Fight Facts: UFC on ESPN 64 ‘Moreno vs. Erceg’

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.

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TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC FIGHTS: 8,114
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 727

The Ultimate Fighting Championship waved the Mexican flag through the nation’s capital, bringing a slate of favorite matchups that paid off for the local fans. All but one of the Mexican-based competitors came out ahead at the end of the evening, with no performance more significant than the former flyweight champ prevailing in the main event. UFC on ESPN 64, also known as UFC Mexico, featured nigh-unbreakable 125-pound records falling, a Chihuahua-based destroyer who punched his ticket to a bright future and a new family-based achievement.

Viva Mexico: Seven different athletes competing at this event were born in and represented their home country of Mexico. Of those seven combatants, the only one to lose was Ronaldo Rodriguez, who came up short on the scorecards after missing weight.

Making a Man Out of That Baby: Reestablishing himself as a top-tier flyweight, Brandon Moreno outworked Steve Erceg across five rounds to earn the decision win. “The Assassin Baby” claimed his 11th win as a UFC flyweight, putting him in sole possession of the No. 4 spot for most all-time.

Burned Through the Contender List: The appearance for Moreno was his 18th on the roster. He ties Tim Elliott for the second most outings for any flyweight ever to set foot in the Octagon. Joseph Benavidez has one more on his ledger.

Super Flyweight: Already the recordholder for the most significant strikes landed in divisional history, Moreno added to his lead by putting 89 on Erceg. His 1,220 in total are head-and-shoulders above the next active 125er, with champ Alexandre Pantoja posting 893 on his resume.

Long Distance Runner: For the fourth time in a row, Moreno engaged in a match that went all 25 minutes. The Mexican flyweight has fought beyond the second round in his last nine walks to the cage, with no bout ending any sooner than 2:26 of the third frame.

Out-Dobered Dober: In his last 12 fights, win or lose, Manuel Torres has not fought any later than 4:02 of the first round. “El Loco” battered Drew Dober to force the stoppage in under two minutes, and elevated his finish rate to 94%.

Torres Train-a-Rollin’: Thus far, Torres has authored four first-round stoppages in the UFC, knocking out Frank Camacho, Nikolas Motta and Dober while hitting a rear-naked choke on Chris Duncan. All four of those victories have been accompanied by $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus checks.

Squeeze the Face: Wrangling C.J. Vergara with a face crank, Edgar Chairez kept his 100% stoppage rate intact. He holds twice as many submissions (eight) as he does knockouts (four).

Kid’s Got Moxie: Twenty-year-old Raul Rosas Jr. notched his fifth win inside the Octagon by winning a decision over Vince Morales. The youngster earned his third win on the scorecards, with eight of 11 triumphs coming inside the distance.

Esto Es Sparta: To collect his 10th professional win via knockout, David Martinez laid waste to Saimon Oliveira with a knee and follow-up punches. A whole 83% of the wins for “Black Spartan” are via strikes.

Family Matters: Martinez joins sister Melissa Martinez to become the first brother-sister tandem in promotional history. A plethora of brothers have both fought in the UFC together, but never before has a brother and sister served on the roster together.

A Money Right Hand: Peru’s Kevin Borjas broke a losing streak by outhustling Rodriguez via clear-cut decision. Starting his career with eight finishes, “El Gallo Negro” has since logged his last two wins on the scorecards.

A Regular Bandito: The sole Mexican that came into UFC Mexico and lost, Rodriguez first missed weight by a pound to surrender 20% of his purse to Borjas. Of the seven competitors to miss weight before competing in the Octagon, six of those have been defeated, including Rodriguez.

Not Very Ngannou-esque: Cameroon native Ateba Abega Gautier blew Jose Medina away with a barrage of punches and a knee to make his successful promotional debut. “The Silent Assassin” has seen six of his seven pro wins end by stoppage, all of the knockout variety.

Loopy for Cage Time: Of the 10 decision wins on the ledger of Lupita Godinez, five have come in the UFC’s strawweight division following a win at the hands of the judges over Julia Polastri. This puts her in a tie with several women for the 10th-most in the history of the weight class. “Loopy” has gone the distance in 15 of her 18 pro bouts.

Up and Down: Getting the job done in a little over four minutes, Jamall Emmers came into this event as one of the heaviest favorites on the lineup and knocked out Gabriel Miranda. The 35-year-old has alternated wins and losses in his last nine outings, accounting for his entire UFC career.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC on ESPN 64, Moreno had never won in Mexico as a UFC fighter (17 appearances), Medina (15 fights) had never been knocked out and Hubbard had never dropped back-to-back bouts (24 fights).

His Own Theme Music: In his return to the promotion in 2019, Moreno changed his walkout tune to his own theme song, “El Corrido del Bebe Asesino” by Ariel Macias and Corridos Para Peleadores. His win percentage with the tune sits at .615, higher than average walkout tracks.

For the Very First Time: Several fighters over the years have picked songs from the catalogue of P.O.D., most famously Chris Lytle using “Lights Out” for several appearances. Miranda made a first in his unsuccessful match against Emmers, picking “Alive” for the very first time.