5 Unbreakable Records in MMA

There are a lot of impressive records in mixed martial arts. The sport is still young compared to more mainstream sports, like football and baseball, and it is likely that most records currently held will eventually be broken.  

Georges St-Pierre currently holds the record for most UFC wins at 19. A few spots down the list is Jon Jones, who currently has 15 victories in the UFC. It's not hard to imagine 27-year-old Jones winning five more times in the UFC before he retires.

In fact, it's hard to imagine him not winning five more fights in his career.  

Records like this will one day be broken, furthered and perhaps, broken again. The controlled chaos of a mixed martial arts contest allows for some amazing things to happen, but it also gives us fluke occurrences.

And sometimes, we get both.  

We are going to look at five records in MMA that are unbreakable. Unbreakable records don't necessarily paint a picture of the apex of the sport, but they are still very impressive. Jones and Ronda Rousey are two of the sport's best competitors. She's the only person to win two UFC fights in under 20 seconds, which is one of many impressive stats on her resume.  

MMA has gone on a wild journey in its first 22 years, and some crazy stuff has gone down. Let's take a look at five unbreakable records that have been set.  

Youngest UFC Champion

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Jon Jones

Jones won the UFC light heavyweight championship at UFC 128 in March 2011. He was 23 years and eight months old, the youngest ever UFC champion.

He dispatched Mauricio "Shogun" Rua with ease and hasn't let go of the mantle since. He's looked unstoppable in nearly all of his title defenses and has eight title defenses under his belt at age 27.  

His stat sheet is impressive—and he's on his way to breaking more records—but Jones' record of becoming a 23-year-old UFC champion is one that stands out. Somewhere down the line, as young athletes get into mixed martial arts at earlier ages, we may see a younger UFC champion.  

But as the sport evolves, even with those younger athletes, the level of competition gets pushed higher and higher. Jones came into the sport as a phenom, and if we see another competitor in MMA the caliber of Jones in our lifetime, we will be very lucky.  

Most Takedowns in a UFC Fight

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Khabib Nurmagomedov (top)

At UFC 160 in May 2013, Khabib Nurmagomedov won a unanimous decision over Abel Trujillo.

During the fight, Nurmagomedov got Trujillo to the mat a record 21 times in 27 attempts. Every time Trujillo got to his feet, Nurmagomedov dragged him right back down.  

FightMetric.com's Michael Carroll tweeted the news on fight night that Nurmagomedov had "smashed" the previous record, which was held by Sean Sherk. Sherk's record was over the course of five rounds, and Nurmagomedov's 21 takedowns occurred in a three-round fight.  

This many takedowns also means that Nurmagomedov let Trujillo get back to his feet as many times, so they weren't very significant on their own. But combined, the 21 times that Nurmagomedov forced another grown man to the ground against his will is an impressive record. Nurmagomedov is one of the best grapplers in the UFC, and his takedown clinic won't be outdone any time soon.  

Fastest Finish in a UFC Championship Fight

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Ronda Rousey grapples with Cat Zingano.

You cannot submit someone at the highest level of mixed martial arts in 14 seconds. The circumstances that led to Rousey making Cat Zingano tap in 12 seconds (14 officially) will never be duplicated.

There isn't a fighter in the UFC better at one submission than Rousey is at finding the armbar. So when Zingano whirlwind sprinted across the cage and tied up with Rousey within two seconds, she hastened the seemingly inevitable end.  

We've seen plenty of fights end sooner than 14 seconds, usually by fluke knockouts. A quick kick to the head, and it's over.

But not in UFC championship fights.

Fighters who make it to the highest level of the sport are skilled enough to avoid getting caught by the literal first strike thrown in the fight.

We will not see another UFC title fight end so quickly, unless someone sprints toward Rousey quicker than Zingano did.

The record says 14, but Zingano tapped in 12. Rousey's fastest finish in a UFC championship fight is a record that will remain intact for a very long time.

Fastest Knockout in MMA

At a Warrior challenge event in March 2014, Mike Garrett and Sam Heron both made their mixed martial arts debuts. The referee asked the men if they were ready; they both nodded "yes" and just like that, the fight was over.  

Garrett immediately connected with a head kick that knocked Heron out cold. The finish came 1.13 seconds into the action, giving Garrett the fastest knockout in mixed martial arts. It doesn't seem fathomable that a fight can end quicker than this one did.  

Garrett's MMA debut was a historic one for him because he will most likely have the knockout record forever.  

Most Professional MMA Fights

At age 37, Travis Fulton has competed in 312 professional mixed martial arts contests. That is just plain frightening.

It goes without saying this is entirely too much fighting.

Fulton is aptly nicknamed “The Ironman.”

The only other person that comes to mind with a comparable amount of fights is Dan “The Beast” Severn, who officially fought 127 times.

There are, of course, plenty of fighters who have competed in unsanctioned fights. Some have had more than 100. But as far as the official record goes, Travis Fulton is the man to beat.

His record as a pro sits at 251-50-10-1 and also gives him the distinction of having the most wins. Let us hope that no one ever attempts to break his record.