After two weeks on the road, the UFC returns to its home base on Saturday for UFC Fight Night 224 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The entire card streams on ESPN+.
The makeshift main event for the card will feature a pair of strawweight contender hopefuls. Mackenzie Dern (12-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) will meet Angela Hill (15-12 MMA, 10-12 UFC) in a five-round matchup.
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts for UFC Fight Night 223.
Mackenzie Dern
Dern competes in her third UFC headliner. She’s 0-2 in previous main event appearances.
Dern’s four stoppage victories in UFC strawweight competition are tied for fourth-most in divisional history behind Rose Namajunas (five), Jessica Andrade (five) and Amanda Lemos (five).
Dern’s four submission victories in UFC strawweight competition are the most in divisional history.
Dern’s four submission victories in UFC competition are second-most of any female in company history behind Gillian Robertson (seven).
Dern’s four fight-night bonuses for UFC strawweight bouts are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Andrade (eight) and Namajunas (six).
Angela Hill
Hill competes in her 22nd UFC strawweight bout, the most appearances in divisional history.
Hill is 9-10 since she returned to the UFC for a second stint in February 2017.
Hill’s nine victories in UFC strawweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Joanna Jedrzejczyk (10) and Carla Esparza (10).
Hill’s two knockout victories in UFC strawweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Andrade (three) and Lemos (three)
Hill’s three knockdowns landed in UFC strawweight competition are third-most in divisional history behind Lemos (five) and Namajunas (four).
Hill’s 12 losses in UFC competition are the most by any female in company history.
Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Anthony Hernandez
Anthony Hernandez (10-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) is the only fighter in UFC history to earn a victory and suffer a loss by anaconda choke submission.
Hernandez lands 64.7 percent of his takedown attempts in UFC middleweight competition, the best rate in divisional history.
Emily Ducote vs. Loopy Godinez
Loopy Godinez (9-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) holds the modern-era record for shortest time between three UFC appearances at 42 days. She competed on Oct. 9, Oct. 16 and Nov. 20 of 2021.
Andre Fialho vs. Joaquin Buckley
Andre Fialho (16-6 MMA, 2-3 UFC) was the only fighter to make five UFC appearances in 2022.
Fialho’s three UFC fights in 46 days during the 2022 marked the second shortest span between non-tournament bouts behind Godinez (42 days).
Joaquin Buckley (15-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC) drops to the UFC welterweight division after spending his previous eight octagon appearances at middleweight.
Buckley is one of five fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a spinning back kick to the head, which he did at UFC on ESPN+ 37. Renan Barao, Uriah Hall, Natalia Silva and Magomed Mustafaev also accomplished the feat.
Diego Ferreira vs. Michael Johnson
Diego Ferreira’s (17-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since January 2020.
Michael Johnson (21-18 MMA, 13-14 UFC) improved to 2-4 since he returned to the lightweight division in October 2019.
Johnson’s 11 knockdowns landed in UFC lightweight competition are tied with Donald Cerrone for second-most in divisional history behind Melvin Guillard (13).
Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Vanessa Demopoulos
Karolina Kowalkiewicz (14-7 MMA, 7-7 UFC) competes in her 15th UFC strawweight bout, tied for the third-most appearances in divisional history behind Hill (21) and Randa Markos (18).
Kowalkiewicz is 4-7 in her past 10 fights dating back to when she fought for the UFC strawweight title in November 2016.
Vanessa Demopoulos’ (9-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC) three-fight UFC winning streak at strawweight is tied for the third-longest active streak in the division behind Tatiana Suarez (five) and Godinez (four).
Ilir Latifi vs. Rodrigo Nascimento
Ilir Latifi (16-8 MMA, 9-6 UFC) is 2-1 since he moved up to the UFC heavyweight division in February 2020.
Chase Hooper vs. Nick Fiore
Chase Hooper (11-3-1 MMA, 3-3 UFC) earned the first heel hook in UFC featherweight history at UFC 256.
Hooper is one of two fighters in UFC history to earn a heel hook finish in Round 3. He accomplished the feat at UFC 256. Ciryl Gane has also won with the technique.
Natalia Silva vs. Victoria Leonardo
Natalia Silva (14-5-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) is one of five fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a spinning back kick to the head, which she did at UFC Fight Night 215. Buckley, Barao, Hall and Mustafaev also accomplished the feat.
Takashi Sato vs. Themba Gorimbo
Takashi Sato’s (16-6 MMA, 2-3 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since June 2020.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
