Throughout the years, many UFC fighters have set records that will make them remembered in the sport.
You might’ve watched various momentous UFC bouts and wondered, who has the best record in UFC history?
Various UFC fighters hold their own “best record” in the organization. Charles Oliveira has the most fight finishes; Derrick Lewis has the most knockout wins, and Anderson Silva with the longest UFC win streak and more unbelievable records once thought unreachable.
Curious about how ridiculous other records below can be? Prepare to be mind blown. Let’s get right into the best records in UFC history.
Table of Contents
Fighter’s Career Records In UFC History
Fighters below have put themselves in the history books by achieving these unbelievable records that a normal human being couldn’t achieve.
Most Finishes: Charles Oliveira (19)
Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira has the most fight finishes in the UFC. He has a record of 33 wins and eight losses. Charles has a total of 19 finishes in the UFC, and 16 of these are through submission, and the remaining 3 are knockouts.
Do Bronx finished his last three opponents, Justin Gaethje (despite missing weight) and Dustin Poirer, via Rare Naked Choke, while Michael Chandler via TKO.
Most Knockouts: Derrick Lewis (13)
Derrick Lewis holds the most UFC knockouts, which is 13. What makes his career record even better is that he’s done it in arguably the most dangerous weight class, the Heavyweight division.
Some notable names that are unfortunate enough to sleep in the hands of Lewis are Curtis Blaydes, Chris Daukaus, Alexander Volcov, Gabriel Gonzaga, and so much more.
Most Submissions: Charles Oliveira (16)
Most of Charles Oliveira’s finishes are done via submission. As a matter of fact, 16 of his 19 UFC finishes are submission victories. His last two fights are also won by tapping his opponent out by Rare Naked Choke.
Both submissions in his previous two fights are made before the championship rounds and after standing up from a knockdown.
Most Decision Wins: Neil Magny (13)
Neil “The Haitian Sensation” Magny holds the record for the most UFC decision wins (13). He is known for going to distance with his opponents and defeating them by dominating each round they fight.
Some great fighters that he won via decision are Carlos Condit, Li Jingliang, and Kelvin Gastelum.
Biggest Win Streak: Anderson Silva (16)
Anderson “The Spider” Silva has the longest UFC win streak (16). Eleven of this 16-fight win streak is a title fights against various middleweight giants such as Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort, Forrest Grifin, and more.
What makes his 16-fight winning streak even better is the fact that only 2 of it are won via decision, and the remaining 14 are stopped by the referee.
Most Title Fight Wins: Jon Jones (14)
Jon “Bones” Jones has the most title fight wins in the entire UFC. With all his title defenses and title-winning bouts combined, it would total up to 14. Jones is also the youngest UFC champion at the age of 23.
During his championship reign, he defended his belt against various UFC hall of farmers such as Lyoto Machida, Rampage Jackson, and Rashad Evans. His title defense from Gustafsson even got FOTY.
Most Bonuses: Donald Cerrone (18)
Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone holds the most UFC bonuses (18). Fight of the night, knockout of the night, performance of the night, you name it, Cowboy has one.
One of his most memorable knockout of the night fights of Cerrone is against Melvin Guillard. He knocked Melvin out via head kick with 3:50 left in the first round.
Most Control Time: Georges St-Pierre (2:42:04)
Throughout Georges St-Pierre’s career, he accumulated a total of 2 hours, 42 minutes, and 4 seconds of total control time with all of his UFC fights combined. This control time can either be down on the ground or standing up in the clinch position.
The most dominant fight that GSP ever had where he showed the most control is against Jon Fitch. He won via unanimous decision with some juicy 10-8 rounds.
Most Control Time Percentage: Bartosz Fabinski (79%)
Bartosz “The Butcher” Fabinski has the most control time percentage in the entire UFC. Fabinski managed to control 79% of his UFC fights. He controls the fight best while standing up. He has a 53% knockout percentage, and the remaining 47% are decision win percentages.
Most Top Position Time: Georges St Pierre (2:22:05)
Georges St-Pierre holds the record of the most top control time in the entire UFC history. With all of his fights combined, we’re able to accumulate a total of 2 hours, 22 minutes, and 5 seconds of mounted top position time.
His fight showed how great GSP’s ground game was during UFC 217 when he choked out Bisping to regain the Middleweight belt.
Least Bottom Position Time: Kamaru Usman (0:00)
One of the record holders of the least bottom position time is Kamaru Usman. This record is also held by other UFC fighters, namely Tyson Nam, Tom Aspinall, and Adrian Yanez. Their ability to defend all the takedown attempts thrown by their opponents allowed them to achieve this record.
Most Significant Strikes Landed: Max Holloway (2848)
“I’m the best boxer in the UFC, baby!” A famous line by Max Holloway, the record holder of the most significant strikes landed in the history of UFC.
He managed to land a total of 2848 significant strikes in the span of his featherweight career with the help of his slick kickboxing skills.
Biggest Significant Strikes Accuracy: Alistair Overeem (74%)
When it comes to significant strike accuracy, Alistair Overeem is the King. In all his UFC fights, he managed to land 74% of his significant strike attempts. Man, this can rarely miss his shots.
One of the best fights of Overeem that showcased his accuracy is during UFC 87 against Andrei Arlovski. Alistair finished the fight with a front kick followed by a left cross that slept, Arlovski.
Most Strikes Landed Per Minute: Sean O’Malley (8.37)
“The Sugar Show” Sean O’Malley has got to be the busiest hands in the UFC. He holds the record for most strikes landed per minute, approximately 8.37.
He achieved this record in UFC 264 against Kris Moutinho. Sean ended the fight with a murder, 4:33 seconds into the 3rd round.
