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UFC 299: O'Malley vs. Vera 2
Dustin Poirier
Dustin Poirier
29-8 · USA
VS
March 9, 2024 · Miami, Florida, USA
Lightweight · 5 rounds
156.0lb
Weigh-in
155.0lb
Dustin Poirier def. Benoit Saint Denis by KO/TKO (Punch), R2 2:32
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1
Poirier12/130/100:23
Saint Denis38/492/403:20
R2 · 2:32
Poirier16/210/010:08
Saint Denis12/251/301:33
Total
Poirier28/340/110:31
Saint Denis50/743/704:53

Pre-fight

The model's read going in

The walk-forward model's call at the time of the bout — persisted out-of-sample, with no hindsight about the result.

Prediction
PoirierWin probabilitySaint Denis
38.3%61.7%
KO / TKO
56%
Submission
29%
Decision
15%
Expected fight time: 10.1 min
Retrospective pick: the walk-forward model's call at the time of the fight — persisted out-of-sample, with no hindsight about the result.
What drives the pick

Each bar is a feature's push on the model from the center axis. Red pushes toward Poirier, blue toward Saint Denis. Tap a bar for why.

Predicted outcomes
Poirier38%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO21%57%19%
Submission7%17%7%
Decision10%26%10%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes59 (2581)act 28
Takedowns0.4 (0.01.8)act 0
Saint Denis62%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO35%56%19%
Submission22%36%33%
Decision5%8%11%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes48 (2065)act 50
Takedowns0.9 (0.03.1)act 3
Combined totals~108 sig strikes~1.3 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R137%
R230%
R39%
R45%
R54%
Distance15%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 0.9%
Poirier
56.2%-131
Saint Denis
+13143.0%
Most takedownstie 41.8%
Poirier
19.2%+203
Saint Denis
-20339.0%
Significant strikes — over/under
Poirier
Expected: 59.4
59.5
Over 59.5
39.6%
+152
Under 59.5
60.4%
-152
075149
Saint Denis
Expected: 48.2
48
Over 48
39.5%
+151
Exactly 48
1.0%
push
Under 48
59.5%
-151
061121
Takedowns — over/under
Poirier
Expected: 0.4
0.5
Over 0.5
28.1%
+255
Under 0.5
71.9%
-255
035
Saint Denis
Expected: 0.9
1
Over 1
30.1%
+178
Exactly 1
16.4%
push
Under 1
53.5%
-178
035

Odds are model-implied (no real prop market is priced for these). The “most” prices are draw-no-bet — a tie (for takedowns, usually 0–0) is a push, so each side is priced off its chance of winning given a result, while the % shown is the raw chance of landing strictly more. Drag a line in half-point steps: a half line (e.g. 2.5) is a clean over/under, while a whole number adds a third outcome — landing exactly on it, a push — so over, exact and under sum to 100%. On a whole number the over/under odds are draw-no-bet (priced off the decisive mass, since the push refunds), so the two sides stay mirror images rather than implying an arbitrage.

Expected fight time 10.1 min. Predicted-output ranges are percentiles of the model’s simulated fights: sig strikes the middle 50% (25th–75th); takedowns the wider 10th–90th, since they’re 0 in most fights so a narrow band would collapse to 0. Win-by-method = win probability × that fighter’s own method split: the model forecasts how the fight ends, and that forecast is divided between the corners by each fighter’s finishing record — UFC wins in full, earlier-career wins at half weight, as of fight night — reconciled so the fighters’ totals still equal their win probabilities and the methods still total the fight-level forecast above. “Equity” is each of those over that fighter’s win % — how they win given that they win — so a column adds to 100%, and it differs by corner. A fighter with no classifiable wins at any level leans on the fight-level split. “How it ends” is the model’s round-of-finish split. “Mkt” is the de-vigged market prop (consensus across books), shown for context, not as a betting signal; rounds & totals slots fill as that data lands. Percentages are apportioned by largest remainder, so each set adds to its total exactly and an individual figure can sit a point off its own rounding.

Model vs market
Final
ModelMarketGapLine
To win
Poirier38.3%34.5%+3.8+177
Saint Denis61.7%65.5%−3.8-216
By method
Poirier by KO/TKO21.4%19.1%+2.3+339
Poirier by submission11.0%7.0%+4.0+1088
Poirier by decision5.8%10.2%−4.4+716
Saint Denis by KO/TKO34.6%19.4%+15.2+331
Saint Denis by submission17.8%32.8%−15.0+155
Saint Denis by decision9.4%11.4%−2.0+633
Total rounds (over)
Over 1.5 rds63.6%65.4%−1.8-234
Over 2.5 rds33.2%47.9%−14.7-105
Over 3.5 rds24.1%35.7%−11.6+161
Over 4.5 rds18.9%26.0%−7.1+258
Goes the distance
Fight goes to decision15.2%22.9%−7.7+309

Market % is the de-vigged (no-vig) consensus across the books that price both fighters; the line is the average across books with the min–max range in parentheses. Gap is the model minus the market in points (+ = the model rates that outcome above the market). Thin or one-sided markets are flagged or left blank rather than shown as a fabricated %. Shown for context, not as a bet — the closing line is the sharpest public price and the model trails it on average. For 5-round bouts the model splits its round-3+ finish mass into rounds 3–5 by the historical within-bucket rate, so the over-3.5 / 4.5 lines carry a model estimate.

