Tag: Martin Sano

UFC 266 post-event facts: Nick Diaz stopped for first time in nearly 14 years

The best facts and figures to come out of UFC 266, which saw Volkanovski and Shevchenko defend while Nick Diaz suffered a loss.

UFC 266 was a loaded lineup on paper and proved to be one of the best of the year in practice. The promotion put on a spectacular event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with a main card that aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.

Both champions at the top of the card retained their belts. [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (23-1 MMA, 10-0 UFC) defeated [autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag] (15-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) by unanimous decision to defend the featherweight title in the headliner, while [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] (22-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) produced a fourth-round TKO in the co-main event against [autotag]Lauren Murphy[/autotag] (15-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) to retain her women’s flyweight strap.

For more on the numbers behind the decorated champions, as well as the winners and losers from the rest of the card, check below for 65 post-event facts to come out of UFC 266.

UFC 266 video: Matthew Semelsberger KOs Nick Diaz teammate Martin Sano in 15 seconds

Team Diaz got out to a rough start at UFC 266 with Martin Sano’s lightning-quick knockout defeat.

Team Diaz got out to a rough start at UFC 266 with a lightning-quick knockout defeat.

[autotag]Martin Sano[/autotag] (4-3-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC), who UFC president Dana White said was signed to the organization at the request of Nick Diaz, suffered a 15-second knockout loss to [autotag]Matthew Semelsberger[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) in their preliminary-card welterweight bout, which took place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Semelsberger was a big betting favorite coming into the fight. He showed why as he went right after Sano and clipped him with a big punch early on that sent the octagon newcomer crashing to the canvas in devastating fashion.

Check out the replay below (via Twitter):

There was a lot of skepticism about Sano joining the UFC roster after not having fought since February 2017 and going winless in his past three fights.

UFC commentator Paul Felder echoed the sentiment of many in the aftermath of the finish.

“No disrespect,” Felder said on the UFC 266 broadcast. “But you probably shouldn’t be here right now.”

Semelsberger, meanwhile, now has a 15-second finish on his record to go along with a 16-second win back in March.

“It felt amazing,” Semelsberger said in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. “I’ll take the quick knockout.

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