Fight Facts: UFC Fight Night 257 ‘Walker vs. Zhang’

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Fight Facts is a breakdown of all of the interesting information and Octagon oddities on every card, with some puns, references and portmanteaus to keep things fun. These deep stat dives delve into the numbers, providing historical context and telling the stories behind those numbers.

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TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC FIGHTS: 8,332
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 745

The Ultimate Fighting Championship took to the most populous city in China for the first time since 2017. The results were mixed for the home crowd, with locals finding success but the hometown headliner sustained a beatdown. UFC Fight Night 257, also known as UFC Shanghai, featured the first Brazilian winning at the top of the billing this year, a sketchy catchweight affair that should have stayed on the shelf and a man with a special mullet punching his way through flyweight.

The One Win: Coming into this event, Brazilians were 0-10 in 2025 UFC headliners. Johnny Walker spoiled the party in China by pulling off the upset, beating Mingyang Zhang for the first marquee victory for his countrymen this year.

Rebounder: Putting a two-fight knockout loss skid behind him, Walker drummed out Zhang with leg kicks and follow-up punches in the second frame. Every time Walker has lost consecutive bouts, he has finished his foe in his subsequent outing.

Walker Brothers Are Rolling: Walker lifted his high finish rate to 91% when he pummeled Zhang. He has now performed 20 of his 22 pro wins inside the distance.

That’s What the Bell Sounds Like: Losing in the second round, Zhang’s defeat snapped his stretch of 15 straight bouts that ended in the opening frame, win or lose.

Fight Shouldn’t Have Happened: In the non-title, non-headlining catchweight match between Aljamain Sterling and Brian Ortega, the two went five rounds, with Sterling emerging the victor. “Funk Master” has still yet to taste defeat when engaging in a full-length 25-minute affair.

No More Berserker: Russia’s Sergei Pavlovich settled for a decision when he could not put Waldo Cortes-Acosta away. He sees his finish rate—all by knockout—dwindle to an even 75% due to his win on the scorecards.

Su Takes His Time: Before joining the UFC, Su Mudaerji had racked up 14 finishes in his 14 pro wins. Since joining the roster, decisions including one over Kevin Borjas account for four of his five wins with the promotion.

A Level Beyond: With a barrage of elbows, “Super Saiyan” Nueraji Taiyilake dispatched Kiefer Crosbie at the 3:33 mark. The 24-year-old from Chengdu, Sichuan, China, has still yet to go to decision professionally, with 12 stoppage wins populating his 12-victory ledger.

Power of the Skullet: Late into the second round, Charles Johnson came back to deck Lone'er Kavanagh with one punch. “InnerG” moves two knockouts shy of the UFC flyweight record held by Joseph Benavidez.

Welcome Back: Flurrying with fists and elbows, Kyle Daukaus smoked Michel Pereira in under 45 seconds in his return to the promotion. “The D’Arce Knight” has earned back-to-back knockouts, serving as the only two of his career.

Go Back to Programming: It took Zha Yi 37 seconds to slump Westin Wilson, bouncing back from a September 2024 loss. The losing Wilson has yet to fight beyond the first frame in 15 straight fights.

Biggish Man Sub: To start off the night in style, Uran Satybaldiev wrangled Diyar Nurgozhay with an ultra-rare Ezekiel choke. He is the fourth in company history to perform this maneuver, joining Remco Pardoel, Alexey Oleynik and Alexander Volkov.


Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC Fight Night 257, Kavanagh had never been defeated (nine fights), no light heavyweight had ever landed an Ezekiel choke in the Octagon (8,320 UFC bouts) and Nurgozhay had never dropped consecutive matches (11 fights).

Patriotism: In the last nine months, three fighters have elected to walk out to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A”: Chris Weidman, Sean O'Malley and Gauge Young. The latter is the only one of the three to pick up a win after walking out to it, overcoming Maheshate Hayisaer after 15 minutes of combat.

Back in Town: For the third time across two UFC stints, Daukaus has walked to the Octagon accompanied by “The Boys Are Back in Town” by Thin Lizzy. The Philadelphia native has yet to taste defeat when picking that track.