What's new at Ludus Martial Arts

We’re so proud of our team! Find out how they’ve been doing, as well as what else has been going on at our gym lately.

UFC 228 main card pre-event facts: Is Darren Till UFC’s next unbeaten champion?

The UFC returns to pay-per-view on Saturday with UFC 228, which takes place at American Airlines Center in Dallas. The five-fight lineup follows prelims on FX and UFC Fight Pass.

A championship doubleheader takes center stage on the card. In the main event, welterweight champ Tyron Woodley (18-3-1 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC) looks for a fourth defense of his title when he takes on Darren Till (17-0-1 MMA, 5-0-1 UFC), who attempts to become the 13th fighter in UFC history to win a belt with an undefeated record.

The co-main event features the return of women’s flyweight champ Nicco Montano (4-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who meets Valentina Shevchenko (15-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in just the second title bout in divisional history.

For more on the numbers behind the UFC 228 main card lineup, check below for 35 pre-event facts.

* * * *

Main event

Woodley enters the event on a six-fight unbeaten streak. He hasn’t suffered a defeat since June 2014.

Woodley’s three consecutive UFC title defenses are tied with Amanda Nunes and Daniel Cormier for most among current champions.

Woodley has earned three of his past four UFC victories by decision after starting his UFC career with knockouts in his first four wins.

Woodley’s nine knockdowns landed in UFC welterweight competition are tied for third most in divisional history behind Thiago Alves (13) and Jake Ellenberger (11).

Woodley’s fight against Demian Maia at UFC 214 consisted of just 86 combined total strikes landed, the third fewest in UFC history for a title fight that went all five rounds behind Kevin Randleman vs. Pedro Rizzo at UFC 26 (49) and Anderson Silva vs. Maia at UFC 112 (73).

Woodley defends 68 percent of all opponent significant strike attempts in UFC welterweight competition, the highest rate among active fighters in the weight class.

Woodley has defended 97.6 percent of all opponent takedown attempts in UFC welterweight competition, the highest rate in company history.

Till, 25, is more than 10 years younger than his 36-year-old opponent Woodley.

Till’s 18-fight undefeated streak in MMA competition is third longest among active UFC fighters behind Khabib Nurmagomedov (26) and Cris Cyborg (21).

Till has outlanded his opponent in all of his UFC victories.

Co-main event

Montano became the inaugural UFC women’s flyweight champion when she defeated Roxanne Modafferi at The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale in December.

Montano became UFC champion just 742 days after her professional debut.

Montano is 6-1 in her past seven exhibition and pro bouts.

Shevchenko was successful in her UFC flyweight debut when she defeated Priscila Cachoeira at UFC Fight Night 125 in February.

Shevchenko outlanded Cachoeira 230-3 in total strikes at UFC Fight Night 125, the largest disparity in UFC women’s history.

Shevchenko has completed at least one takedown against five of her six UFC opponents.

Shevchenko has suffered both of her UFC losses to bantamweight champ Nunes.

Featured bout

Zabit Magomedsharipov (15-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) enters the event on an 11-fight winning streak. He hasn’t suffered a defeat since April 2013.

Magomedsharipov has landed 17 takedowns in his three UFC appearances.

Magomedsharipov’s 11 takedowns landed at UFC Fight Night 122 are tied for the single-fight record in a UFC/WEC featherweight bout.

Magomedsharipov has received a fight-night bonus in all three of his UFC appearances.

Brandon Davis (9-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) becomes the first fighter to make four UFC appearances in 2018.

Davis has alternated wins and losses over his past four fights. He was defeated by Enrique Barzola in his most recent bout at UFC Fight Night 129 in May.

Remaining main card

Jessica Andrade

Jessica Andrade (18-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC) makes her 14th UFC appearance, the most by any female in company history.

Andrade is 5-1 since she dropped to the UFC strawweight division in June 2016.

Andrade’s nine UFC victories are tied with Nunes and Joanna Jedrzejczyk the most by any female in company history.

Andrade’s two stoppage victories in UFC strawweight competition are tied for third most in divisional history behind Rose Namajunas (four) and Paige VanZant (three).

Andrade landed 242 total strikes against Claudia Gadelha at UFC Fight Night 117, the most in a UFC strawweight fight.

Andrade out-landed Gadelha by 194 total strikes at UFC Fight Night 117, the largest differential in a UFC strawweight fight.

Andrade lands 7.07 significant strikes per minute in UFC strawweight competition, the best rate in divisional history.

Andrade’s three fight-night bonuses for UFC strawweight bouts are tied with Namajunas, Jedrzejczyk and Claudia Gadelha for most in divisional history.

Karolina Kowalkiewicz’s (12-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) five victories in UFC strawweight competition are tied for fourth most in divisional history behind Jedrzejczyk (nine), Namajunas (six) and Tecia Torres (six).

Kowalkiewicz has earned all five of her UFC victories by decision. She hasn’t earned a stoppage since May 2014.

Kowalkiewicz defends 87.2 percent of all opponent takedown attempts in UFC strawweight competition, the highest rate in divisional history.

Abdul Razak Alhassan (9-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has earned all his career victories by first-round knockout.

Niko Price (12-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) competes in his second UFC bout in a 56-day span. He defeated Randy Brown at UFC Fight Night 133 in July.

Price has earned 11 of his 12 career victories by stoppage. That includes all four of his UFC wins.

Price’s knockout from bottom position at UFC Fight Night 133 is the second knockout from a bottom position in UFC history. The other was Jon Fitch’s up-kick finish of Thiago Alves at UFC Fight Night 5.

For more on UFC 228, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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

UFC 300 reactions: Winning and losing fighters on social media

Since the early days when the sport was anything but a mainstream endeavor the MMA industry has thrived and survived through various websites, forums, and, perhaps most importantly, social-media platforms. Fighters interact with fans, each other and many more through the likes of X, Facebook and Instagram, which helps...

Deiveson Figueiredo: ‘I deserve to fight for the championship next’ after UFC 300

LAS VEGAS – Deiveson Figueiredo thinks he’s done enough to earn a title shot. Figueiredo (23-3-1 MMA, 12-3-1 UFC) picked up his second win at bantamweight when he submitted former champion Cody Garbrandt (14-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) Saturday at UFC 300. The former flyweight champ says to expect even...

come and try a ludus mma class free!

We want to make sure that Ludus MMA is the right fit for you before asking you to commit to a membership.
That’s why we’d like to offer you a FREE ONE-DAY PASS to our gym.

With your FREE PASS, you can:

  • Try as many classes as you’d like,
  • Explore the facility
  • Talk to our coaches one-on-one about what you can expect as a member

© Copyright 2024 - Ludus Martial Arts - 730 Beach Blvd, Unit 105, Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250.

(904) 374-4186 / ludusmartialarts@gmail.com