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UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor
Dustin Poirier
Dustin Poirier
26-6 · USA
VS
Conor McGregor
Conor McGregor
22-5 · IRL
January 23, 2021 · Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Lightweight · 5 rounds · Main event
156.0lb
Weigh-in
155.0lb
Dustin Poirier def. Conor McGregor by KO/TKO (Punches), R2 2:32
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1
Poirier17/371/101:40
McGregor15/340/001:07
R2 · 2:32
Poirier31/540/010:02
McGregor14/320/100:00
Total
Poirier48/911/111:42
McGregor29/660/101:07

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
PoirierWin probabilityMcGregor
49.4%50.6%
KO / TKO
65%
Submission
15%
Decision
20%
Expected fight time: 12.3 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 Poirier, blue toward McGregor. Tap a bar for why.

Predicted outcomes
Poirier49%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO25%52%15%
Submission11%21%7%
Decision13%27%8%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes74 (31100)act 48
Takedowns0.5 (0.02.1)act 1
McGregor51%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO40%78%54%
Submission4%8%4%
Decision7%14%12%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes71 (3096)act 29
Takedowns0.2 (0.01.1)act 0
Combined totals~144 sig strikes~0.7 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R129%
R223%
R314%
R48%
R56%
Distance20%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 0.7%
Poirier
50.6%-104
McGregor
+10448.7%
Most takedownstie 55.5%
Poirier
28.5%-179
McGregor
+17915.9%
Significant strikes — over/under
Poirier
Expected: 73.5
73.5
Over 73.5
39.8%
+151
Under 73.5
60.2%
-151
092184
McGregor
Expected: 70.8
71
Over 71
39.3%
+153
Exactly 71
0.7%
push
Under 71
60.1%
-153
089177
Takedowns — over/under
Poirier
Expected: 0.5
0.5
Over 0.5
32.6%
+206
Under 0.5
67.4%
-206
035
McGregor
Expected: 0.2
0
Over 0
20.6%
Exactly 0
79.4%
push
Under 0
0.0%
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 12.3 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
Poirier49.4%27.1%+22.3+250
McGregor50.6%72.9%−22.3-333
By method
Poirier by KO/TKO32.1%14.8%+17.3+450
Poirier by submission7.3%7.4%−0.1+1000
Poirier by decision10.0%8.2%+1.8+900
McGregor by KO/TKO32.9%54.4%−21.5-200
McGregor by submission7.4%3.5%+3.9+2199
McGregor by decision10.3%11.7%−1.4+600
Total rounds (over)
Over 1.5 rds70.5%57.9%+12.6-167
Over 3.5 rds34.0%32.6%+1.4+190
Goes the distance
Fight goes to decision20.3%22.5%−2.2+320

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
71.4Striking69.4
Poirier +2.0
53.5Grappling48.2
Poirier +5.3
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
PoirierMcGregor
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1696
Pound-for-pound
1660
1647
Divisional
1540
1567
Striking offense
1551
1487
Striking defense
1508
1512
Grappling offense
1495
1517
Grappling defense
1526
Physical
32 yrs
Age
32 yrs
5'9"
Height
5'9"
72"
Reach
74"
Southpaw
Stance
Southpaw
Striking (UFC career)
5.74
Strikes landed / min
5.43
50%
Strike accuracy
49%
4.29
Strikes absorbed / min
4.40
55%
Strike defense
55%
Grappling (UFC career)
1.55
Takedowns / 15 min
0.75
36%
Takedown accuracy
63%
58%
Takedown defense
70%
1.1
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.0
Form & résumé
75%
UFC win rate
83%
+1
Win/loss streak
+1
80%
Last-5 win rate
60%
61%
Finish rate
80%
Recent opp. quality
210
Days since last fight
371
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Dustin Poirier
  • WDan HookerU-DEC R5
    Close -2257mo before
  • LKhabib NurmagomedovSUB R3
    Close +3251y 5mo before
  • WMax HollowayU-DEC R5
    Close +1801y 9mo before
  • WEddie AlvarezKO/TKO R2
    Close -1552y 6mo before
  • WJustin GaethjeKO/TKO R4
    Close -1252y 9mo before
Conor McGregor
  • WDonald CerroneKO/TKO R1
    Close -3051y before
  • LKhabib NurmagomedovSUB R4
    Close +1652y 4mo before
  • WEddie AlvarezKO/TKO R2
    Close -1604y 2mo before
  • WNate DiazM-DEC R5
    Close -1354y 5mo before
  • LNate DiazSUB R2
    Close -4254y 11mo before
Poirier — win / loss by method
Record: 26-6-0, 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
13 wins, 2 losses
W
50% of wins
L
33% of losses
Submission
6 wins, 2 losses
W
23% of wins
L
33% of losses
Decision
7 wins, 2 losses
W
27% of wins
L
33% of losses
UFC
18win5loss0draw1NC
WinsLosses
8 (44%)KO/TKO(40%) 2
3 (17%)Submission(40%) 2
7 (39%)Decision(20%) 1
Non-UFC
8win1loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
5 (63%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
3 (38%)Submission(0%) 0
0 (0%)Decision(100%) 1
McGregor — win / loss by method
Record: 22-5-0

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
19 wins, 1 loss
W
86% of wins
L
20% of losses
Submission
1 win, 4 losses
W
5% of wins
L
80% of losses
Decision
2 wins, 0 losses
W
9% of wins
L
0% of losses
UFC
10win2loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
8 (80%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
0 (0%)Submission(100%) 2
2 (20%)Decision(0%) 0
Non-UFC
12win3loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
11 (92%)KO/TKO(33%) 1
1 (8%)Submission(67%) 2
0 (0%)Decision(0%) 0

Profiles

Experience
Poirier
McGregor
24
UFC fights
12
251.4 min · 10.5 avg
Octagon time
100.0 min · 8.3 avg
17y 2m
Career length
18y 5m
UFC schedule strength

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

Poirier
McGregor
375W–84L · 81.7%
Overall
238W–64L · 78.8%
287W–64L · 81.8%
Wins
194W–54L · 78.2%
88W–20L · 81.5%
Losses
44W–10L · 81.5%
Non-UFC schedule strength
Poirier
McGregor
40W–12L · 76.9%
Overall
72W–26L · 73.5%
32W–9L · 78.0%
Wins
61W–21L · 74.4%
8W–3L · 72.7%
Losses
11W–5L · 68.8%
Distance striking
Poirier
McGregor
8.16
Landed / min
7.51
46.6%
Accuracy
44.9%
58.8%
Defense
63.0%
0.66
Knockdowns / 15 min
1.95
52.6%
Time at distance
55.5%
Grappling & control
Poirier
McGregor
1.55
Takedowns / 15 min
0.75
35.6%
Takedown accuracy
62.5%
58.2%
Takedown defense
70.0%
1.07
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.00
60.1%
Control share
32.9%
Strike target map
Poirier
  • Head79%(1,143)div 63%
  • Body10%(147)div 20%
  • Legs11%(153)div 17%
McGregor
  • Head71%(383)div 63%
  • Body17%(92)div 20%
  • Legs13%(68)div 17%

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

Dustin Poirier
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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

Conor McGregor
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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