The Ultimate Fight Fan
+ Log a bet
UFC 291: Poirier vs. Gaethje 2
Justin Gaethje
Justin Gaethje
24-4 · USA
VS
Dustin Poirier
Dustin Poirier
29-7 · USA
July 29, 2023 · Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Lightweight · 5 rounds · Main event
156.0lb
Weigh-in
155.0lb
Justin Gaethje def. Dustin Poirier by KO/TKO (Kick), R2 1:00
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1
Gaethje33/560/000:00
Poirier27/510/000:00
R2 · 1:00
Gaethje8/100/010:01
Poirier0/10/000:00
Total
Gaethje41/660/010:01
Poirier27/520/000:00

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
GaethjeWin probabilityPoirier
45.8%54.2%
KO / TKO
60%
Submission
22%
Decision
18%
Expected fight time: 10.7 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 Gaethje, blue toward Poirier. Tap a bar for why.

Predicted outcomes
Gaethje46%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO33%71%
Submission6%13%
Decision7%16%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes70 (2995)act 41
Takedowns0.2 (0.00.9)act 0
Poirier54%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO27%50%
Submission16%29%
Decision11%21%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes96 (41130)act 27
Takedowns0.3 (0.01.6)act 0
Combined totals~166 sig strikes~0.5 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R137%
R227%
R39%
R45%
R54%
Distance18%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 0.6%
Gaethje
39.1%+155
Poirier
-15560.4%
Most takedownstie 62.7%
Gaethje
14.7%+154
Poirier
-15422.6%
Significant strikes — over/under
Gaethje
Expected: 69.6
69.5
Over 69.5
39.9%
+151
Under 69.5
60.1%
-151
088175
Poirier
Expected: 95.9
96
Over 96
39.5%
+152
Exactly 96
0.5%
push
Under 96
60.0%
-152
0120240
Takedowns — over/under
Gaethje
Expected: 0.2
0
Over 0
17.8%
Exactly 0
82.2%
push
Under 0
0.0%
035
Poirier
Expected: 0.3
0.5
Over 0.5
25.5%
+292
Under 0.5
74.5%
-292
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 10.7 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
Gaethje45.8%42.9%+2.9+125
Poirier54.2%57.1%−2.9-145

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
70.7Striking70.7
Gaethje +0.1
32.9Grappling54.4
Poirier +21.6
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
GaethjePoirier
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1631
Pound-for-pound
1716
1627
Divisional
1666
1544
Striking offense
1582
1480
Striking defense
1484
Grappling offense
Grappling defense
Physical
34 yrs
Age
34 yrs
5'11"
Height
5'9"
70"
Reach
72"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
Striking (UFC career)
7.38
Strikes landed / min
5.66
60%
Strike accuracy
51%
7.66
Strikes absorbed / min
4.36
54%
Strike defense
54%
Grappling (UFC career)
0.13
Takedowns / 15 min
1.46
25%
Takedown accuracy
37%
75%
Takedown defense
62%
0.0
Sub attempts / 15 min
1.0
Form & résumé
64%
UFC win rate
75%
+1
Win/loss streak
+1
60%
Last-5 win rate
80%
71%
Finish rate
67%
Recent opp. quality
133
Days since last fight
259
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Justin Gaethje
  • WRafael FizievM-DEC R3
    Close +1954mo before
  • LCharles OliveiraSUB R1
    Close +1171y 3mo before
  • WMichael ChandlerU-DEC R3
    Close -2181y 9mo before
  • LKhabib NurmagomedovSUB R2
    Close +2552y 9mo before
  • WTony FergusonKO/TKO R5
    Close +1583y 3mo before
Dustin Poirier
  • WMichael ChandlerSUB R3
    Close -2209mo before
  • LCharles OliveiraSUB R3
    Close -1371y 8mo before
  • WConor McGregorKO/TKO R1
    Close -1282y 1mo before
  • WConor McGregorKO/TKO R2
    Close +2502y 6mo before
  • WDan HookerU-DEC R5
    Close -2253y 1mo before
Gaethje — win / loss by method
Record: 24-4-0

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
19 wins, 2 losses
W
79% of wins
L
50% of losses
Submission
1 win, 2 losses
W
4% of wins
L
50% of losses
Decision
4 wins, 0 losses
W
17% of wins
L
0% of losses
UFC
7win4loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
5 (71%)KO/TKO(50%) 2
0 (0%)Submission(50%) 2
2 (29%)Decision(0%) 0
Non-UFC
17win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
14 (82%)KO/TKO() 0
1 (6%)Submission() 0
2 (12%)Decision() 0
Poirier — win / loss by method
Record: 29-7-0, 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
15 wins, 2 losses
W
52% of wins
L
29% of losses
Submission
7 wins, 3 losses
W
24% of wins
L
43% of losses
Decision
7 wins, 2 losses
W
24% of wins
L
29% of losses
UFC
21win6loss0draw1NC
WinsLosses
10 (48%)KO/TKO(33%) 2
4 (19%)Submission(50%) 3
7 (33%)Decision(17%) 1
Non-UFC
8win1loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
5 (63%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
3 (38%)Submission(0%) 0
0 (0%)Decision(100%) 1

Profiles

Experience
Gaethje
Poirier
11
UFC fights
28
111.2 min · 10.1 avg
Octagon time
287.0 min · 10.2 avg
14y 11m
Career length
17y 2m
UFC schedule strength

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

Gaethje
Poirier
255W–58L · 81.5%
Overall
473W–110L · 81.1%
145W–40L · 78.4%
Wins
354W–82L · 81.2%
110W–18L · 85.9%
Losses
119W–28L · 81.0%
Non-UFC schedule strength
Gaethje
Poirier
244W–97L · 71.6%
Overall
40W–12L · 76.9%
244W–97L · 71.6%
Wins
32W–9L · 78.0%
0W–0L
Losses
8W–3L · 72.7%
Distance striking
Gaethje
Poirier
7.22
Landed / min
8.20
58.0%
Accuracy
47.2%
56.0%
Defense
58.7%
0.67
Knockdowns / 15 min
0.68
88.2%
Time at distance
51.6%
Grappling & control
Gaethje
Poirier
0.13
Takedowns / 15 min
1.46
25.0%
Takedown accuracy
36.8%
75.0%
Takedown defense
62.3%
0.00
Sub attempts / 15 min
1.05
62.1%
Control share
56.1%
Strike target map
Gaethje
  • Head63%(519)div 63%
  • Body9%(74)div 21%
  • Legs28%(227)div 16%
Poirier
  • Head80%(1,298)div 63%
  • Body9%(151)div 21%
  • Legs11%(174)div 16%

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

Justin Gaethje
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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

Dustin Poirier
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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