The most decision-heavy UFC card of the year went down Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas with UFC Fight Night 245 seeing nine of 11 bouts go to the scorecards.
One fighter who didn’t need the help of the judges was headliner Anthony Hernandez (13-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC), who turned in a record-setting effort in a dominant fifth-round TKO finish of Michel Pereira (30-12 MMA, 9-3 UFC) to elevate his name to the next tier of middleweight contention.
For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 235.
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Event stats
The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $155,500.
Debuting fighters went 1-0 at the event.
Hernandez, Darren Elkins and Daniel Pineda earned $50,000 UFC Fight Night 245 fight-night bonuses.
The UFC sold VIP tickets to fans for UFC Fight Night 245, but the promotion did not make public the total number of tickets sold or the gate.
Betting favorites went 8-3 on the card.
Betting favorites improved to 25-10 in UFC headliners this year.
Total fight time for the 11-bout card was 2:51:55.
Anthony Hernandez vs. Michel Pereira
Hernandez’s six-fight UFC winning streak at middleweight is the third-longest active streak in the division behind Dricus Du Plessis (eight) and Caio Borralho (seven).
Hernandez has earned 11 of his 13 career victories by stoppage.
Hernandez outlanded Pereira by +128 significant strikes, a new single-fight UFC middleweight record. Rich Franklin held the previous record (+106) in his UFC 58 victory over David Loiseau.
Hernandez landed 97 significant ground strikes, a new single-fight UFC middleweight record.
Hernandez attempted 29 takedowns, a new single-fight UFC middleweight record
Hernandez became the fifth fighter in UFC history to land 100+ significant strikes and 10 or more takedowns in a single fight. Merab Dvalishvili, Colby Covington, Kamaru Usman and Cain Velasquez also accomplished the feat.
Pereira fell to 3-1 since he moved up to the middleweight division in October 2023.
Rob Font def. Kyler Phillips
Rob Font (21-8 MMA, 11-7 UFC) snapped his two-fight losing skid for his first victory since April 2023.
Kyler Phillips (12-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) has suffered all three of his career losses by decision.
Charles Johnson def. Su Mudaerji
Charles Johnson (17-6 MMA, 6-4 UFC) became the first fighter to reach four UFC victories in 2024.
Johnson’s four-fight UFC winning streak at flyweight is tied for the second-longest active streak in the division behind Pantoja (six).
Johnson has earned four of his six UFC victories by decision.
Su Mudaerji (16-7 MMA, 3-4 UFC) fell to 2-2 since he dropped to the UFC flyweight division in November 2020.
Mudaerji suffered the first decision loss of his career.
Cameron Smotherman def. Jake Hadley
Jake Hadley (11-4 MMA, 3-4 UFC) has suffered all four of his career losses by decision.
Darren Elkins def. Daniel Pineda
Elkins’ (29-11 MMA, 19-10 UFC) 18 UFC featherweight victories are second most in divisional history behind Max Holloway (20).
Elkins’ 12 decision victories in UFC featherweight competition are most in divisional history.
Elkins’ 64 takedowns landed in UFC featherweight competition are most in divisional history.
Pineda (28-17 MMA, 5-8 UFC) retired from MMA competition after his loss.
Pineda fell to 2-4 with one no contest since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in August 2020.
Abu Almabayev def. Matheus Nicolau
Asu Almabayev’s (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) four-fight UFC winning streak at flyweight is tied for the second-longest active streak in the division behind Alexandre Pantoja (six).
Almabayev has earned three of his four UFC victories by decision.
Matheus Nicolau (19-5-1 MMA, 7-4 UFC) fell to 4-3 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in March 2021.
Nicolau fell to 6-4 since he dropped to the UFC flyweight division in July 2016.
Nicolau suffered the first decision loss of his career.
Jean Matsumoto def. Brad Katona
Brad Katona (14-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) has suffered all four of his career losses by decision.
Joselyne Edwards def. Tamires Vidal
Joselyne Edwards (14-6 MMA, 5-4 UFC) has earned nine of her 14 career victories by stoppage.
Tamires Vidal’s (7-4 MMA, 1-3 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of her career. She hasn’t earned a victory since November 2022.
Vidal has suffered three of her four career losses by stoppage.
Elise Reed def. Jessica Penne
Elise Reed (8-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) has alternated wins and losses over her past nine fights.
Reed has earned all four of her UFC victories by decision.
Jessica Penne (13-8 MMA, 2-6 UFC) fell to 2-3 since she returned from a more than four-year layoff in April 2021.
Melissa Martinez def. Alice Ardelean
Melissa Martinez (8-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) earned the first decision victory of her career.
Alice Ardelean (8-7 MMA, 0-2 UFC) has suffered five of her seven career losses by decision.
Austen Lane def. Robelis Despaigne
Austen Lane (13-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC) earned the first decision victory of his career.
Robelis Despaigne (5-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has suffered consecutive losses after starting his career 5-0.
Despaigne has suffered both of his career losses by decision.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 245.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on X @MJCflipdascript.
