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UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2
Magomed Ankalaev
Magomed Ankalaev
18-1-1 · RUS
VS
Johnny Walker
Johnny Walker
21-7 · BRA
January 13, 2024 · Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Light Heavyweight · 5 rounds · Main event
204.5lb
Weigh-in
205.5lb
Magomed Ankalaev def. Johnny Walker by KO/TKO (Punch), R2 2:42
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1
Ankalaev17/330/000:02
Walker15/500/000:00
R2 · 2:42
Ankalaev22/250/010:03
Walker9/210/000:00
Total
Ankalaev39/580/010:05
Walker24/710/000:00

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
AnkalaevWin probabilityWalker
56.7%43.3%
KO / TKO
59%
Submission
12%
Decision
29%
Expected fight time: 14.0 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 Ankalaev, blue toward Walker. Tap a bar for why.

Predicted outcomes
Ankalaev57%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO31%55%57%
Submission4%6%9%
Decision22%39%14%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes51 (2169)act 39
Takedowns0.8 (0.03.0)act 0
Walker43%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO28%64%11%
Submission8%19%4%
Decision7%17%5%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes43 (1859)act 24
Takedowns0.3 (0.01.1)act 0
Combined totals~94 sig strikes~1.1 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R125%
R219%
R313%
R48%
R55%
Distance30%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 1.0%
Ankalaev
54.3%-122
Walker
+12244.6%
Most takedownstie 51.8%
Ankalaev
35.1%-268
Walker
+26813.1%
Significant strikes — over/under
Ankalaev
Expected: 50.6
50.5
Over 50.5
39.8%
+151
Under 50.5
60.2%
-151
064127
Walker
Expected: 43.4
43.5
Over 43.5
39.6%
+152
Under 43.5
60.4%
-152
055109
Takedowns — over/under
Ankalaev
Expected: 0.8
1
Over 1
26.2%
+234
Exactly 1
12.7%
push
Under 1
61.1%
-234
035
Walker
Expected: 0.3
0.5
Over 0.5
17.9%
+458
Under 0.5
82.1%
-458
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 14.0 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
Ankalaev56.7%80.8%−24.1-548
Walker43.3%19.2%+24.1+399
By method
Ankalaev by KO/TKO33.4%56.7%−23.3-211
Ankalaev by submission6.6%8.5%−1.9+880
Ankalaev by decision16.7%14.3%+2.4+487
Walker by KO/TKO25.5%10.8%+14.7+673
Walker by submission5.1%4.3%+0.8+1863
Walker by decision12.7%5.4%+7.3+1448
Total rounds (over)
Over 1.5 rds74.7%58.5%+16.2-167
Over 2.5 rds55.4%40.5%+14.9+130
Over 3.5 rds42.4%30.1%+12.3+210
Over 4.5 rds34.7%22.6%+12.1+313
Goes the distance
Fight goes to decision29.4%21.3%+8.1+340

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
74.0Striking70.0
Ankalaev +4.1
43.6Grappling48.3
Walker +4.8
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
AnkalaevWalker
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1652
Pound-for-pound
1583
1648
Divisional
1579
1526
Striking offense
1519
1524
Striking defense
1512
Grappling offense
Grappling defense
Physical
31 yrs
Age
31 yrs
6'3"
Height
6'6"
75"
Reach
82"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
Striking (UFC career)
3.56
Strikes landed / min
3.57
53%
Strike accuracy
53%
2.20
Strikes absorbed / min
2.46
59%
Strike defense
50%
Grappling (UFC career)
1.07
Takedowns / 15 min
0.40
31%
Takedown accuracy
100%
86%
Takedown defense
50%
0.0
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.6
Form & résumé
82%
UFC win rate
58%
-1
Win/loss streak
-1
60%
Last-5 win rate
60%
56%
Finish rate
86%
Recent opp. quality
84
Days since last fight
84
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Magomed Ankalaev
  • DJan BlachowiczS-DEC R5
    !Close -3501y 1mo before
  • WAnthony SmithKO/TKO R2
    Close -6041y 5mo before
  • WThiago SantosU-DEC R5
    Close -6621y 10mo before
  • WVolkan OezdemirU-DEC R3
    Close -3392y 2mo before
  • WNikita KrylovU-DEC R3
    Close -3212y 10mo before
Johnny Walker
  • WAnthony SmithU-DEC R3
    Close -1218mo before
  • WPaul CraigKO/TKO R1
    Close -1911y before
  • WIon CutelabaSUB R1
    Close +1621y 4mo before
  • LJamahal HillKO/TKO R1
    Close +2001y 11mo before
  • LThiago SantosU-DEC R5
    Close +1302y 3mo before
Ankalaev — win / loss by method
Record: 18-1-1, 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
10 wins, 0 losses
W
56% of wins
L
0% of losses
Submission
0 wins, 1 loss
W
0% of wins
L
100% of losses
Decision
8 wins, 0 losses
W
44% of wins
L
0% of losses
UFC
9win1loss1draw1NC
WinsLosses
5 (56%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
0 (0%)Submission(100%) 1
4 (44%)Decision(0%) 0
Non-UFC
9win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
5 (56%)KO/TKO() 0
0 (0%)Submission() 0
4 (44%)Decision() 0
Walker — win / loss by method
Record: 21-7-0, 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
16 wins, 4 losses
W
76% of wins
L
57% of losses
Submission
3 wins, 1 loss
W
14% of wins
L
14% of losses
Decision
2 wins, 2 losses
W
10% of wins
L
29% of losses
UFC
7win4loss0draw1NC
WinsLosses
5 (71%)KO/TKO(50%) 2
1 (14%)Submission(0%) 0
1 (14%)Decision(50%) 2
Non-UFC
14win3loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
11 (79%)KO/TKO(67%) 2
2 (14%)Submission(33%) 1
1 (7%)Decision(0%) 0

Profiles

Experience
Ankalaev
Walker
12
UFC fights
12
139.9 min · 11.7 avg
Octagon time
75.7 min · 6.3 avg
12y 6m
Career length
12y 7m
UFC schedule strength

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

Ankalaev
Walker
178W–54L · 76.7%
Overall
184W–62L · 74.8%
169W–52L · 76.5%
Wins
116W–41L · 73.9%
9W–2L · 81.8%
Losses
68W–21L · 76.4%
Non-UFC schedule strength
Ankalaev
Walker
104W–40L · 72.2%
Overall
106W–42L · 71.6%
104W–40L · 72.2%
Wins
86W–39L · 68.8%
0W–0L
Losses
20W–3L · 87.0%
Distance striking
Ankalaev
Walker
3.84
Landed / min
3.89
45.5%
Accuracy
46.1%
60.7%
Defense
58.8%
0.64
Knockdowns / 15 min
0.79
60.1%
Time at distance
62.9%
Grappling & control
Ankalaev
Walker
1.07
Takedowns / 15 min
0.40
31.3%
Takedown accuracy
100.0%
86.4%
Takedown defense
50.0%
0.00
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.59
89.1%
Control share
27.2%
Strike target map
Ankalaev
  • Head64%(319)div 64%
  • Body26%(128)div 19%
  • Legs10%(51)div 17%
Walker
  • Head50%(136)div 64%
  • Body10%(27)div 19%
  • Legs40%(107)div 17%

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

Magomed Ankalaev
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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

Johnny Walker
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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