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UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria
Robert Whittaker
Robert Whittaker
24-7 · AUS
VS
Paulo Costa
Paulo Costa
14-2 · BRA
February 17, 2024 · Anaheim, California, USA
Middleweight · 3 rounds
185.5lb
Weigh-in
185.5lb
Robert Whittaker def. Paulo Costa by U-DEC, R3 5:00
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1
Whittaker38/620/000:00
Costa27/490/000:00
R2
Whittaker32/550/000:00
Costa26/540/000:00
R3
Whittaker25/580/100:00
Costa14/480/000:00
Total
Whittaker95/1750/100:00
Costa67/1510/000:00

Scorecards

Whittaker vs Costa

RdEliot KellyMichael BellRon McCarthyCommunity
R19-1010-99-109.3-9.7
R210-910-910-99.9-9.1
R310-910-910-99.9-9.1
Total29-2830-2729-2829.1-27.9

Media (29 cards) · avg 2928 · 29 Whittaker · 0 Costa

Official cards + public consensus via MMA Decisions. Per round: Whittaker-Costa.

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
WhittakerWin probabilityCosta
65.3%34.7%
KO / TKO
51%
Submission
17%
Decision
32%
Expected fight time: 8.6 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 Whittaker, blue toward Costa. Tap a bar for why.

Predicted outcomes
Whittaker65%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO28%43%20%
Submission12%19%6%
Decision25%38%38%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes53 (2272)act 95
Takedowns0.3 (0.01.6)act 0
Costa35%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO23%66%19%
Submission5%14%4%
Decision7%20%12%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes41 (1756)act 67
Takedowns0.3 (0.01.3)act 0
Combined totals~94 sig strikes~0.6 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R133%
R227%
R38%
Distance32%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 1.0%
Whittaker
57.3%-137
Costa
+13741.7%
Most takedownstie 55.9%
Whittaker
24.9%-129
Costa
+12919.3%
Significant strikes — over/under
Whittaker
Expected: 52.7
52.5
Over 52.5
39.9%
+150
Under 52.5
60.1%
-150
066132
Costa
Expected: 41.3
41.5
Over 41.5
39.5%
+153
Under 41.5
60.5%
-153
052104
Takedowns — over/under
Whittaker
Expected: 0.3
0.5
Over 0.5
29.5%
+238
Under 0.5
70.5%
-238
035
Costa
Expected: 0.3
0.5
Over 0.5
24.2%
+314
Under 0.5
75.8%
-314
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 8.6 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
Whittaker65.3%65.5%−0.2-219
Costa34.7%34.5%+0.2+177
By method
Whittaker by KO/TKO33.2%20.0%+13.2+322
Whittaker by submission11.2%6.4%+4.8+1212
Whittaker by decision21.0%37.9%−16.9+123
Costa by KO/TKO17.6%19.0%−1.4+345
Costa by submission5.9%4.5%+1.4+1790
Costa by decision11.1%12.2%−1.1+594
Total rounds (over)
Over 1.5 rds66.8%66.3%+0.5-250
Over 2.5 rds40.1%55.1%−15.0-142
Goes the distance
Fight goes to decision32.1%51.7%−19.6-124

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
68.8Striking68.2
Whittaker +0.6
45.0Grappling49.6
Costa +4.6
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
WhittakerCosta
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1665
Pound-for-pound
1595
1654
Divisional
1607
1534
Striking offense
1530
1512
Striking defense
1484
Grappling offense
Grappling defense
Physical
33 yrs
Age
32 yrs
6'0"
Height
6'1"
73"
Reach
72"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
Striking (UFC career)
4.47
Strikes landed / min
6.50
42%
Strike accuracy
60%
3.39
Strikes absorbed / min
6.38
60%
Strike defense
47%
Grappling (UFC career)
0.85
Takedowns / 15 min
0.53
39%
Takedown accuracy
75%
83%
Takedown defense
79%
0.0
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.0
Form & résumé
75%
UFC win rate
75%
-1
Win/loss streak
+1
60%
Last-5 win rate
60%
33%
Finish rate
67%
Recent opp. quality
224
Days since last fight
546
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Robert Whittaker
  • LDricus Du PlessisKO/TKO R2
    Close -3507mo before
  • WMarvin VettoriU-DEC R3
    Close -2191y 5mo before
  • LIsrael AdesanyaU-DEC R5
    Close +2362y before
  • WKelvin GastelumU-DEC R5
    Close -2642y 10mo before
  • WJared CannonierU-DEC R3
    Close -1103y 4mo before
Paulo Costa
  • WLuke RockholdU-DEC R3
    Close -3601y 6mo before
  • LMarvin VettoriU-DEC R5
    Close +1612y 4mo before
  • LIsrael AdesanyaKO/TKO R2
    Close +1513y 5mo before
  • WYoel RomeroU-DEC R3
    Close +1454y 6mo before
  • WUriah HallKO/TKO R2
    Close -2905y 7mo before
Whittaker — win / loss by method
Record: 24-7-0

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
9 wins, 3 losses
W
38% of wins
L
43% of losses
Submission
5 wins, 1 loss
W
21% of wins
L
14% of losses
Decision
10 wins, 3 losses
W
42% of wins
L
43% of losses
UFC
15win5loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
5 (33%)KO/TKO(60%) 3
0 (0%)Submission(0%) 0
10 (67%)Decision(40%) 2
Non-UFC
9win2loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
4 (44%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
5 (56%)Submission(50%) 1
0 (0%)Decision(50%) 1
Costa — win / loss by method
Record: 14-2-0

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
11 wins, 1 loss
W
79% of wins
L
50% of losses
Submission
1 win, 0 losses
W
7% of wins
L
0% of losses
Decision
2 wins, 1 loss
W
14% of wins
L
50% of losses
UFC
6win2loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
4 (67%)KO/TKO(50%) 1
0 (0%)Submission(0%) 0
2 (33%)Decision(50%) 1
Non-UFC
8win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
7 (88%)KO/TKO() 0
1 (13%)Submission() 0
0 (0%)Decision() 0

Profiles

Experience
Whittaker
Costa
20
UFC fights
8
281.4 min · 14.1 avg
Octagon time
85.4 min · 10.7 avg
17y 4m
Career length
14y 5m
UFC schedule strength

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

Whittaker
Costa
285W–55L · 83.8%
Overall
115W–35L · 76.7%
205W–48L · 81.0%
Wins
79W–30L · 72.5%
80W–7L · 92.0%
Losses
36W–5L · 87.8%
Non-UFC schedule strength
Whittaker
Costa
64W–29L · 68.8%
Overall
37W–14L · 72.5%
39W–13L · 75.0%
Wins
37W–14L · 72.5%
25W–16L · 61.0%
Losses
0W–0L
Distance striking
Whittaker
Costa
4.87
Landed / min
6.91
40.1%
Accuracy
58.4%
63.5%
Defense
49.4%
0.53
Knockdowns / 15 min
0.70
78.6%
Time at distance
79.9%
Grappling & control
Whittaker
Costa
0.85
Takedowns / 15 min
0.53
39.0%
Takedown accuracy
75.0%
82.9%
Takedown defense
79.2%
0.00
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.00
54.4%
Control share
53.3%
Strike target map
Whittaker
  • Head70%(878)div 63%
  • Body12%(145)div 20%
  • Legs19%(235)div 17%
Costa
  • Head53%(294)div 63%
  • Body41%(230)div 20%
  • Legs6%(31)div 17%

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

Robert Whittaker
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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

Paulo Costa
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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