Least Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: Islam Makhachev (0.84)
Islam Makhachev is known to win fights with little to no damage taken from his opponent. With this, he grabbed the record for the least strikes absorbed per minute, approximately 0.84. Talk about a good defense.
His previous opponent, Bobby Green, only managed to land 11 strikes before getting tapped out into the first round. Islam is quickly becoming one of the most popular UFC fighters in the world because of his talents.
Most Strikes Landed: Max Holloway (3056)
Max “Blessed” Holloway is back at it again with a striking record. He holds the most strikes landed in the UFC with a whopping number of 3056. These over 3k strikes are a combination of elbows, knees, kicks, and punches he has thrown throughout his career.
One of his unforgettable fights that looked like a striking clinic was during the main event of UFC Fight Island 7 against Kalvin Kattar.
Most Takedowns: Georges St-Pierre (90)
Georges “Rush” St-Pierre has the record for the most converted takedowns in the UFC. During his UFC career, he managed to rack up a total of 90 takedowns.
Some notable wins that were never possible without a takedown are against Matt Hughes and Frank Trigg. These takedowns made him secure multiple submission victories in his career.
Takedown Defense Percentage: Kamaru Usman (100%)
Kamaru “The Nigerian Nightmare” Usman has never been taken down in his entire UFC career. He holds a clean 100% take-down defense; even a world-class BJJ blackbelt, Gilbert Burns, failed to take him down.
This high-level takedown defense is a result of his high school wrestling experience. If you ever plan to take Usman down, good luck with that.
Fight Records In UFC History
Some of the records that shocked the MMA world are done by two fighters. But one will only get good credit while one might find themselves at the receiving end of a shameful record.
Fastest Knockout: Jorge Masvidal vs. Ben Askren (0:05)
During UFC 239, Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal and Ben “Funky” Askren fought for the chance to be one step closer to the Welterweight belt. Masvidal wowed the whole world as he landed a solid flying knee 5 seconds into the first round.
This flying knee became one of the best and most unforgettable highlight reels that took over the internet by storm.
Fastest Submission: Ronda Rousey vs. Cat Zingano (0:14)
During the UFC 184 main event, Ronda “Rowdy” Rousey submitted Cat Zingano with an armbar just 14 seconds into the very first round.
Ronda needed a quick clinch to execute a beautiful Judo throw that she used to transition into a scary armbar that made Zingano tap right away.
Most Strikes Landed: Max Holloway vs. Calvin Kattar at UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Kattar (447)
UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Kattar was one of the best performances of Max Holloway. He made Calvin Kattar look like a punching bag. In this main event, Kattar absorbed a total of 447 strikes.
Kattar looked so beat up that Dana White became worried and advised Kattar’s corner to never take interviews after the fight and head straight to the ambulance immediately.
Most Head Strikes Landed: Stipe Miocic vs. Mark Hunt at UFC Fight Night: Miocic Vs. Hunt (330)
Stipe Miocic landed 330 head strikes during his match against Mark Hunt in the UFC fight night 65. Despite the large volume of head blows, Hunt survived tor each to 5th and final round until he got brutally KO’d 2:47 seconds into the round.
This also shows how tough Mark Hunt is and how good his chin is when absorbing heavy shots from one of the greatest Heavyweights of all time.
Most Takedowns Landed: Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Abel Trujillo at UFC 160 (21)
Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov took Abel Trujillo to takedown city during their UFC 160 clash. The Eagle successfully converted 21 takedowns, making the fight look like a daddy picking up his naughty son.
This barrage of takedowns caused Khabib to win the fight via unanimous decision. Imagine being thrown down to the ground by a guy like Khabib; what a nightmare.
Biggest Takedown Accuracy: Georges St-Pierre vs. Dan Hardy at UFC 111 (100%)
During the UFC 111 main event, Georges “Rush” St-Pierre becomes a takedown machine as he converts all of his 11 takedown attempts to Dan Hardy.
Hardy was left helpless every takedown attempt. The only thing that Hardy’s doing is absorb the takedown and work his way up to his feet. This takedown clinic allowed GSP to defend his Welterweight belt in a dominating fashion.
Event Records In UFC History
Some fight nights set themselves apart from other UFC events by also acquiring records with the help of the fighters that fought from the prelims to the main event.
Most Knockouts: UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 (8)
UFC 92, headed by Rashad Evans and Forrest Griffin, can be described as the most brutal UFC event in history.
Here, a total of 8 knockout finishes are done. Some note-worthy knockouts are from Rashad knocking out Griffin in the third round. Frank Mir also left Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira out cold in the co-main event.
Longest Event: UFC 263: Adesanya vs. Vettori 2 (3:19:32)
UFC 263: Adesanya vs. Vettori 2 is the longest UFC event that lasted for 3 hours, 19 minutes, and 32 seconds.
This is because of the lack of fight finishes in the entire event. There are only two fight stoppages in the main card, between Moreno vs. Figueiredo and Craig vs. Hill.
Longest Average Fight Time: UFC 33: Victory In Vegas (16:10)
UFC 33 is headed by the two biggest Light Heavyweight of that time, Tito Ortiz and Vladimir Matyushenko. This specific UFC event holds the record for the longest average fight time, 16 minutes and 10 seconds.
This average of 16 minutes per fight includes each fighter’s entrances, interviews, brakes, etc. Moreover, each of the main card fights went to distance, which is the main reason why the average fight time got even longer.
Most Strikes Landed: UFC 268: Usman Vs. Covington 2 (2407)
UFC 268: Usman Vs. Covington 2 is considered the best UFC event for all the striking fans. UFC 268 has the record for the most strikes landed in all of the bouts combined (2407).
With Kamaru Usman, Rose Namajunas, Justin Gaethje, Michael Chandler, and Marlon Vera on the card, it’s impossible for this event not to achieve this record.
