The Ultimate Fight Fan
+ Log a bet
UFC 266: Volkanovski vs. Ortega
Jonathan Pearce
Jonathan Pearce
10-4 · USA
VS
Omar Morales
Omar Morales
11-1 · VEN
September 25, 2021 · Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Featherweight · 3 rounds
145.5lb
Weigh-in
145.5lb
Jonathan Pearce def. Omar Morales by SUB (Rear Naked Choke), R2 3:31
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1
Pearce10/294/702:22
Morales11/210/000:08
R2 · 3:31
Pearce2/62/403:11
Morales1/40/000:11
Total
Pearce12/356/1105:33
Morales12/250/000:19

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
PearceWin probabilityMorales
36.3%63.7%
KO / TKO
32%
Submission
12%
Decision
56%
Expected fight time: 11.1 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 Pearce, blue toward Morales. Tap a bar for why.

Predicted outcomes
Pearce36%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO18%50%16%
Submission2%7%6%
Decision16%43%20%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes36 (1548)act 12
Takedowns1.2 (0.03.8)act 6
Morales64%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO14%22%19%
Submission10%15%7%
Decision40%63%32%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes41 (1756)act 12
Takedowns0.5 (0.02.1)act 0
Combined totals~77 sig strikes~1.7 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R121%
R214%
R39%
Distance56%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 1.2%
Pearce
44.7%+121
Morales
-12154.1%
Most takedownstie 31.8%
Pearce
47.7%-232
Morales
+23220.5%
Significant strikes — over/under
Pearce
Expected: 35.7
35.5
Over 35.5
40.0%
+150
Under 35.5
60.0%
-150
04590
Morales
Expected: 41.0
41
Over 41
39.2%
+152
Exactly 41
1.2%
push
Under 41
59.6%
-152
052103
Takedowns — over/under
Pearce
Expected: 1.2
1
Over 1
39.2%
+105
Exactly 1
19.8%
push
Under 1
41.0%
-105
035
Morales
Expected: 0.5
0.5
Over 0.5
35.1%
+185
Under 0.5
64.9%
-185
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 11.1 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
Pearce36.3%41.7%−5.4+129
Morales63.7%58.3%+5.4-156
By method
Pearce by KO/TKO11.7%16.2%−4.5+409
Pearce by submission4.3%6.0%−1.7+1274
Pearce by decision20.2%20.3%−0.1+306
Morales by KO/TKO20.6%18.7%+1.9+342
Morales by submission7.6%7.3%+0.3+1032
Morales by decision35.5%31.6%+3.9+161
Total rounds (over)
Over 1.5 rds78.8%72.4%+6.4-341
Over 2.5 rds64.6%59.0%+5.6-171
Goes the distance
Fight goes to decision55.7%54.9%+0.8-142

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
56.4Striking64.6
Morales +8.2
83.7Grappling52.6
Pearce +31.1
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
PearceMorales
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1518
Pound-for-pound
1559
1532
Divisional
1532
1496
Striking offense
1494
1490
Striking defense
1520
1506
Grappling offense
1484
1494
Grappling defense
1523
Physical
29 yrs
Age
35 yrs
6'0"
Height
5'11"
71"
Reach
73"
Switch
Stance
Orthodox
Striking (UFC career)
5.36
Strikes landed / min
3.30
50%
Strike accuracy
34%
6.54
Strikes absorbed / min
2.93
39%
Strike defense
65%
Grappling (UFC career)
6.81
Takedowns / 15 min
0.75
71%
Takedown accuracy
100%
60%
Takedown defense
86%
1.4
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.0
Form & résumé
50%
UFC win rate
75%
+1
Win/loss streak
+1
50%
Last-5 win rate
75%
100%
Finish rate
0%
Recent opp. quality
301
Days since last fight
182
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Jonathan Pearce
  • WKai Kamaka IIIKO/TKO R2
    Close +24510mo before
  • LJoe LauzonKO/TKO R1
    Close -2001y 11mo before
Omar Morales
  • WShane YoungU-DEC R3
    Close -2026mo before
  • LGiga ChikadzeU-DEC R3
    Close -17511mo before
  • WGabriel BenitezU-DEC R3
    Close -1851y 4mo before
  • WDong Hyun MaU-DEC R3
    Close -2001y 9mo before
Pearce — win / loss by method
Record: 10-4-0

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
8 wins, 1 loss
W
80% of wins
L
25% of losses
Submission
1 win, 2 losses
W
10% of wins
L
50% of losses
Decision
1 win, 1 loss
W
10% of wins
L
25% of losses
UFC
1win1loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
1 (100%)KO/TKO(100%) 1
0 (0%)Submission(0%) 0
0 (0%)Decision(0%) 0
Non-UFC
9win3loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
7 (78%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
1 (11%)Submission(67%) 2
1 (11%)Decision(33%) 1
Morales — win / loss by method
Record: 11-1-0

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
2 wins, 0 losses
W
18% of wins
L
0% of losses
Submission
5 wins, 0 losses
W
45% of wins
L
0% of losses
Decision
4 wins, 1 loss
W
36% of wins
L
100% of losses
UFC
3win1loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
0 (0%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
0 (0%)Submission(0%) 0
3 (100%)Decision(100%) 1
Non-UFC
8win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
2 (25%)KO/TKO() 0
5 (63%)Submission() 0
1 (13%)Decision() 0

Profiles

Experience
Pearce
Morales
2
UFC fights
4
11.0 min · 5.5 avg
Octagon time
60.0 min · 15.0 avg
11y 9m
Career length
14y 8m
UFC schedule strength

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

Pearce
Morales
35W–17L · 67.3%
Overall
60W–24L · 71.4%
8W–2L · 80.0%
Wins
50W–22L · 69.4%
27W–15L · 64.3%
Losses
10W–2L · 83.3%
Non-UFC schedule strength
Pearce
Morales
56W–44L · 56.0%
Overall
18W–5L · 78.3%
50W–42L · 54.3%
Wins
18W–5L · 78.3%
6W–2L · 75.0%
Losses
0W–0L
Distance striking
Pearce
Morales
5.90
Landed / min
3.76
39.3%
Accuracy
32.4%
45.9%
Defense
66.0%
0.00
Knockdowns / 15 min
0.25
53.8%
Time at distance
77.2%
Grappling & control
Pearce
Morales
6.81
Takedowns / 15 min
0.75
71.4%
Takedown accuracy
100.0%
60.0%
Takedown defense
85.7%
1.36
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.00
73.6%
Control share
68.7%
Strike target map
Pearce
  • Head64%(38)div 64%
  • Body24%(14)div 20%
  • Legs12%(7)div 16%
Morales
  • Head65%(129)div 64%
  • Body22%(43)div 20%
  • Legs13%(26)div 16%

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

Jonathan Pearce
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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

Omar Morales
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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