UFC on FOX 29 post-event facts: Even in a loss, Justin Gaethje makes history

UFC on FOX 29 proved to be one of the most action-packed cards of the year so far. Eight stoppages occurred on Saturday’s card at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz., which aired on FOX following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

In the lightweight main event, Dustin Poirier (23-5 MMA, 15-4 UFC) continued to show arguably the best form of his career by extending his momentum with a fourth-round TKO win over former WSOF champ Justin Gaethje (18-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC).

“The Diamond” has now graced the octagon 20 times, and with that comes a notable position in the company record books. For more on numbers behind Poirier’s win, as well as others on the card, check below for 60 post-event facts to come out of UFC on FOX 29.

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General

UFC on FOX 29 featured 14 bouts, the second most on a UFC card since UFC 2 in March 1994.

The UFC-Reebok Athlete Outfitting payout for the event totaled $178,500.

Debuting fighters went 1-2 at the event.

Poirier, Gaethje, Alex Oliveira and Adam Wieczorek earned $50,000 UFC on FOX 29 fight-night bonuses.

UFC on FOX 29 drew an announced attendance of 11,382 for a live gate of $1,085,712.25.

Betting favorites went 9-4 on the card. One fight had even odds.

Total fight time for the 14-bout card was 2:41:26.

Main card

Poirier improved to 7-1 (with one no-contest) since he returned to the UFC lightweight division in April 2015.

Poirier has earned all four of his stoppage victories since returning to the lightweight division by knockout.

Poirier’s 15 victories since 2011 in UFC competition are tied with UFC champs Demetrious Johnson and Max Holloway for second most in the company behind Donald Cerrone (20).

Poirier’s 10 stoppage victories since 2011 in UFC competition are tied with Holloway for second most in the company behind Cerrone (14).

Poirier’s 174 significant strikes landed were third most in a UFC lightweight fight behind Nate Diaz’s 238 at UFC 141 and Tony Ferguson’s 174 at UFC Fight Night 98.

Gaethje has suffered consecutive losses after starting his career on a 18-fight winning streak.

Gaethje has suffered both of his career losses by knockout.

Gaethje is the only fighter in UFC history to land 100 or more significant strikes in each of his first three UFC fights. He’s landed 341 significant strikes in his two UFC appearances.

Gaethje has been awarded four fight-night bonuses in three UFC appearances.

Oliveira (18-5-1 MMA, 8-3 UFC) improved to 6-2 (with one no-contest) in UFC welterweight competition.

Oliveira has earned 15 of his 18 career victories by stoppage. That includes six of his eight UFC wins.

Carlos Condit (30-12 MMA, 7-8 UFC) suffered his fourth consecutive loss to extend the longest skid of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since May 2015.

Condit fell to 2-7 in his past nine UFC appearances dating back to November 2012.

Condit has been taken down at least once in 17 of his 20 UFC/WEC appearances. He’s given up a total of 61 takedowns in that stretch.

Israel Adesanya (13-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) earned the first decision victory of his career. All of his previous wins came by knockout.

Marvin Vettori (12-4-1 MMA, 2-2-1 UFC) has suffered all four of his career losses by decision.

Michelle Waterson (15-6 MMA, 3-2 UFC) earned her first decision victory since Oct. 6, 2012 – a span of 2,016 days (more than five years) and six fights.

Cortney Casey (7-6 MMA, 3-5 UFC) has suffered all five of her UFC losses by decision.

Preliminary card

Antonio Carlos Junior (10-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) improved to 6-1 (with one no-contest) since he dropped to the UFC middleweight division in June 2015.

Carlos Junior’s five-fight UFC winning streak in middleweight competition is the second longest active streak in the division behind  champ Robert Whittaker (seven).

Carlos Junior has earned eight of his 10 career victories by submission.

Carlos Junior’s five rear-naked-choke wins in UFC competition are tied for third most in divisional history behind Kenny Florian (seven) and Demian Maia (seven).

Tim Boetsch (21-12 MMA, 12-11 UFC) fell to 3-2 since he returned to the UFC middleweight division in July 2016.

Boetsch fell to 3-5 in his past eight UFC appearances.

Boetsch has suffered nine of his 11 UFC losses by stoppage.

Boetsch’s five submission losses in UFC competition are tied for second most in UFC history behind Melvin Guillard (six).

Muslim Salikhov (14-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has earned 13 of his 14 career victories by stoppage.

Ricky Rainey (13-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) was unsuccessful in his UFC debut following a seven-fight Bellator stint in which he went 5-2.

John Moraga’s (19-6 MMA, 8-5 UFC) three-fight UFC winning streak in flyweight competition is tied for the third longest active streak in the division behind D. Johnson (13) and Joseph Benavidez (six).

Moraga’s eight victories in UFC flyweight competition are third most in divisional history behind Johnson (13) and Benavidez (10).

Wilson Reis’ (22-8 MMA, 6-5 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since February 2017.

Reis fell to 5-4 since he dropped to the UFC flyweight division in August 2014.

Reis’ 36 takedowns landed in UFC flyweight competition are second most in divisional history behind Johnson (57).

Brad Tavares’s four-fight UFC winning streak in middleweight competition is tied for the third longest active streak in the division behind Whittaker (seven) and Carlos Junior (five).

Tavares earned his first knockout victory since Jan. 1, 2011 – a span of 2,660 days (more than seven years) and 14 fights.

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.

Gilbert Burns (13-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) has earned 12 of his 13 career victories by stoppage. That includes five of his six UFC wins.

Dan Moret (13-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has suffered both of his career stoppage losses by knockout.

Lauren Mueller (5-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has earned four of her five career victories by decision.

Shana Dobson (3-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has suffered both of her career losses by decision.

Yushin Okami (35-11 MMA, 14-6 UFC) was successful in his UFC welterweight debut.

Okami earned his first UFC victory since March 2013.

Okami improved to 1-1 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in September.

Dhiego Lima (12-7 MMA, 1-5 UFC) fell to 0-2 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in July. He hasn’t earned an octagon victory since November 2014.

Lima suffered his first decision loss since Jan. 27, 2012 – a span of 2,269 days (more than six years) and 12 fights.

Wieczorek (10-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) extended his winning streak to nine fights. He hasn’t suffered a defeat since November 2011.

Wieczorek has earned nine of his 10 career victories by stoppage.

Wieczorek earned just the second omoplata win in UFC history. Ben Saunders also accomplished the feat at UFC Fight Night 49.

Arjan Bhullar (7-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) had his seven-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.

Alejandro Perez’s (20-6-1 MMA, 6-1-1 UFC) six-fight unbeaten streak in UFC bantamweight competition is the longest active streak in the division.

Perez has earned all three of his UFC stoppage victories by knockout.

Matthew Lopez (10-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC) has suffered all three of his career losses by stoppage.

Patrick Williams (8-6 MMA, 1-3 UFC) suffered his first decision loss since Feb. 12, 2011 – a span of 2,618 days (more than seven years) and 12 fights.

For complete coverage of UFC on FOX 29, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

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