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UFC 296: Edwards vs. Covington
VS
Brandon Royval
Brandon Royval
15-6 · USA
December 16, 2023 · Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Flyweight · 5 rounds
125.0lb
Weigh-in
124.5lb
Alexandre Pantoja def. Brandon Royval by U-DEC, R5 5:00
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1
Pantoja27/401/202:50
Royval13/300/000:01
R2
Pantoja10/152/303:44
Royval12/160/000:00
R3
Pantoja17/262/502:13
Royval24/460/100:06
R4
Pantoja0/11/204:21
Royval7/140/000:31
R5
Pantoja41/742/202:43
Royval55/980/000:09
Total
Pantoja95/1568/14015:51
Royval111/2040/100:47

Scorecards

Pantoja vs Royval

RdEric ColónJunichiro KamijoRon McCarthyCommunity
R110-910-910-910-9
R210-910-910-910-9
R310-910-910-99.7-9.3
R410-910-910-99.9-9.1
R59-1010-910-99.4-9.6
Total49-4650-4550-4549-46

Media (22 cards) · avg 4945.9 · 22 Pantoja · 0 Royval

Official cards + public consensus via MMA Decisions. Per round: Pantoja-Royval.

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
PantojaWin probabilityRoyval
62.6%37.4%
KO / TKO
45%
Submission
29%
Decision
26%
Expected fight time: 13.2 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 Pantoja, blue toward Royval. Tap a bar for why.

Predicted outcomes
Pantoja63%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO28%44%
Submission16%26%
Decision19%30%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes62 (2685)act 95
Takedowns1.9 (0.05.2)act 8
Royval37%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO17%46%
Submission13%34%
Decision7%20%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes56 (2376)act 111
Takedowns0.4 (0.01.9)act 0
Combined totals~118 sig strikes~2.3 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R129%
R219%
R313%
R48%
R55%
Distance26%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 0.8%
Pantoja
53.1%-115
Royval
+11546.1%
Most takedownstie 26.4%
Pantoja
60.0%-442
Royval
+44213.6%
Significant strikes — over/under
Pantoja
Expected: 62.4
62.5
Over 62.5
39.7%
+152
Under 62.5
60.3%
-152
078156
Royval
Expected: 55.7
55.5
Over 55.5
39.9%
+150
Under 55.5
60.1%
-150
070140
Takedowns — over/under
Pantoja
Expected: 1.9
2
Over 2
36.2%
+135
Exactly 2
15.1%
push
Under 2
48.7%
-135
036
Royval
Expected: 0.4
0.5
Over 0.5
27.2%
+268
Under 0.5
72.8%
-268
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 13.2 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
Pantoja62.6%63.0%−0.4-190
Royval37.4%37.0%+0.4+160

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
66.0Striking62.5
Pantoja +3.4
60.5Grappling64.2
Royval +3.7
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
PantojaRoyval
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1640
Pound-for-pound
1571
1639
Divisional
1570
1522
Striking offense
1523
1501
Striking defense
1489
1529
Grappling offense
1509
1523
Grappling defense
1488
Physical
33 yrs
Age
31 yrs
5'5"
Height
5'9"
67"
Reach
68"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
Striking (UFC career)
4.41
Strikes landed / min
3.45
48%
Strike accuracy
38%
3.81
Strikes absorbed / min
2.63
52%
Strike defense
50%
Grappling (UFC career)
1.75
Takedowns / 15 min
0.66
45%
Takedown accuracy
100%
67%
Takedown defense
39%
1.0
Sub attempts / 15 min
2.3
Form & résumé
77%
UFC win rate
71%
+4
Win/loss streak
+3
80%
Last-5 win rate
60%
60%
Finish rate
80%
Recent opp. quality
161
Days since last fight
245
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Alexandre Pantoja
  • WBrandon MorenoS-DEC R5
    Close +1655mo before
  • WAlex PerezSUB R1
    Close -2001y 5mo before
  • WBrandon RoyvalSUB R2
    Close -1692y 4mo before
  • WManel KapeU-DEC R3
    Close -1102y 10mo before
  • LAskar AskarovU-DEC R3
    Close -2103y 5mo before
Brandon Royval
  • WMatheus NicolauKO/TKO R1
    Close +1648mo before
  • WMatt SchnellSUB R1
    Close -2601y 7mo before
  • WRogerio BontorinS-DEC R3
    Close -1681y 11mo before
  • LAlexandre PantojaSUB R2
    Close +1412y 4mo before
  • LBrandon MorenoKO/TKO R1
    Close +1503y 1mo before
Pantoja — win / loss by method
Record: 26-5-0

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
8 wins, 0 losses
W
31% of wins
L
0% of losses
Submission
10 wins, 0 losses
W
38% of wins
L
0% of losses
Decision
8 wins, 5 losses
W
31% of wins
L
100% of losses
UFC
10win3loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
2 (20%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
4 (40%)Submission(0%) 0
4 (40%)Decision(100%) 3
Non-UFC
16win2loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
6 (38%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
6 (38%)Submission(0%) 0
4 (25%)Decision(100%) 2
Royval — win / loss by method
Record: 15-6-0

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
4 wins, 1 loss
W
27% of wins
L
17% of losses
Submission
9 wins, 1 loss
W
60% of wins
L
17% of losses
Decision
2 wins, 4 losses
W
13% of wins
L
67% of losses
UFC
5win2loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
1 (20%)KO/TKO(50%) 1
3 (60%)Submission(50%) 1
1 (20%)Decision(0%) 0
Non-UFC
10win4loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
3 (30%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
6 (60%)Submission(0%) 0
1 (10%)Decision(100%) 4

Profiles

Experience
Pantoja
Royval
13
UFC fights
7
145.3 min · 11.2 avg
Octagon time
45.2 min · 6.5 avg
19y 0m
Career length
13y 11m
UFC schedule strength

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

Pantoja
Royval
214W–65L · 76.7%
Overall
126W–38L · 76.8%
170W–57L · 74.9%
Wins
86W–28L · 75.4%
44W–8L · 84.6%
Losses
40W–10L · 80.0%
Non-UFC schedule strength
Pantoja
Royval
95W–31L · 75.4%
Overall
96W–46L · 67.6%
79W–26L · 75.2%
Wins
71W–41L · 63.4%
16W–5L · 76.2%
Losses
25W–5L · 83.3%
Distance striking
Pantoja
Royval
6.25
Landed / min
6.48
44.4%
Accuracy
34.7%
53.8%
Defense
50.5%
0.41
Knockdowns / 15 min
0.99
57.1%
Time at distance
41.6%
Grappling & control
Pantoja
Royval
1.75
Takedowns / 15 min
0.66
44.7%
Takedown accuracy
100.0%
66.7%
Takedown defense
39.3%
1.03
Sub attempts / 15 min
2.32
61.7%
Control share
22.4%
Strike target map
Pantoja
  • Head66%(426)div 62%
  • Body20%(131)div 22%
  • Legs13%(84)div 16%
Royval
  • Head63%(98)div 62%
  • Body23%(36)div 22%
  • Legs14%(22)div 16%

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

Alexandre Pantoja
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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

Brandon Royval
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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