the highest rate in company history.

Usman has been controlled for zero seconds in UFC competition, the least amount of time in company history for anyone with at least five fights.

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.

Colby Covington

Covington is one of three interim UFC welterweight champions in company history. Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit also accomplished the feat.

Covington attempted 541 total strikes against Robbie Lawler at UFC on ESPN 5, the second-most in a single UFC fight behind Max Holloway’s 746 attempts at UFC on ABC 1.

Covington attempted 515 significant strikes at UFC on ESPN 5, the single-fight UFC record, the second-most in a single UFC fight behind Holloway’s 744 attempts at UFC on ABC 1.

Covington’s 61 takedowns landed in UFC welterweight competition are tied for second-most in divisional history behind St-Pierre (87).

Covington lands 4.91 takedowns per 15 minutes of fighting in UFC welterweight competition, the third-highest rate in divisional history behind Karo Parisyan (5.27) and Michael Chiesa (4.66).

Covington’s 12 takedowns landed at UFC on FOX 22 are tied for the second-most in a single UFC welterweight fight. Fioravanti holds the record with 13 at UFC 82.

Rose Namajunas

Namajunas is the only female in UFC history to have multiple title reigns in a single weight class.

Namajunas’ eight victories in UFC strawweight competition are tied for fourth-most in divisional history behind Joanna Jedrzejczyk (10), Carla Esparza (nine), and Tecia Torres (nine).

Namajunas’ five stoppage victories in UFC strawweight competition are the most in divisional history.

Namajunas’ four knockdowns landed in UFC strawweight competition are most in divisional history.

Namajunas’ three submission victories in UFC strawweight competition are tied for second-most in divisional history behind Mackenzie Dern (five).

Namajunas’ submission of Paige VanZant at the 2:25 mark of Round 5 at UFC Fight Night 80 is the latest stoppage in UFC strawweight history.

Namajunas’ six fight-night bonuses for UFC strawweight bouts are second-most in divisional history behind Jessica Andrade (seven).

Zhang Weili

Weili is the only Chinese fighter in history to win a UFC title.

Weili and Jedrzejczyk combined for 351 significant strikes landed at UFC 248, the third most in UFC title-fight history. Holloway vs. Brian Ortega hold the record with 400 total at UFC 231.

Justin Gaethje

Justin Gaethje (22-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since Oct. 24, 2020. The 378-day layoff is the longest of his more than 10-year career.

Gaethje is the only fighter MMA history to win titles in UFC and WSOF.

Gaethje has earned 20 of his 22 career victories by stoppage. That includes all five of his 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 highest rate in divisional history.

**Gaethje lands 2.36 leg kicks per minute in UFC competition, the third-highest rate in company history behind Marcin Prachnio (2.5) and Nathaniel Wood (2.39).

Gaethje lands 59.4 percent of significant strike attempts in UFC lightweight competition, 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 nine fight-night bonuses in eight UFC appearances.

Gaethje’s nine UFC fight-night bonuses since 2017 are most of any fighter in the company.

Michael Chandler

Michael Chandler (22-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC) is a former three-time Bellator lightweight champion.

Chandler is one of three fighters in Bellator/UFC/WEC/PRIDE/Strikeforce history with three title reigns in a single weight class. Randy Couture and Douglas Lima also accomplished the feat.

Chandler’s six victories in Bellator championship fights are second-most in company history behind Freire (10).

Chandler’s 18 victories in Bellator competition are tied for second-most in company history behind Patricio Freire (20).

Chandler’s 13 stoppage victories in Bellator competition are tied with Freire and A.J. McKee for most in company history.

Shane Burgos

Shane Burgos (13-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) enters the event on the first losing skid of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since November 2019.

Burgos lands 7.29 significant strikes per minute in UFC featherweight competition, the highest rate in divisional history.

Burgos defends 89.3 percent of all opponent takedown attempts in UFC featherweight competition, the second-best rate in divisional history behind Jose Aldo (91 percent).

