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 on ESPN+ 9 pre-event facts: Behold ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone’s stunning resume

The UFC visits Canada for the first time this year with UFC on ESPN+ 9, which takes place Saturday at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa and streams entirely on ESPN+.

A key lightweight matchup is booked for the main event of the card. Al Iaquinta (14-4-1 MMA, 9-3 UFC) and Donald Cerrone (35-11 MMA, 22-8 UFC) will face off to determine who takes one step closer to fighting for the 155-pound belt in arguably the most stacked weight class in the sport.

The card has more to offer outside the noteworthy headliner, though. For more on the numbers behind all 12 fights, check below for 60 pre-event facts about UFC on ESPN+ 9.

* * * *

Main event

Iaquinta competes in his third consecutive UFC headliner.

Iaquinta is 6-1 in his past seven UFC appearances dating back to September 2014. He’s only lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov in that stretch.

Iaquinta has earned five of his nine UFC victories by decision.

Iaquinta’s seven knockdowns landed in UFC lightweight competition are tied for third most among active fighters in the weight class behind Edson Barboza (10) and Cerrone (nine).

Cerrone has fought on Spike, Versus, FUEL TV, pay-per-view, FOX, FS1, UFC Fight Pass, ESPN and ESPN+ during his UFC tenure.

Cerrone competes in his 31st UFC bout, the second most appearances in company history behind Jim Miller (32).

Cerrone makes his 41st UFC/WEC appearance, the most in the combined history of the two organizations.

Cerrone’s 41 appearances in UFC/WEC/PRIDE/Strikeforce competition are most in combined organizational history.

Cerrone’s 20 appearances since 2014 in UFC competition are most in the company.

Cerrone’s 22 victories in UFC competition are most in company history.

Cerrone’s 28 victories in UFC/WEC/PRIDE/Strikeforce competition are most in combined organization history.

Cerrone’s 16 victories in UFC lightweight competition are tied with Gleison Tibau for second most in divisional history behind Jim Miller (18).

Cerrone’s 16 stoppage victories in UFC competition are most in company history.

Cerrone’s 20 stoppage victories in UFC/WEC competition are the most in combined organizational history.

Cerrone’s 20 stoppage victories in UFC/WEC/PRIDE/Strikeforce competition are tied with Wanderlei Silva for second most in combined organizational history behind Mirko Filipovic (21).

Cerrone’s 10 stoppage victories in UFC lightweight competition are third most in divisional history behind Joe Lauzon (12) and Miller (11).

Cerrone’s seven knockout victories stemming kicks in UFC competition are the most in company history. No one else has more than four.

Cerrone’s 18 knockdowns landed in UFC competition are tied with Anderson Silva and Jeremy Stephens for most in company history.

Cerrone has landed 333 leg kicks in UFC competition, the third most in company history behind Joanna Jedrzejczyk (354) and Thiago Alves (354).

Cerrone defends 88.9 percent of all opponent takedown attempts in UFC lightweight competition, the best rate among active fighters in the weight class.

Cerrone’s 21 fight-night bonuses in UFC/WEC bouts are the most in combined organizational history.

Cerrone’s 16 fight-night bonuses in UFC bouts are most in company history.

Co-main event

Derek Brunson (18-7 MMA, 9-5 UFC) is 2-4 in his past six fights dating back to November 2016.

Brunson enters the event on a two-fight losing skid for the third time in his career. He’s never lost three consecutive fights.

Brunson’s average fight time of 5:56 in UFC middleweight competition is the shortest among active fighters in the weight class.

Brunson’s nine victories since 2012 in UFC middleweight competition are tied for third most in the division behind Thiago “Marreta” Santos (10) and Brad Tavares (10).

Brunson’s seven first-round stoppage victories in UFC middleweight competition are most in divisional history.

Brunson’s seven stoppage victories since 2012 in UFC middleweight competition are tied for third most in the division behind Santos (eight) Ronaldo Souza (eight).

Brunson is one of five fighters in modern UFC history to register both a knockout and submission victory in less than one minute each. Joe Lauzon, Ronda Rousey, Tom Lawlor and Andrei Arlovski also accomplished the feat.

