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UFC on ESPN+ 7 pre-event facts: Islam Makhachev least-hit fighter in UFC history

The UFC returns to Russia for the second time on Saturday with UFC on ESPN+ 7, which takes place at Yubileyniy Arena in St. Petersburg, and streams entirely on ESPN+.

A matchup of heavyweight contenders headlines the card. Former UFC title challenger Alistair Overeem (44-17 MMA, 9-6 UFC), No. 8 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie MMA heavyweight rankings, will attempt to continue to make a climb up toward the top of the weight class when he meets No. 15-ranked Aleksei Oleinik (47-11-1 MMA, 6-2 UFC), who gets his most significant fight to date.

Overeem and Oleinik combine for 131 fights of MMA experience, which is among the highest numbers ever for a UFC main event. For more on the card, check below for 35 pre-event facts about UFC on ESPN+ 7.

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Main event

Overeem to 8-3 in his past 11 UFC appearances dating back to December 2014.

Overeem has earned 39 of his 45 career victories by stoppage. That includes six of his nine UFC wins.

Overeem lands 73.1 percent of his significant strike attempts in UFC competition, the highest rate in company history.

Overeem has been on the losing end of the fourth and fifth largest statistical comeback finishes in UFC heavyweight history. He out-landed Antonio Silva by 30 significant strikes before being knocked out at UFC 156, and he out-landed Travis Browne by 27 significant strikes before his demise at UFC Fight Night 26

Overeem’s 13 knockout losses in MMA competition are the most of any active member on the UFC roster.

Overeem’s 11 knockout losses in UFC/WEC/PRIDE/Strikeforce competition are the most in combined organizational history.

Oleinik, 41, is the oldest active fighter in the UFC heavyweight division and is the oldest of the 26 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.

Oleinik has earned 53 of his 57 career victories by stoppage.

Oleinik has earned his past 16 victories by stoppage. He has earned 11 of those victories in the first round.

Oleinik has earned all six of his UFC victories by stoppage.

Oleinik has earned 45 of his 57 career victories by submission. Of those stoppages, 37 have come in the first round.

Oleinik’s six stoppage victories since 2014 in UFC heavyweight competition are tied for third most in the division behind Derrick Lewis (10) and Francis Ngannou (eight).

Oleinik’s five submission victories in UFC heavyweight competition are third most in divisional history behind Frank Mir (eight) and Stefan Struve (six).

Oleinik has earned both of the Ezekiel-choke submission victories in UFC history. He accomplished the feat at UFC 224 and UFC Fight Night 103.

Oleinik attempts 2.7 submissions per 15 minutes of fighting in UFC heavyweight competition, the highest rate in divisional history.

Co-main event

Islam Makhachev (16-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) absorbs 0.82 significant strikes per minute in UFC competition, the best rate in company history.

Arman Tsarukyan (13-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), 22, is the youngest of the 26 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.

Tsarukyan makes his UFC debut on a 12-fight winning streak. He hasn’t suffered a defeat since December 2015.

Remaining main card

Marcelo Golm (6-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has suffered consecutive losses after beginning his career on a six-fight winning streak.

Golm has earned all six of his career victories by first-round stoppage in a total fight time of 10:52.

Ivan Shtyrkov (15-0-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) 16-fight unbeaten streak in MMA competition is longest among active UFC light heavyweights.

Shtyrkov has notable victories over Thiago Silva, Fabio Maldonado, Satoshi Ishii, Antonio Silva and Ricco Rodriguez.

Roxanne Modafferi (22-15 MMA, 1-3 UFC) fell to 7-4 since her initial UFC release in November 2013.

Modafferi has suffered 11 of her 15 career losses by decision. That includes all three of her UFC defeats.

Antonina Shevchenko (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), alongside sister and UFC champ Valentina Shevchenko, are the first pair of female siblings to compete under the UFC banner.

Krzysztof Jotko’s (19-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since November 2016.

Jotko defends 87 percent of all opponent takedown attempts in UFC middleweight competition, the second highest rate in divisional history behind Cezar Ferreira (90.9 percent).

Alen Amedovski (8-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has earned all of his career victories by knockout. He’s finished six of those wins in Round 1.

Preliminary card

Sultan Aliev (14-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) competes for just the second time since December 2016.

Keita Nakamura (34-9-2 MMA, 4-6 UFC) has alternated wins and losses over his past seven fights. He won his most recent bout at UFC Fight Night 142 in December.

Alexander Yakovlev (23-8-1 MMA, 2-4 UFC) returns to the UFC lightweight division for the first time since April 2015.

Alex Da Silva (20-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has earned all of his career victories by stoppage. He’s finished 17 of those wins in Round 1.

Marcin Tybura (17-4 MMA, 4-3 UFC) average fight time of 14:38 in UFC heavyweight competition is the second longest among active fighters in the weight class behind Alexander Volkov (14:59).

Tybura and Fabricio Werdum combined for 282 significant strikes landed at UFC Fight Night 121, the single-fight record for a UFC heavyweight bout.

Gadzhimurad Antigulov (20-5 MMA, 2-1 UFC) has earned 19 of his 20 career victories by stoppage. He’s earned 17 of those wins in Round 1.

Antigulov’s 67-second submission of Marcos Rogerio de Lima at UFC Fight Night 100 stands as the third fastest in a modern UFC light heavyweight bout.

Magomed Mustafaev (13-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since Nov. 19, 2016. The 892-day layoff is the longest of his nearly eight-year career.

For more on UFC on ESPN+ 7, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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

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