Rinat Fakhretdinov brings UFC-best run

Whittaker is the only New Zealand-born fighter in history to win a UFC championship.

Whittaker is one of 14 undisputed middleweight champions in UFC history.

Whittaker is 13-3 since he moved up to the UFC middleweight division in November 2014.

Whittaker has earned 11 of his 16 UFC victories by decision.

Whittaker’s eight fight-night bonuses for UFC middleweight bouts are tied with Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero for second-most in divisional history behind Anderson Silva (12).

Sergei Pavlovich vs. Alexander Volkov

Sergei Pavlovich (17-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) has earned 15 of his 17 carer victories by stoppage. He’s finished all 15 of those wins by knockout.

Pavlovich has earned all six of his UFC victories by first-round knockout.

Pavlovich’s six-fight UFC knockout streak, which ended at UFC 295, is tied with Don Frye for second-longest in company history behind Chuck Liddell (seven).

Pavlovich lands 5.9 knockdowns per 15 minutes in UFC competition, the highest rate in company history.

Pavlovich lands 8.21 significant strikes per minute in UFC heavyweight competition, the highest rate in divisional history and third-highest in company history behind Casey O’Neill (8.41) and Victor Henry (8.34).

Pavlovich’s average fight time of 2:13 in UFC competition is the second-shortest in company history behind Tom Aspinall (2:10).

Alexander Volkov (37-10 MMA, 11-4 UFC) is a former Bellator heavyweight champion.

Volkov has earned 28 of his 37 career victories by stoppage.

Volkov earned just the fourth Ezekiel choke submission in history at UFC 293. Aleksei Oleinik (twice) and Remco Pardoel have also won with the technique.

Kelvin Gastelum (17-9 MMA, 12-9 UFC) was unsuccessful in his return to the welterweight division at UFC on ESPN 52. He hasn’t earned a victory in the weight class since July 2016.

Gastelum is 2-6 in his past eight UFC appearances dating back to April 2019.

Gastelum defends 65.7 percent of opponent significant strike attempts in UFC welterweight competition, the second-highest rate among active fighters in the weight class behind Jack Della Maddalena (66.7 percent).

Daniel Rodriguez (17-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) lands 7.55 significant strikes per minute in UFC welterweight competition, the highest rate in divisional history.

Johnny Walker (21-8 MMA, 7-5 UFC) is 4-5 with one no contest in his past 10 fights dating back to November 2019.

Walker has earned 19 of his 21 career victories by stoppage. He’s finished six of his seven UFC wins by first-round knockout.

Walker is one of 10 fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a spinning back fist. He accomplished the feat at UFC on ESPN+ 2.

Walker is one of two fighters in UFC history to win a light heavyweight bout by knockout stemming from a flying knee. James Irvin also accomplished the feat.

Walker is one of five fighters in modern UFC history to win a light heavyweight bout by knockout in 15 seconds or less. He accomplished the feat at UFC on ESPN+ 2.

Jared Gordon (20-6 MMA, 8-5 UFC) is 5-5 with one no contest in UFC lightweight competition.

Rinat Fakhretdinov (21-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) enters the event on an 21-fight winning streak. He hasn’t suffered a defeat since June 2013.

Fakhretdinov’s 21-fight unbeaten streak in MMA competition is the longest among active fighters on the UFC roster.

Nicolas Dalby (23-4-1 MMA, 7-3-1 UFC) is 6-1 with one no contest since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in September 2019.

Kyung Ho Kang’s (19-10 MMA, 8-4 UFC) four submission victories in UFC bantamweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Rani Yahya (six) and Urijah Faber (six).

Kang lands 57.1 percent of his takedown attempts in UFC bantamweight competition, the second-best rate among active fighters in the weight class behind Jackson (68.8 percent).

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 6.

UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.