Elias Theodorou (16-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) has earned six of his eight UFC victories by decision.

Remaining main card

Cub Swanson’s (25-10 MMA, 10-6 UFC) competes in his 25th UFC/WEC featherweight bout, the most appearances in combined divisional history.

Swanson’s three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since April 2017.

Swanson’s 15 victories in UFC/WEC featherweight competition are tied for second most in combined divisional history behind Jose Aldo (18).

Swanson’s 10 victories in UFC featherweight competition are tied for third most in divisional history behind Max Holloway (15) and Darren Elkins (13).

Swanson’s past five victories have come by decision. He hasn’t earned a stoppage since July 2013.

Swanson’s 209 significant strikes landed against Artem Lobov at UFC Fight Night 108 are the second most in a UFC/WEC featherweight bout behind Holloway’s 290 vs. Brian Ortega at UFC 231.

Swanson’s 11 fight-night bonuses for UFC/WEC featherweight bouts are the most in combined divisional history.

Swanson’s seven fight-night bonuses in UFC featherweight bouts are tied with Max Holloway for most in divisional history.

Shane Burgos (11-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) defends 94.1 percent of all opponent takedown attempts in UFC featherweight competition, the best rate in divisional history.

Burgos lands 6.54 significant strikes per minute in UFC featherweight competition, the second highest rate in divisional history behind Holloway (6.77).

Brad Katona (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) is the only Canadian to win a domestic version of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

Merab Dvalishvili’s (8-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) 11 takedowns landed at UFC Fight Night 123 are tied for the single-fight UFC/WEC bantamweight record.

Dvalishvili’s 11 takedowns landed at UFC Fight Night 123 are tied for the single-fight UFC record for most in a loss.

Walt Harris (11-7 MMA, 4-6 UFC) is 4-3 (with one no-contest) since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in April 2016.

Harris has earned all 11 of his career victories by knockout.

Harris defends 61.5 percent of all opponent significant strike attempts in UFC heavyweight competition, the second highest rate among active fighters in the weight class behind Stipe Miocic (62.5 percent).

Sergey Spivak (9-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC), 24, is the youngest of the 24 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.

Spivak has earned all nine of his career victories by stoppage. He’s finished eight of those wins in Round 1.

Andrew Sanchez (10-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) and Ryan Janes combined for 255 significant strikes landed at The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale, the single-fight record for a UFC middleweight bout.

Preliminary card

Macy Chiasson (4-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) became the first winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series in the women’s featherweight division at the TUF 28 Finale. She’s since dropped to bantamweight.

Sarah Moras (5-4 MMA, 2-3 UFC) is 1-3 in her past four fights dating back to July 2015.

Aiemann Zahabi (7-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since Nov. 4, 2017. The 546-day layoff is the longest of his more than six-year career.

Nordine Taleb (14-6 MMA, 6-4 UFC), 37, is the oldest of the 24 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.

Taleb defends 66.4 percent of all opponent significant strike attempts in UFC welterweight competition, the second highest rate among active fighters in the weight class behind Chad Laprise (67.7 percent).

Juan Adams (5-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has earned all of his career victories by knockout.

Mitch Gagnon (12-4 MMA, 4-3 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since Dec. 10, 2016. The 875-day layoff is the longest of his more than 10-year career.

Gagnon’s two-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since October 2014.

‘That’s not who I am’: Igor Severino apologizes for bite, hopes one mistake doesn’t define career

Igor Severino’s life isn’t the same as it was one week ago. As of now, the 20-year-old ex-UFC fighter doesn’t know if it’ll ever be even similar after he bit opponent Andre Lima during their March 23 fight at UFC on ESPN 53 in Las Vegas. The highly unusual...

Joaquin Buckley: ‘This Is The Reason I’m Here’

UFC Welterweight Joaquin Buckley Is Stoked To Be In A Marquee Position To Move Up The Rankings And Show He Belongs Fighting The Top 170-Pound Fighters On The Roster Read the Full Article Here

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