The UFC makes its return to “The Great White North” on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 246, which takes place at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
A potential title eliminator in the flyweight division headlines the card. Former two-time champion Brandon Moreno (21-8-2 MMA, 9-4-2 UFC) is set to clash with surging contender Amir Albazi (17-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) in a five-round bout with high stakes.
For more on the numbers behind the main event, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts for UFC Fight Night 246.
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Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi
Brandon Moreno
Brandon Moreno
Moreno was the first champion in UFC history to be born in Mexico.
Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo fought to the fourth draw in UFC title fight history at UFC 256.
Moreno and Figueiredo are the only set of fighters in UFC history to fight each other three consecutive times.
Moreno and Figueiredo are the only set of fighters in UFC history to fight each other four times.
Moreno is one of seven fighters in UFC history to earn a between-rounds stoppage in a title fight. He accomplished the feat at UFC 283.
Moreno is 6-3-2 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in September 2019.
Moreno’s nine victories in UFC flyweight competition are tied for fifth-most in divisional history behind Demetrious Johnson (13), Joseph Benavidez (13), Alexandre Pantoja (11) and Figueiredo (10).
Moreno’s six stoppage victories in UFC flyweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Figueiredo (seven) and Johnson (seven).
Moreno’s three submission victories in UFC flyweight competition are tied for fourth-most in divisional history behind Johnson (five), Pantoja (four) and Muhammad Mokaev (four).
Moreno’s seven fight-night bonuses for UFC flyweight bouts are second-most in divisional history behind Johnson (nine).
Amir Albazi
Amir Albazi
Albazi’s four-fight UFC winning streak at flyweight is tied for the longest active streak in the division behind Pantoja (six).
Erin Blanchfield vs. Rose Namajunas
Erin Blanchfield
Erin Blanchfield
Erin Blanchfield’s (12-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) three submission victories in UFC women’s flyweight competition are tied with Montana De La Rosa and Karine Silva for second-most in divisional history behind Gillian Robertson (six).
Blanchfield’s seven takedowns landed at UFC 269 are tied for the single-fight record for a UFC women’s flyweight bout.
Rose Namajunas
Rose Namajunas
Rose Namajunas (13-6 MMA, 11-5 UFC) was the first female in UFC history to have multiple title reigns in a single weight class. She’s one of five fighters to accomplish the feat, along with Amanda Nunes, Carla Esparza, Zhang Weili and Julianna Peña.
Namajunas is 2-1 since she moved up to the women’s flyweight division in September 2023.
Namajunas’ five stoppage victories in UFC strawweight competition are tied for second-most in divisional history behind Jessica Andrade (six).
Namajunas’ three submission victories in UFC strawweight competition are tied for second-most in divisional history behind Mackenzie Dern (four).
Namajunas’ submission of Paige VanZant at the 2:25 mark of Round 5 at UFC Fight Night 80 is the latest stoppage in UFC strawweight history.
Namajunas’ six fight-night bonuses for UFC strawweight bouts are tied for second-most in divisional history behind Andrade (nine).
Derrick Lewis vs. Jhonata Diniz
Derrick Lewis
Derrick Lewis (28-12 MMA, 19-10 UFC) competes in his 30th UFC heavyweight bout, the second-most appearances in divisional history behind Andrei Arlovski (42).
Lewis’ 19 victories in UFC heavyweight competition are second-most in divisional history behind Andre Arlovski (23).
Lewis’ 15 stoppage victories in UFC heavyweight competition are most in divisional history.
Lewis’ 15 stoppage victories in UFC competition are tied for fourth-most in company history behind Charles Oliveira (20), Jim Miller (17) and Donald Cerrone (16).
Lewis’ 15 knockout victories in UFC competition are most in company history.
Lewis’ 15 knockout victories in UFC competition stemming from punches are the most in company history.
Lewis’ eight knockouts stemming from ground strikes in UFC competition are tied with Cain Velasquez for most in company history.
Lewis’ eight fight-night bonuses for UFC heavyweight bouts are tied with Stefan Struve for second-most in divisional history behind Stipe Miocic (nine).
Marc-Andre Barriault vs. Dustin Stoltzfus
Marc-Andre Barriault
Marc-Andre Barriault’s (16-8 MMA, 5-7 UFC) victory at the 4:56 mark of Round 3 at UFC 260 marked the second latest stoppage in UFC middleweight history behind Garreth McLellan (4:58, Round 3) at UFC Fight Night 76.
Mike Malott vs. Trevin Giles
Trevin Giles
Trevin Giles (16-6 MMA, 7-6 UFC) is 2-3 since he dropped to the welterweight division in January 2022.
Giles is one of 18 fighters in UFC history to earn victories in three weight classes. He’s won fights at light heavyweight, middleweight and welterweight.
Aiemann Zahabi vs. Pedro Munhoz
Aiemann Zahabi
Aiemann Zahabi’s (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) four-fight UFC winning streak at bantamweight is tied for the fifth-longest active streak in the division behind Merab Dvalishvili (10), Mario Bautista (seven), Montel Jackson (five) and Umar Nurmagomedov (five).
Zahabi defends 71.2 percent of all opponent significant strike attempts in UFC bantamweight competition, the third-highest rate in divisional history behind Vaughan Lee (71.5 percent) and Miles Johns (71.3 percent).
Pedro Munhoz (20-8 MMA, 10-8 UFC) competes in his 22nd UFC bantamweight bout, the most appearances in divisional history.
Munhoz is 1-4 with one no contest in his past six fights dating back to August 2021.
Munhoz has landed 1,263 significant strikes in UFC bantamweight competition, the most in divisional history.
Munhoz’s seven fight-night bonuses for UFC bantamweight bouts are third-most in divisional history behind T.J. Dillashaw (eight) and Sean O’Malley (eight).
Ariane da Silva vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
Ariane da Silva
Ariane Da Silva (16-9 MMA, 5-6 UFC) competes in her 12th UFC women’s flyweight bout, tied for the fourth-most appearances in divisional history behind Katlyn Cerminara (14), Gillian Robertson (13) and Andrea Lee (13).
Da Silva has scored three knockdowns in UFC women’s flyweight competition, tied with Taila Santos and Molly McCann for most in divisional history.
Charles Jourdain vs. Victor Henry
Charles Jourdain
Charles Jourdain (15-8-1 MMA, 6-7-1 UFC) drops the UFC bantamweight division after spending his previous 14 promotional appearances at featherweight.
Alexandr Romanov vs. Rodrigo Nascimento
Alexandr Romanov
Alexandr Romanov (17-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) has earned 15 of his 17 career victories by stoppage. He’s finished 11 of those wins in Round 1.
Romanov completes 54.1 percent of his takedown attempts in UFC heavyweight competition, the second-best rate among active fighters in the weight class behind Serghei Spivac (65.1 percent).
Jack Shore vs. Youssef Zalal
Jack Shore
Jack Shore (7-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) is 1-1 since he moved up to the featherweight division in March 2023.
Youssef Zalal (15-5-1 MMA, 5-3-1 UFC) is 2-0 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in March 2024.
Zalal absorbs just 1.72 significant strikes per minute in UFC featherweight competition, the fourth-best rate in divisional history behind Rani Yahya (1.05), Pat Sabatini (1.47) and Bryce Mitchell (1.63).
Zalal defends 66.8 percent of all opponent significant strike attempts in UFC featherweight competition, the best rate among active fighters in the weight class.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 246.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on X @MJCflipdascript.
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