UFC Fight Night 281 post-event facts: Nate Diaz record falls after nearly 15 years

The UFC’s return to Oklahoma City on Saturday at Paycom Center ended up with some historic results that impacted the record books in the aftermath of UFC Fight Night 281.

Former middleweight Dricus Du Plessis (24-3 MMA, 10-1 UFC) got the job done in the main event with a unanimous decision over future UFC Hall of Famer Kamaru Usman (21-5 MMA, 16-4 UFC) in the headliner, but it was some of the undercard fights that produced eye-popping numbers

For more, check below for MMA Junkie’s UFC Fight Night 281 post-event facts.

Event stats

The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $151,500.

Debuting fighters went 2-3 at the event.

Du Plessis, Usman, Tommy McMillen and Felipe Franco earned $100,000 UFC Fight Night 281 fight-night bonuses. Two fighters earned $25,000 finish bonuses.

UFC Fight Night 281 drew an announced attendance of 17,173 for a live gate of $3,187,383.

Betting favorites went 7-5 on the card.

Betting favorites improved to 10-9 in UFC headliners this year. Four main events in 2026 have had even odds.

Total fight time for the 12-bout card was 2:23:08.

Dricus Du Plessis def. Kamaru Usman

Usman fell to 0-2 in UFC middleweight competition.

Usman has suffered three of his five career losses by submission.

Christian Leroy Duncan def. Jared Cannonier

Christian Leroy Duncan’s (15-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) five-fight UFC winning streak at middleweight is tied with Nassourdine Imavov, Nursulton Ruziboev and Ateba Guaiter for the longest active streak in the division.

Jared Cannonier (18-10 MMA, 11-10 UFC) fell to 8-6 since he dropped to the UFC middleweight division in November 2018.

Cannonier has suffered six of his nine UFC losses by decision.

Chase Hooper def. Mitch Ramirez

Chase Hooper (17-5-1 MMA, 9-5 UFC) improved to 6-2 since he moved up to the lightweight division in May 2023.

Hooper has earned 14 of his 17 career victories by stoppage. That includes seven of his nine UFC wins.

Mitch Ramirez’s (8-4 MMA, 0-3 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since December 2023.

Ramirez suffered the first submission loss of his career.

Fatima Kline def. Tabatha Ricci

Fatima Kline’s (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) four-fight UFC winning streak at strawweight is the third-longest active streak in the division behind Zhang Weili (five) and Gillian Robertson (five).

Tabatha Ricci (12-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) has suffered four of her five career losses by decision.

Tommy McMillen def. Alberto Montes

McMillen (11-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has earned 10 of his 11 career victories by stoppage.

McMillen landed 252 significant strikes, the single-fight record for a three-round UFC bout. Nate Diaz held the previous high of 238 landed in UFC 141 win vs. Donald Cerrone from December 2011.

Alberto Montes (12-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has suffered both of his career losses by knockout.

Jose Delgado def. Austin Bashi

Austin Bashi (14-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) fell to 1-2 in his past three fights after starting his career 13-0.

Bashi has suffered both of his career losses by decision.

Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani def. Seokhyeon Ko

Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani (11-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has earned both of his UFC victories by decision.

Seokhyeon Ko (13-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) suffered the first decision loss of his career.

Felipe Franco def. Levi Rodrigues Jr.

Franco (11-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has earned all 11 of his career victories by stoppage.

Levi Rodrigues Jr. (5-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) had his six-fight unbeaten streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.

Ezra Elliott def. Damien Anderson

Ezra Elliott (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) earned the first decision victory of his career.

Elliott’s 12 takedowns landed marked a new single-fight record for a UFC featherweight bout.

Damien Anderson (5-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) had his five-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.

Alden Coria def. Stewart Nicoll

Alden Coria’s (13-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC) three-fight UFC winning streak at flyweight is tied for the third-longest active streak in the division behind Joshua Van (seven) and Manel Kape (four).

Stewart Nicoll (8-4 MMA, 0-4 UFC) has suffered four consecutive losses after starting his career 8-0.

Nicoll has suffered two of his four career losses by decision.

RJ Harris def. Alvin Hines

RJ Harris (6-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has earned five of his six career victories by stoppage.

Alvin Hines (7-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) has suffered consecutive losses after starting his career 7-0.

Hines suffered the first stoppage loss of his career with a knockout defeat.

Dione Barbosa def. Anna Melisano

Dione Barbosa (10-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) has earned all five of her career stoppage victories by submission.

Anna Melisano (6-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has suffered both of her career losses by stoppage.

Melisano has suffered both of her career losses by submission.

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

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Fight Night 281 post-event facts: Nate Diaz record falls after nearly 15 years

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