Trait web
70.2Striking63.8
Poirier +6.5
54.0Grappling75.2
Saint Denis +21.2
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
PoirierSaint Denis
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1696
Pound-for-pound
1595
1648
Divisional
1607
1578
Striking offense
1527
1477
Striking defense
1488
1522
Grappling offense
1525
1515
Grappling defense
1491
Physical
35 yrs
Age
28 yrs
5'9"
Height
5'11"
72"
Reach
73"
Southpaw
Stance
Southpaw
Striking (UFC career)
5.63
Strikes landed / min
5.53
51%
Strike accuracy
53%
4.41
Strikes absorbed / min
5.20
54%
Strike defense
45%
Grappling (UFC career)
1.43
Takedowns / 15 min
4.55
37%
Takedown accuracy
36%
62%
Takedown defense
67%
1.0
Sub attempts / 15 min
1.4
Form & résumé
72%
UFC win rate
83%
-1
Win/loss streak
+5
60%
Last-5 win rate
100%
67%
Finish rate
100%
Recent opp. quality
224
Days since last fight
119
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Dustin Poirier
  • LJustin GaethjeKO/TKO R2
    Close -1457mo before
  • WMichael ChandlerSUB R3
    Close -2201y 4mo before
  • LCharles OliveiraSUB R3
    Close -1372y 3mo before
  • WConor McGregorKO/TKO R1
    Close -1282y 8mo before
  • WConor McGregorKO/TKO R2
    Close +2503y 1mo before
Benoit Saint Denis
  • WMatt FrevolaKO/TKO R1
    Close -2384mo before
  • WThiago MoisesKO/TKO R2
    Close -1956mo before
  • WIsmael BonfimSUB R1
    Close +2258mo before
  • WGabriel MirandaKO/TKO R2
    Close -3071y 6mo before
  • WNiklas StolzeSUB R2
    Close -1651y 9mo before
Poirier — win / loss by method
Record: 29-8-0, 1 NC

Bar length is fight count (largest bar = full width); shading splits finishes by round and decisions by unanimous vs split — tap a bar for the round-by-round count.

KO/TKO
15 wins, 3 losses
W
52% of wins
L
38% of losses
Submission
7 wins, 3 losses
W
24% of wins
L
38% of losses
Decision
7 wins, 2 losses
W
24% of wins
L
25% of losses
UFC
21win7loss0draw1NC
WinsLosses
10 (48%)KO/TKO(43%) 3
4 (19%)Submission(43%) 3
7 (33%)Decision(14%) 1
Non-UFC
8win1loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
5 (63%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
3 (38%)Submission(0%) 0
0 (0%)Decision(100%) 1
Saint Denis — win / loss by method
Record: 13-1-0, 1 NC

Bar length is fight count (largest bar = full width); shading splits finishes by round and decisions by unanimous vs split — tap a bar for the round-by-round count.

KO/TKO
4 wins, 0 losses
W
31% of wins
L
0% of losses
Submission
9 wins, 0 losses
W
69% of wins
L
0% of losses
Decision
0 wins, 1 loss
W
0% of wins
L
100% of losses
UFC
5win1loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
3 (60%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
2 (40%)Submission(0%) 0
0 (0%)Decision(100%) 1
Non-UFC
8win0loss0draw1NC
WinsLosses
1 (13%)KO/TKO() 0
7 (88%)Submission() 0
0 (0%)Decision() 0

Profiles

Experience
Poirier
Saint Denis
29
UFC fights
6
293.0 min · 10.1 avg
Octagon time
42.9 min · 7.1 avg
17y 2m
Career length
7y 5m
UFC schedule strength

Opponents' records on fight night — toggle their full cross-promotional record vs UFC bouts only.

Poirier
Saint Denis
497W–114L · 81.3%
Overall
97W–29L · 77.0%
354W–82L · 81.2%
Wins
75W–22L · 77.3%
143W–32L · 81.7%
Losses
22W–7L · 75.9%
Non-UFC schedule strength
Poirier
Saint Denis
40W–12L · 76.9%
Overall
86W–45L · 65.6%
32W–9L · 78.0%
Wins
86W–45L · 65.6%
8W–3L · 72.7%
Losses
0W–0L
Distance striking
Poirier
Saint Denis
8.05
Landed / min
8.34
47.3%
Accuracy
50.0%
58.2%
Defense
49.3%
0.67
Knockdowns / 15 min
1.40
52.5%
Time at distance
41.7%
Grappling & control
Poirier
Saint Denis
1.43
Takedowns / 15 min
4.55
36.8%
Takedown accuracy
36.1%
62.3%
Takedown defense
66.7%
1.02
Sub attempts / 15 min
1.40
56.1%
Control share
86.1%
Strike target map
Poirier
  • Head80%(1,319)div 63%
  • Body9%(155)div 21%
  • Legs11%(176)div 16%
Saint Denis
  • Head57%(134)div 63%
  • Body28%(67)div 21%
  • Legs15%(36)div 16%

Where each fighter lands significant strikes (career). “div” = the weight-class average.

Dustin Poirier
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

Per-fight: SS & TD shown landed/attempted; Close = consensus closing line.

Benoit Saint Denis
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

Per-fight: SS & TD shown landed/attempted; Close = consensus closing line.