Salt Lake City’s Best UFC Moments

Salt Lake City’s UFC story is short in number of visits but rich in standout finishes. The city first hosted the promotion in 2016, when featherweights Yair Rodriguez and Alex Caceres met in the main event. Their creative striking battle received Fight of the Night honors, and Rodriguez took the split decision. The UFC then spent six years away from Utah’s capital before returning in 2022. Three events have been held there since that return, with every main event ending in spectacular fashion. Those nights have produced a championship-changing kick, another high-kick knockout, a flying-knee finish and a title-defense record.

The 2016 Rodriguez-Caceres contest offers an important starting point for the city’s history. It was a competitive main event decided on the scorecards, while the events that followed gave Salt Lake City a run of major stoppages. The shift is striking: a Fight of the Night featherweight contest came first, then later cards delivered finishes with consequences for titles, records and fighter reputations. Jon Anik summed up the astonishment around one of the defining scenes with his call: “No way! And new!” As Natalia Silva and Wang Cong await their opportunity to add another moment with flyweight gold at stake, Salt Lake City already has a distinctive collection of UFC memories.

High kicks shape Salt Lake City history

Leon Edwards supplied the moment most closely tied to Salt Lake City’s UFC identity. Facing dominant welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, Edwards was behind on all scorecards. He had also been urged to “pull something out of the fire” before uncorking a picture-perfect high kick. The strike stopped Usman, ended the champion’s 15-fight winning streak and made Edwards the second England-born champion in UFC history. Edwards marked the title win with a memorable statement: “They all doubted me, said I couldn’t do it. They all said I couldn’t do it. Look at me now. Pound-for-pound, headshot, dead!” The finish placed a title change at the center of Salt Lake City’s highlights and gave Anik’s “No way! And new!” reaction its lasting context.

A later lightweight meeting reinforced the city’s association with high kicks. Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier had already produced an epic fight in 2018, then met again with the symbolic BMF title on the line. Both men were also pursuing a shot at lightweight gold. Their opening round recalled the character of their first contest, but the rematch changed a minute into the second frame. Gaethje, known as “The Highlight,” launched a high kick that knocked out Poirier, “The Diamond,” and caught him by surprise. The finish closely resembled Edwards’ knockout from the previous year. Roman Kopylov had scored a head-kick knockout earlier on the same night, adding to the label “Head Kick City.” Gaethje, often called “your favorite fighter’s favorite fighter,” also added “baddest motherf***er” to his collection of monikers.

Flying knees and title defenses add range

Salt Lake City’s signature UFC nights have not depended on high kicks alone. Derrick Lewis arrived with four losses in his previous five fights and little time to waste against Marcos Rogerio de Lima. “The Black Beast” burst forward with a flying knee, then followed with ground-and-pound strikes. The sequence gave Lewis the quickest knockout of his career. Alex Pereira brought a different kind of accomplishment to UFC 307. He had won the light heavyweight title in November 2023 and then headlined title defenses at UFC 300 and UFC 303, knocking out Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka. When Salt Lake City’s numbered event required a headliner, Pereira accepted the assignment for the third time in less than six months. His opponent, Khalil Rountree Jr., created difficulties early and stunned Pereira in the second round. As the fight moved into the championship rounds, Pereira began to solve the matchup. He entered round four with his range and timing in place, bludgeoned Rountree Jr. and earned a TKO. That victory established the record for the shortest span between three title defenses: 175 days. Salt Lake City’s notable UFC moments can be read through the different forms those finishes took: • Edwards changed the welterweight championship picture with a high kick against Usman. • Gaethje knocked out Poirier with a high kick while the symbolic BMF title was available. • Lewis recorded the fastest knockout of his career after opening on de Lima with a flying knee. • Pereira’s fourth-round TKO of Rountree Jr. completed three title defenses in a record 175 days.

• Edwards, Gaethje, Lewis and Pereira are compared by the distinct finishing moments that shaped Salt Lake City’s UFC history.
• The list identifies the title change, symbolic BMF title fight, fastest Lewis knockout and Pereira’s 175-day title-defense record.

The city’s UFC timeline began with Rodriguez edging Caceres in a Fight of the Night split decision, followed by a six-year break. Its later events have taken a far more finish-focused path, from Edwards’ title-winning kick to Gaethje and Kopylov helping create the “Head Kick City” reputation. Lewis added his fastest career knockout, while Pereira’s UFC 307 win paired a fourth-round TKO with a title-defense timing record. Together, the results show why Salt Lake City has produced memorable UFC moments despite its limited event history.