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UFC 292: Sterling vs. O'Malley
Sean O'Malley
Sean O'Malley
16-1 · USA
VS
August 19, 2023 · Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Bantamweight · 5 rounds · Main event
Sean O'Malley def. Aljamain Sterling by KO/TKO (Punches), R2 0:51
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1
O'Malley8/140/000:00
Sterling13/260/100:21
R2 · 0:51
O'Malley17/210/010:18
Sterling4/90/100:13
Total
O'Malley25/350/010:18
Sterling17/350/200:34

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
O'MalleyWin probabilitySterling
34.2%65.8%
KO / TKO
36%
Submission
24%
Decision
41%
Expected fight time: 16.3 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 O'Malley, blue toward Sterling. Tap a bar for why.

Predicted outcomes
O'Malley34%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO20%59%
Submission4%11%
Decision10%30%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes69 (2994)act 25
Takedowns0.2 (0.00.8)act 0
Sterling66%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO16%24%
Submission20%30%
Decision30%46%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes67 (2891)act 17
Takedowns1.4 (0.04.3)act 0
Combined totals~136 sig strikes~1.6 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R119%
R213%
R314%
R48%
R55%
Distance41%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 0.7%
O'Malley
50.6%-104
Sterling
+10448.7%
Most takedownstie 32.7%
O'Malley
8.1%+731
Sterling
-73159.2%
Significant strikes — over/under
O'Malley
Expected: 69.4
69.5
Over 69.5
39.7%
+152
Under 69.5
60.3%
-152
087174
Sterling
Expected: 66.8
67
Over 67
39.2%
+153
Exactly 67
0.7%
push
Under 67
60.0%
-153
084167
Takedowns — over/under
O'Malley
Expected: 0.2
0
Over 0
15.8%
Exactly 0
84.3%
push
Under 0
0.0%
035
Sterling
Expected: 1.4
1.5
Over 1.5
44.5%
+125
Under 1.5
55.5%
-125
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 16.3 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
O'Malley34.2%30.9%+3.3+210
Sterling65.8%69.1%−3.3-258

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
84.8Striking78.1
O'Malley +6.8
43.8Grappling43.8
Sterling +0.0
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
O'MalleySterling
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1629
Pound-for-pound
1713
1630
Divisional
1696
1536
Striking offense
1519
1520
Striking defense
1532
1487
Grappling offense
1525
1515
Grappling defense
1512
Physical
28 yrs
Age
34 yrs
5'11"
Height
5'7"
72"
Reach
71"
Switch
Stance
Orthodox
Striking (UFC career)
7.47
Strikes landed / min
4.78
61%
Strike accuracy
52%
3.43
Strikes absorbed / min
2.37
63%
Strike defense
59%
Grappling (UFC career)
0.47
Takedowns / 15 min
2.02
43%
Takedown accuracy
25%
58%
Takedown defense
45%
0.5
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.8
Form & résumé
80%
UFC win rate
83%
+1
Win/loss streak
+9
80%
Last-5 win rate
100%
63%
Finish rate
40%
Recent opp. quality
301
Days since last fight
105
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Sean O'Malley
  • WPetr YanS-DEC R3
    Close +22110mo before
  • WRaulian PaivaKO/TKO R1
    Close -3201y 8mo before
  • WKris MoutinhoKO/TKO R3
    Close -10062y 1mo before
  • WThomas AlmeidaKO/TKO R3
    Close -3602y 5mo before
  • LMarlon VeraKO/TKO R1
    Close -3053y before
Aljamain Sterling
  • WHenry CejudoS-DEC R5
    Close -1013mo before
  • WTJ DillashawKO/TKO R2
    Close -17710mo before
  • WPetr YanS-DEC R5
    Close +3231y 4mo before
  • WPetr YanDQ R4
    Close +1082y 5mo before
  • WCory SandhagenSUB R1
    Close -1153y 2mo before
O'Malley — win / loss by method
Record: 16-1-0, 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
11 wins, 1 loss
W
69% of wins
L
100% of losses
Submission
1 win, 0 losses
W
6% of wins
L
0% of losses
Decision
4 wins, 0 losses
W
25% of wins
L
0% of losses
UFC
8win1loss0draw1NC
WinsLosses
5 (63%)KO/TKO(100%) 1
0 (0%)Submission(0%) 0
3 (38%)Decision(0%) 0
Non-UFC
8win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
6 (75%)KO/TKO() 0
1 (13%)Submission() 0
1 (13%)Decision() 0
Sterling — win / loss by method
Record: 23-3-0

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
3 wins, 1 loss
W
13% of wins
L
33% of losses
Submission
8 wins, 0 losses
W
35% of wins
L
0% of losses
Decision
11 wins, 2 losses
W
48% of wins
L
67% of losses
DQ / other
1 win, 0 losses
W
4% of wins
L
0% of losses
UFC
15win3loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
2 (13%)KO/TKO(33%) 1
4 (27%)Submission(0%) 0
8 (53%)Decision(67%) 2
1 (7%)DQ / other(0%) 0
Non-UFC
8win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
1 (13%)KO/TKO() 0
4 (50%)Submission() 0
3 (38%)Decision() 0

Profiles

Experience
O'Malley
Sterling
10
UFC fights
18
94.9 min · 9.5 avg
Octagon time
244.8 min · 13.6 avg
11y 5m
Career length
15y 3m
UFC schedule strength

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

O'Malley
Sterling
147W–47L · 75.8%
Overall
316W–59L · 84.3%
130W–41L · 76.0%
Wins
254W–42L · 85.8%
17W–6L · 73.9%
Losses
62W–17L · 78.5%
Non-UFC schedule strength
O'Malley
Sterling
34W–22L · 60.7%
Overall
34W–17L · 66.7%
34W–22L · 60.7%
Wins
34W–17L · 66.7%
0W–0L
Losses
0W–0L
Distance striking
O'Malley
Sterling
8.59
Landed / min
6.83
59.9%
Accuracy
45.0%
64.3%
Defense
62.9%
0.79
Knockdowns / 15 min
0.00
82.6%
Time at distance
46.0%
Grappling & control
O'Malley
Sterling
0.47
Takedowns / 15 min
2.02
42.9%
Takedown accuracy
24.6%
57.7%
Takedown defense
45.2%
0.47
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.80
10.9%
Control share
62.0%
Strike target map
O'Malley
  • Head71%(500)div 62%
  • Body20%(141)div 21%
  • Legs10%(68)div 17%
Sterling
  • Head50%(579)div 62%
  • Body33%(387)div 21%
  • Legs17%(203)div 17%

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

Sean O'Malley
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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

Aljamain Sterling
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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