Myktybek Orolbai almost surpassed a major record set by ‘The Eagle’ with his performance on Saturday night.
The highly touted welterweight prospect continued his charge at UFC Vegas 114, where he got the better of former ranked middleweight Chris Curtis.
Orolbai displayed his grappling dominance en route to a unanimous decision victory at the Apex, a strategy that left the defeated ‘Action Man’ less than pleased.
That won’t bother the Kyrgyz fighter, who added his name to the history books.
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Myktybek Orolbai almost broke Khabib Nurmagomedov’s UFC takedown record
Orolbai delivered one of the most impressive performances on the undercard of Kevin Vallejos’ knockout of Josh Emmett on March 14.
All three scorecards read 30-27 in favor of the 28-year-old, and the one-sided nature of the fight was courtesy of Curtis’ inability to defend against takedowns.
Orolbai landed 19 across the 15-minute bout, setting a new UFC welterweight record.
While he broke the divisional record, the 16-2-1 star was also close to climbing above both Merab Dvalishvili and Khabib Nurmagomedov in the overall pecking order.
Dvalishvili’s win over Cory Sandhagen last October included 20 successful takedowns for the then-bantamweight champion, putting him just one behind the promotional record.
Nurmagomedov has held that accolade for 13 years, having taken Abel Trujillo down 21 times in their three-round contest at UFC 160 in 2013.
UFC fighterNo. of takedowns in a single fightOpponent & eventKhabib Nurmagomedov21Abel Trujillo at UFC 160Merab Dvalishvili20Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320Myktybek Orolbai19Chris Curtis at UFC Vegas 114Sean Sherk16Hermes Franca at UFC 73Raul Rosas Jr.16Rob Font at UFC 326
Orolbai ultimately ran out of time to surpass the legendary Dagestani, but he does now sit alongside ‘The Eagle’ and ‘The Machine’ on the UFC’s podium for most takedowns in a single fight.
The result at UFC Vegas 114 marked Orolbai’s second victory since going back to the welterweight division.
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Myktybek Orolbai prepares to strike Chris Curtis from his back at UFC Vegas 114. Credit: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
He is now 5-1 in the UFC, with his sole defeat coming in a 160-pound catchweight contest against…
2026-03-15 18:00:00
