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UFC 253: Adesanya vs. Costa
Israel Adesanya
Israel Adesanya
19-0 · NGA
VS
Paulo Costa
Paulo Costa
13-0 · BRA
September 26, 2020 · Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Middleweight · 5 rounds · Main event
184.0lb
Weigh-in
185.0lb
Israel Adesanya def. Paulo Costa by KO/TKO (Punch), R2 3:59
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1
Adesanya22/370/000:00
Costa7/110/000:01
R2 · 3:59
Adesanya33/470/010:09
Costa5/150/000:00
Total
Adesanya55/840/010:09
Costa12/260/000:01

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
AdesanyaWin probabilityCosta
74.0%26.0%
KO / TKO
46%
Submission
15%
Decision
38%
Expected fight time: 15.1 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 Adesanya, blue toward Costa. Tap a bar for why.

Predicted outcomes
Adesanya74%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO33%45%
Submission10%13%
Decision31%42%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes81 (34110)act 55
Takedowns0.5 (0.02.0)act 0
Costa26%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO13%51%
Submission6%22%
Decision7%27%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes62 (2684)act 12
Takedowns0.4 (0.01.7)act 0
Combined totals~143 sig strikes~0.8 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R127%
R212%
R311%
R47%
R55%
Distance38%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 0.7%
Adesanya
58.2%-141
Costa
+14141.2%
Most takedownstie 55.9%
Adesanya
24.6%-126
Costa
+12619.5%
Significant strikes — over/under
Adesanya
Expected: 80.7
80.5
Over 80.5
39.9%
+151
Under 80.5
60.1%
-151
0101202
Costa
Expected: 61.8
62
Over 62
39.2%
+153
Exactly 62
0.8%
push
Under 62
60.0%
-153
078155
Takedowns — over/under
Adesanya
Expected: 0.5
0.5
Over 0.5
29.0%
+245
Under 0.5
71.0%
-245
035
Costa
Expected: 0.4
0.5
Over 0.5
23.9%
+318
Under 0.5
76.1%
-318
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 15.1 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
Adesanya74.0%62.0%+12.0-186
Costa26.0%38.0%−12.0+151

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
75.5Striking69.7
Adesanya +5.9
28.5Grappling22.2
Adesanya +6.2
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
AdesanyaCosta
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1670
Pound-for-pound
1608
1667
Divisional
1604
1522
Striking offense
1533
1532
Striking defense
1495
Grappling offense
Grappling defense
Physical
31 yrs
Age
29 yrs
6'4"
Height
6'1"
80"
Reach
72"
Switch
Stance
Orthodox
Striking (UFC career)
3.96
Strikes landed / min
8.43
49%
Strike accuracy
58%
2.40
Strikes absorbed / min
6.84
66%
Strike defense
54%
Grappling (UFC career)
0.00
Takedowns / 15 min
0.00
0%
Takedown accuracy
0%
87%
Takedown defense
80%
0.4
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.0
Form & résumé
100%
UFC win rate
100%
+8
Win/loss streak
+5
100%
Last-5 win rate
100%
38%
Finish rate
80%
Recent opp. quality
203
Days since last fight
406
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Israel Adesanya
  • WYoel RomeroU-DEC R5
    Close -2607mo before
  • WRobert WhittakerKO/TKO R2
    Close -1301y before
  • WKelvin GastelumU-DEC R5
    Close -1701y 5mo before
  • WAnderson SilvaU-DEC R3
    Close -5151y 8mo before
  • WDerek BrunsonKO/TKO R1
    Close -2901y 11mo before
Paulo Costa
  • WYoel RomeroU-DEC R3
    Close +1451y 1mo before
  • WUriah HallKO/TKO R2
    Close -2902y 3mo before
  • WJohny HendricksKO/TKO R2
    Close -3652y 11mo before
  • WOluwale BamgboseKO/TKO R2
    Close -2653y 4mo before
  • WGarreth McLellanKO/TKO R1
    Close -3403y 7mo before
Adesanya — win / loss by method
Record: 19-0-0

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
14 wins, 0 losses
W
74% of wins
L
Submission
0 wins, 0 losses
W
0% of wins
L
Decision
5 wins, 0 losses
W
26% of wins
L
UFC
8win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
3 (38%)KO/TKO() 0
0 (0%)Submission() 0
5 (63%)Decision() 0
Non-UFC
11win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
11 (100%)KO/TKO() 0
0 (0%)Submission() 0
0 (0%)Decision() 0
Costa — win / loss by method
Record: 13-0-0

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
11 wins, 0 losses
W
85% of wins
L
Submission
1 win, 0 losses
W
8% of wins
L
Decision
1 win, 0 losses
W
8% of wins
L
UFC
5win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
4 (80%)KO/TKO() 0
0 (0%)Submission() 0
1 (20%)Decision() 0
Non-UFC
8win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
7 (88%)KO/TKO() 0
1 (13%)Submission() 0
0 (0%)Decision() 0

Profiles

Experience
Adesanya
Costa
8
UFC fights
5
127.0 min · 15.9 avg
Octagon time
36.4 min · 7.3 avg
14y 4m
Career length
14y 5m
UFC schedule strength

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

Adesanya
Costa
141W–33L · 81.0%
Overall
63W–25L · 71.6%
141W–33L · 81.0%
Wins
63W–25L · 71.6%
0W–0L
Losses
0W–0L
Non-UFC schedule strength
Adesanya
Costa
139W–55L · 71.6%
Overall
37W–14L · 72.5%
139W–55L · 71.6%
Wins
37W–14L · 72.5%
0W–0L
Losses
0W–0L
Distance striking
Adesanya
Costa
4.14
Landed / min
7.98
46.3%
Accuracy
55.8%
67.3%
Defense
55.7%
1.18
Knockdowns / 15 min
1.65
84.2%
Time at distance
86.8%
Grappling & control
Adesanya
Costa
0.00
Takedowns / 15 min
0.00
0.0%
Takedown accuracy
0.0%
86.5%
Takedown defense
80.0%
0.35
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.00
17.8%
Control share
26.5%
Strike target map
Adesanya
  • Head54%(274)div 63%
  • Body17%(88)div 19%
  • Legs28%(141)div 17%
Costa
  • Head56%(173)div 63%
  • Body40%(123)div 19%
  • Legs4%(11)div 17%

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

Israel Adesanya
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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

Paulo Costa
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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