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Recent Firsts In The UFC
Ahead Of The UFC’s First Event In Saudi Arabia, Let’s Take A Look Back At Some More Historic Firsts That Happened In The Octagon
It’s always an exciting moment when a new milestone is created inside the Octagon. As the UFC touches down in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the first time this weekend for UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs Aliskerov, it’s a fun time to look back and see all the unforgettable moments that were etched into the history books over the years.
Order UFC 303: Pereira vs Procházka 2
Let’s take a look at some recent historic firsts.
Mexico’s First Champion
“Tijuana, you have a champion!” Those were the words heard around the world as Jon Anik called Brandon Moreno’s submission over Deivieson Figueiredo, making him the first Mexican-born champion in the organization. Moreno and Figueiredo would face each other two more times after their meeting at UFC 263, finally ending things once and for all at UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro, as they met for a historic fourth meeting, the UFC first’s tetralogy.
UFC Touches Down In France
Back in September 2022, the Octagon made its way to Paris, France for the very first time. The event was headlined by France’s own Ciryl Gane, who secured a third-round knockout over Tai Tuivasa. Former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker also scored a unanimous decision victory over Marvin Vettori on the card, which hosted 15,405 people inside Accor Arena. The UFC now has an annual trip to Paris, with another event coming up later this year in September.
First Dana White’s Contender Series Champion
Dana White’s Contender Series has been known to produce some incredible talent since the show first kicked off back in 2017.
That statement showed true as Jamahal Hill became the first UFC champion to come from DWCS when he defeated Glover Teixeira at UFC 283 in January last year. Hill competed on DWCS in 2019 and had a third-round stoppage over Alexander Poppeck. Sean O’Malley also added himself to the list after knocking out Aljamain Sterling in Boston last year.
Adesanya Becomes First Two-Time Middleweight Champion
The middleweight division has been home to some dominant champions over the years. That is no different for Israel Adesanya’s reign, which first began in 2019 when he unified the title against Whittaker. He would go on to have five successful title defenses before losing the belt to longtime rival Alex Pereira in November 2022.
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Adesanya and Pereira ran it back last year in Miami, where Adesanya knocked out Pereira in the second round to earn his title back and become the first two-time middleweight champion.
Inaugural Noche UFC Event
UFC held Noche UFC last year on September 16, 2023, which marked the first marquee event in the Octagon celebrating Mexican Independence Day. The card was headlined by the rematch between the first Mexican-born female champion, Alexa Grasso, and Valentina Shevchenko. It was a massive success and UFC CEO Dana White announced it would become an annual event moving forward.
Dricus du Plessis Becomes First South African Champion
The moments that will never be forgotten are the ones when a country gets a champion for the first time. Dricus Du Plessis became the first South African to claim UFC gold after defeating Sean Strickland in Toronto earlier this year. Du Plessis made his UFC debut in 2020 and had a quick rise to the top after defeating middleweights such as Darren Till, Derek Brunson and Whittaker. Du Plessis puts his belt on the line against Adesanya at UFC 305 in Perth in August.
Ilia Topuria Becomes First Spanish & Georgian Champion
Just a few weeks after Du Plessis made history, featherweight Ilia Topuria made history himself by becoming the first champion from Spain and Georgia. Topuria knocked out former champion Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 in February. Topuria had a similar story to Du Plessis, with a quick rise to the top in the UFC after earning wins over Bryce Mitchell and Josh Emmett.
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