If Jon Jones switched sports and tried his hand at professional climbing, he’d be a monstrous climber with a reach of 215cm (he stands at 193cm tall). That’s a +22cm ape index — holy shit! That alone is a pretty insane stat.
Besides that fun tidbit about everybody’s most hated ‘duck’ in the UFC, here are 5 other insane UFC stats that’ll be a great read on your daily commute.
1. Biggest Gates
This stat genuinely surprised me.
You might’ve seen comments about how the Las Vegas Sphere event (UFC 306) featuring O’Malley vs Merab was a disappointing, boring fight card.
However, this disappointing and boring fight card actually earned the most out of any other UFC event in terms of ticket sales.
The gate for this event was a whopping $21,829,245. Even after adjusting for inflation, it still remains the second biggest gate for the UFC.
Another surprise: if you were to account for inflation, then Alvarez vs McGregor (UFC 205) would hold the top spot for the biggest gate in UFC history at $23,161,913 — certainly an insane UFC stat considering that the event was almost 10 years ago!
For context, here are the top 5 gates in a bar graph format:
2. Most Takedowns Landed
When you think of takedowns, you’ll probably imagine Merab’s relentless hounding of Yan at UFC Fight Night, where the Georgian attempted 49 takedowns against the Russian.
Khabib and Georges St-Pierre are also takedown-heavy fighters that come to mind.
If you guessed Merab and Georges St-Pierre, well done. But can you guess who’s the third?
It’s actually Gleison Tibau, the man whom some people still argue today as someone who should have been given the nod against Khabib at UFC 148.
Here’s a graph to show the 5 fighters with the most takedowns landed:
3. Takedown Defense
Takedown defense is a wild, wild stat that features some fighters far from the mainstream consciousness. Apart from true MMA enthusiasts, do people actually care that much about takedown defense?
Sure, it isn’t the coolest stat, like Max Holloway holding the record for most number of total strikes landed at 3706 as well as the record for the most number of significant strikes landed at 3457. Neither is it as impressive as having the shortest average fight time, which Tom Aspinall holds at 2:02!
Still, takedown defense speaks volumes about a fighter’s calibre, and the best defender of takedowns is none other than… Julio Arce.
The arguably average fighter is, surprisingly, a beast at stuffing takedowns. It’s no surprise that he has never been submitted in the UFC before.
Here are the top 5 fighters with the highest takedown defense percentages:
It’s more than expected to see Jon Jones at second place, considering how few fighters have managed to take ‘Bones’ down due to his incredible distance management.
But can you guess who is at number 6, just shy of breaking into the top 5?
It’s our old friend Gleison Tibau. Yes, the Brazillian Southpaw is a beast at shooting for takedowns, and stuffing them as well. Who knew?
4. UFC: The Clear Market Leader
Incredibly, the UFC has blown its competitors out of the water when it comes to its value. Valued at 11.3 billion USD, no other fighting promotion comes close.
Although ONE Championship is certainly the UFC’s biggest MMA rival, it is still miniscule in terms of value.
Perhaps a more interesting question ask is whether any of these promotions are actually profitable.
Even though the UFC is notorious for lowballing their fighters, the organisation is reaping huge profits, with its operating income at 801 million USD in 2024.
ONE Championship, contrastingly, has never made a profit since its founding in 2011.
Similarly, despite the incredible addition of Francis Ngannou to its roster, PFL has still remained unprofitable since its founding in 2017.
5. Highest Total Earnings (And Popularity)
It is still baffling to see the highest total earnings for UFC fighters (do note the data is from 2022).
It’s not so much that Mcgregor and Khabib are at the top, more that the disparity is just startlingly wide. Can anybody hold a candle to the ‘Notorious’ and the ‘Eagle’?
Khabib, who had the highest potential to reach Mcgregor’s star status and eventual total earnings, has long since retired.
And Mcgregor is stuck in a cycle of self-sabotage and crazed online ramblings akin to a man high on a particular white substance.
Jon Jones, a big star in his own right, is past his prime, and although a superfight with Tom Aspinall is what the fans want, Jones has never reached the popularity level of Mcgregor or Khabib.
There was a time when he could have, especially when he was an up-and-coming rookie, but he threw it all away with his antics and crimes outside the cage.
If these fighters are no more than ancient relics today, what about the new guard?
Tom Aspinall, Paddy Pimblett (yes, he deserves to be mentioned due to his popularity), Islam Makachev, Ilia Topuria, Dricus Du Plessis, and Sean O’Malley are some of the new generation that are stars, or stars in the making.
But to be honest, are any of them even close to Mcgregor’s level? No.
They are not even close to Khabib’s level.
There are no incredible rivalries (like Mcgregor vs Khabib) that have penetrated mainstream consciousness; no great clash that comes close to the holy, religious Russian against the brash, arrogant Irishman; no explosion of worldviews and cultures, where a fighter carried the weight of Islamic pride on his shoulders against the ignorant Westerner who disrespected god; no trashtalker that blends charm and wordplay (like Mcgregor), and no indomitable warrior that is the perfect manifestation of religion and discipline (like Khabib).
If Khabib and Mcgregor equate to the Ronaldo and Messi of UFC, at least in terms of earnings and star power, then the rest of the fighters — old or new — are just Neymars, Mbappes, Haalands, and Bellinghams.
The other fighters are great. Just not great enough.