Frankie Edgar

Frankie Edgar (24-9-1 MMA, 18-9-1 UFC) is 1-1 since he dropped to the bantamweight division in August 2020.

Edgar is one of 13 fighters in history to earn victories in three different UFC weight classes.

Edgar’s total fight time of 7:41:18 in UFC competition is the most in company history.

Edgar’s submission of Swanson at the 4:56 mark of Round 5 at UFC Fight Night 57 is tied for the third-latest stoppage in a UFC bout behind Demetrious Johnson at UFC 186 (4:59, Round 5) and Yair Rodriguez at UFC Fight Night 139 (4:59, Round 5).

Edgar is the only fighter in UFC history to suffer three knockdowns in a single round and not lose the fight. The feat occurred in his UFC 125 draw with Gray Maynard.

Edgar’s 70 takedowns landed in UFC competition are tied for fourth-most in company history behind St-Pierre (90), Gleison Tibau (84), and Demetrious Johnson (74).

Edgar is one of two fighters in UFC history to defeat a single opponent on three separate occasions inside the octagon. He did so against B.J. Penn. Tito Ortiz also accomplished the feat against Ken Shamrock.

Edgar is one of three fighters in UFC history to earn a fight-night bonus in three different weight classes. Conor McGregor and Jared Cannonier also accomplished the feat.

Edgar is the only fighter in UFC history to earn a “Fight of the Night” bonus in three different weight classes.

Edgar’s five losses in UFC championship fights are tied with Penn for second-most in company history behind Couture (six).

Marlon Vera

Marlon Vera’s (17-7-1 MMA, 11-6 UFC) nine victories in UFC bantamweight competition are tied for fifth-most in divisional history behind T.J. Dillashaw (12), Aljamain Sterling (11), Raphael Assuncao (11) and Urijah Faber (11).

Vera’s eight stoppage victories in UFC bantamweight competition are tied with Dillashaw for most in divisional history.

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

Vera’s 14 submission attempts in UFC bantamweight competition are most in divisional history.

Alex Pereira

Alex Pereira (3-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), a former GLORY kickboxing champion, makes his promotional debut. He owns two victories over Israel Adesanya in kickboxing.

Al Iaquinta

Al Iaquinta (14-6-1 MMA, 9-5 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since Oct. 5, 2019. The 763-day layoff is the longest of his nearly 13-year career.

Bobby Green (27-12-1 MMA, 8-7-1 UFC) has landed 1,188 significant strikes in UFC lightweight competition, the second-most in divisional history behind Evan Dunham (1,225).

Edmen Shahbazyan

Edmen Shahbazyan (11-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) has suffered consecutive losses after starting his career 11-0.

Shahbazyan has earned 10 of his 11 career victories by stoppage. That includes three of his four UFC wins.

Gian Villante

Gian Villante (17-13 MMA, 7-10 UFC) is winless in heavyweight competition since February 2011. He’s 6-3 when fighting in the weight class.

Villante is 2-6 in his past eight UFC appearances dating back to May 2017.

Villante is the only fighter in UFC history to fight to four consecutive split decisions.

Villante is the only light heavyweight fighter in UFC history to absorb 100 or more significant strikes in three consecutive fights.

Villante’s finish of Corey Anderson at the 4:18 mark of Round 3 at UFC on FOX 15 is the second latest knockout in a three-round UFC light heavyweight contest. Mauricio Rua’s victory over Mark Coleman at UFC 93 holds the record.

Dustin Jacoby

Dustin Jacoby (15-5-1 MMA, 3-2-1 UFC) is 3-0-1 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in October 2020.

Jacoby has earned 11 of his 15 career victories by stoppage. That includes two of his three wins.

Phil Hawes

Phil Hawes (9-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has earned nine of his 11 career victories by stoppage.

Hawes’ 18-second knockout at UFC 254 marked the second-fastest debut for a middleweight in UFC history behind Mark Weir’s 10-second win at UFC 38.

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