The UFC will break ground in another new territory Saturday with UFC Fight Night 265 at ABHA Arena in Doha, Qatar. The entire event streams on ESPN+.
A pivotal clash of lightweight contenders headlines the card, with Arman Tsarukyan (22-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) returning for the first time since April 2024 against the always dangerous Dan Hooker (24-12 MMA, 14-8 UFC).
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For more on the numbers behind the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts for UFC Fight Night 265.
Arman Tsarukyan vs. Dan Hooker
Arman Tsarukyan vs. Dan Hooker, UFC Fight Night 265
Tsarukyan is 9-1 in his past 10 UFC appearances, dating back to his April 2019 loss to Makhachev.
Hooker is 3-0 since he returned to the lightweight division in November 2022.
Belal Muhammad vs. Ian Machado Garry
Ian Machado Garry vs. Belal Muhammad, UFC Fight Night 265
Belal Muhammad (24-4 MMA, 15-4 UFC) is the first and only Palestinian champion in UFC history.
Muhammad is one of 14 fighters to hold the undisputed UFC welterweight title.
Muhammad’s 15 victories in UFC welterweight competition are tied for seventh-most in divisional history behind Neil Magny (24), Georges St-Pierre (19), Matt Brown (17), Matt Hughes (17), Kamaru Usman (16) and Vicente Luque (16).
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Muhammad has earned 18 of his 24 career victories by decision. That includes 12 of his 15 UFC wins.
Muhammad’s 12 decision victories in UFC welterweight competition are tied with St-Pierre for second-most in divisional history behind Magny (14).
Muhammad’s 12 decision victories in UFC competition are tied for third-most in company history behind Magny (14) and Brad Tavares (14).
Muhammad vs. Leon Edwards at UFC 304 is one of four matchups in history to feature two competitors on UFC unbeaten streaks of 10 or more fights. Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman (UFC 278), Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira (UFC 280), and Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski (UFC 284) were the others.
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Ian Machado Garry (16-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) was one of two welterweights in UFC history to start 8-0 with the promotion. Kamaru Usman also accomplished the feat.
Jack Hermansson vs. Myktybek Orolbai
Jack Hermansson (24-9 MMA, 11-7 UFC) drops to the welterweight division after spending his previous 18 octagon appearances at middleweight.
Serghei Spivac vs. Shamil Gaziev
Serghei Spivac (17-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) complete 62 percent of his takedown attempts in UFC heavyweight competition, the second-best rate in divisional history behind Cheick Kongo (63.2 percent).
Spivac has landed 31 takedowns in UFC heavyweight competition, the third-most in divisional history behind Curtis Blaydes (62) and Cain Velasquez (34).
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Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Kyoji Horiguchi
Tagir Ulanbekov’s (18-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) four-fight UFC winning streak at flyweight is tied for the third-longest active streak in the division behind Alexandre Pantoja (seven) and Joshua Van (five).
Ulanbekov has earned four of his six UFC victories by decision.
Kyoji Horiguchi (34-5 MMA, 7-1 UFC) returns to the UFC for the first time since November 2016. He went 16-3 with one no contest between stints with the organization.
Horiguchi has earned five of his seven UFC victories by decision.
Alex Perez vs. Asu Almabayev
Alex Perez’s (24-9 MMA, 6-5 UFC) average fight time of 6:21 in UFC flyweight competition is second-shortest in divisional history behind Daniel Lacerda (4:19).
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Perez has recorded one of 18 finishes in UFC history stemming from leg kicks. He accomplished the feat at UFC 250.
Asu Almabayev (22-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) absorbs just 1.75 significant strikes per minute in UFC flyweight competition, the third-best rate in divisional history behind Jafel Filho (1.26) and Muhammad Mokaev (1.35).
Ismail Naurdiev vs. Ryan Loder
Ismail Naurdiev (24-8 MMA, 3-3 UFC) is 1-1 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in September 2024.
Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev vs. Rafael Cerqueira
Rafael Cerqueira (11-3 MMA, 0-3 UFC) has suffered three consecutive losses after starting his career 11-0.
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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 Qatar pre-event facts: Belal Muhammad can tie Kamaru Usman record
