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UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Allen
Brandon Royval
Brandon Royval
14-6 · USA
VS
Matheus Nicolau
Matheus Nicolau
19-2-1 · BRA
April 15, 2023 · Kansas City, Missouri, USA
Flyweight · 3 rounds
126.0lb
Weigh-in
126.0lb
Brandon Royval def. Matheus Nicolau by KO/TKO (Knee), R1 2:09
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1 · 2:09
Royval13/220/010:07
Nicolau2/50/000:00
Total
Royval13/220/010:07
Nicolau2/50/000:00

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
RoyvalWin probabilityNicolau
31.6%68.4%
KO / TKO
41%
Submission
14%
Decision
45%
Expected fight time: 10.2 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 Royval, blue toward Nicolau. Tap a bar for why.

Predicted outcomes
Royval32%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO13%42%9%
Submission8%24%17%
Decision11%34%11%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes40 (1755)act 13
Takedowns0.5 (0.02.1)act 0
Nicolau68%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO27%40%19%
Submission7%10%15%
Decision34%50%29%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes45 (1961)act 2
Takedowns1.1 (0.03.6)act 0
Combined totals~85 sig strikes~1.6 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R123%
R222%
R310%
Distance45%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 1.1%
Royval
45.6%+117
Nicolau
-11753.3%
Most takedownstie 35.4%
Royval
21.0%+208
Nicolau
-20843.6%
Significant strikes — over/under
Royval
Expected: 40.3
40.5
Over 40.5
39.5%
+153
Under 40.5
60.5%
-153
051101
Nicolau
Expected: 45.1
45
Over 45
39.4%
+151
Exactly 45
1.1%
push
Under 45
59.6%
-151
057113
Takedowns — over/under
Royval
Expected: 0.5
0.5
Over 0.5
32.9%
+204
Under 0.5
67.1%
-204
035
Nicolau
Expected: 1.1
1
Over 1
35.5%
+131
Exactly 1
18.1%
push
Under 1
46.4%
-131
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 10.2 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
Royval31.6%36.1%−4.5+164
Nicolau68.4%63.9%+4.5-203
By method
Royval by KO/TKO12.8%9.4%+3.4+790
Royval by submission4.5%16.5%−12.0+408
Royval by decision14.3%11.4%+2.9+637
Nicolau by KO/TKO27.7%18.5%+9.2+354
Nicolau by submission9.7%15.2%−5.5+454
Nicolau by decision31.0%28.9%+2.1+191
Total rounds (over)
Over 1.5 rds76.7%62.9%+13.8-208
Over 2.5 rds55.4%46.4%+9.0+102
Goes the distance
Fight goes to decision45.2%42.4%+2.8+121

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
61.1Striking73.9
Nicolau +12.8
64.4Grappling64.6
Nicolau +0.2
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
RoyvalNicolau
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1552
Pound-for-pound
1614
1551
Divisional
1602
1516
Striking offense
1505
1482
Striking defense
1502
Grappling offense
Grappling defense
Physical
30 yrs
Age
30 yrs
5'9"
Height
5'6"
68"
Reach
66"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
Striking (UFC career)
3.32
Strikes landed / min
3.72
37%
Strike accuracy
54%
2.72
Strikes absorbed / min
3.08
50%
Strike defense
67%
Grappling (UFC career)
0.70
Takedowns / 15 min
1.52
100%
Takedown accuracy
45%
39%
Takedown defense
93%
2.4
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.9
Form & résumé
67%
UFC win rate
88%
+2
Win/loss streak
+4
60%
Last-5 win rate
80%
75%
Finish rate
29%
Recent opp. quality
343
Days since last fight
133
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Brandon Royval
  • WMatt SchnellSUB R1
    Close -26011mo before
  • WRogerio BontorinS-DEC R3
    Close -1681y 3mo before
  • LAlexandre PantojaSUB R2
    Close +1411y 8mo before
  • LBrandon MorenoKO/TKO R1
    Close +1502y 5mo before
  • WKai Kara-FranceSUB R2
    Close +1882y 7mo before
Matheus Nicolau
  • WMatt SchnellKO/TKO R2
    Close -3944mo before
  • WDavid DvorakU-DEC R3
    Close +1081y 1mo before
  • WTim ElliottU-DEC R3
    Close -1931y 6mo before
  • WManel KapeS-DEC R3
    Close +1112y 1mo before
  • LDustin OrtizKO/TKO R1
    Close -2004y 9mo before
Royval — win / loss by method
Record: 14-6-0

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
3 wins, 1 loss
W
21% of wins
L
17% of losses
Submission
9 wins, 1 loss
W
64% of wins
L
17% of losses
Decision
2 wins, 4 losses
W
14% of wins
L
67% of losses
UFC
4win2loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
0 (0%)KO/TKO(50%) 1
3 (75%)Submission(50%) 1
1 (25%)Decision(0%) 0
Non-UFC
10win4loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
3 (30%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
6 (60%)Submission(0%) 0
1 (10%)Decision(100%) 4
Nicolau — win / loss by method
Record: 19-2-1

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
5 wins, 2 losses
W
26% of wins
L
100% of losses
Submission
5 wins, 0 losses
W
26% of wins
L
0% of losses
Decision
9 wins, 0 losses
W
47% of wins
L
0% of losses
UFC
7win1loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
1 (14%)KO/TKO(100%) 1
1 (14%)Submission(0%) 0
5 (71%)Decision(0%) 0
Non-UFC
12win1loss1draw0NC
WinsLosses
4 (33%)KO/TKO(100%) 1
4 (33%)Submission(0%) 0
4 (33%)Decision(0%) 0

Profiles

Experience
Royval
Nicolau
6
UFC fights
8
43.1 min · 7.2 avg
Octagon time
99.0 min · 12.4 avg
13y 11m
Career length
16y 0m
UFC schedule strength

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

Royval
Nicolau
107W–36L · 74.8%
Overall
117W–40L · 74.5%
67W–26L · 72.0%
Wins
99W–33L · 75.0%
40W–10L · 80.0%
Losses
18W–7L · 72.0%
Non-UFC schedule strength
Royval
Nicolau
96W–46L · 67.6%
Overall
79W–31L · 71.8%
71W–41L · 63.4%
Wins
67W–30L · 69.1%
25W–5L · 83.3%
Losses
12W–1L · 92.3%
Distance striking
Royval
Nicolau
7.09
Landed / min
4.22
34.7%
Accuracy
52.0%
50.2%
Defense
68.8%
0.70
Knockdowns / 15 min
1.21
39.0%
Time at distance
76.0%
Grappling & control
Royval
Nicolau
0.70
Takedowns / 15 min
1.52
100.0%
Takedown accuracy
45.5%
39.3%
Takedown defense
93.3%
2.44
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.91
22.0%
Control share
79.5%
Strike target map
Royval
  • Head59%(85)div 62%
  • Body25%(36)div 22%
  • Legs15%(22)div 16%
Nicolau
  • Head52%(192)div 62%
  • Body35%(128)div 22%
  • Legs13%(48)div 16%

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

Brandon Royval
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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

Matheus Nicolau
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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