The Ultimate Fight Fan
+ Log a bet
UFC 245: Usman vs. Covington
Matt Brown
Matt Brown
21-16 · USA
VS
Ben Saunders
Ben Saunders
22-12-2 · USA
December 14, 2019 · Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Welterweight · 3 rounds
171.0lb
Weigh-in
170.0lb
Matt Brown def. Ben Saunders by KO/TKO (Punches), R2 4:55
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1
Brown5/101/104:08
Saunders9/140/000:00
R2 · 4:55
Brown25/371/203:26
Saunders3/90/000:10
Total
Brown30/472/307:34
Saunders12/230/000:10

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
BrownWin probabilitySaunders
48.2%51.8%
KO / TKO
44%
Submission
19%
Decision
37%
Expected fight time: 9.2 min
What drives the pick

Each bar is a feature's push on the model from the center axis. Red pushes toward Brown, blue toward Saunders. Tap a bar for why.

Predicted outcomes
Brown48%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO26%53%
Submission8%17%
Decision14%30%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes55 (3171)act 30
Takedowns0.3 (0.01.4)act 2
Saunders52%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO19%36%
Submission11%21%
Decision22%43%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes35 (1945)act 12
Takedowns0.2 (0.00.8)act 0
Combined totals~90 sig strikes~0.5 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R129%
R226%
R38%
Distance37%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 1.1%
Brown
69.4%-235
Saunders
+23529.5%
Most takedownstie 64.3%
Brown
21.9%-159
Saunders
+15913.8%
Significant strikes — over/under
Brown
Expected: 54.9
55
Over 55
41.8%
+137
Exactly 55
1.2%
push
Under 55
57.0%
-137
069138
Saunders
Expected: 35.0
35
Over 35
41.5%
+137
Exactly 35
1.9%
push
Under 35
56.6%
-137
04488
Takedowns — over/under
Brown
Expected: 0.3
0.5
Over 0.5
24.5%
+308
Under 0.5
75.5%
-308
035
Saunders
Expected: 0.2
0
Over 0
16.6%
Exactly 0
83.4%
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 9.2 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
Brown48.2%75.5%−27.3-355
Saunders51.8%24.5%+27.3+295

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
72.7Striking63.7
Brown +8.9
67.0Grappling50.4
Brown +16.6
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
BrownSaunders
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1571
Pound-for-pound
1512
1564
Divisional
1512
1552
Striking offense
1501
1507
Striking defense
1502
1517
Grappling offense
1467
1486
Grappling defense
1506
Physical
38 yrs
Age
36 yrs
6'0"
Height
6'2"
75"
Reach
77"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
Striking (UFC career)
3.78
Strikes landed / min
3.37
54%
Strike accuracy
50%
2.64
Strikes absorbed / min
3.61
56%
Strike defense
52%
Grappling (UFC career)
1.57
Takedowns / 15 min
0.21
46%
Takedown accuracy
40%
64%
Takedown defense
69%
1.6
Sub attempts / 15 min
1.0
Form & résumé
58%
UFC win rate
50%
+1
Win/loss streak
-3
40%
Last-5 win rate
20%
86%
Finish rate
67%
Recent opp. quality
763
Days since last fight
231
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Matt Brown
  • WDiego SanchezKO/TKO R1
    Close -3502y 1mo before
  • LDonald CerroneKO/TKO R3
    Close +2503y before
  • LJake EllenbergerKO/TKO R1
    Close -3103y 4mo before
  • LDemian MaiaSUB R3
    Close +2903y 7mo before
  • WTim MeansSUB R1
    Close -1504y 5mo before
Ben Saunders
  • LTakashi SatoKO/TKO R2
    Close +1908mo before
  • LLyman GoodKO/TKO R1
    Close +4651y 1mo before
  • LSergio MoraesSUB R2
    Close +2351y 3mo before
  • WJake EllenbergerKO/TKO R1
    Close +1401y 6mo before
  • LAlan JoubanKO/TKO R2
    Close +2101y 10mo before
Brown — win / loss by method
Record: 21-16-0

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
13 wins, 2 losses
W
62% of wins
L
13% of losses
Submission
6 wins, 10 losses
W
29% of wins
L
63% of losses
Decision
2 wins, 4 losses
W
10% of wins
L
25% of losses
UFC
14win10loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
10 (71%)KO/TKO(20%) 2
2 (14%)Submission(50%) 5
2 (14%)Decision(30%) 3
Non-UFC
7win6loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
3 (43%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
4 (57%)Submission(83%) 5
0 (0%)Decision(17%) 1
Saunders — win / loss by method
Record: 22-12-2

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
10 wins, 8 losses
W
45% of wins
L
67% of losses
Submission
7 wins, 1 loss
W
32% of wins
L
8% of losses
Decision
5 wins, 3 losses
W
23% of wins
L
25% of losses
UFC
9win9loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
3 (33%)KO/TKO(67%) 6
3 (33%)Submission(11%) 1
3 (33%)Decision(22%) 2
Non-UFC
13win3loss2draw0NC
WinsLosses
7 (54%)KO/TKO(67%) 2
4 (31%)Submission(0%) 0
2 (15%)Decision(33%) 1

Profiles

Experience
Brown
Saunders
24
UFC fights
18
219.2 min · 9.1 avg
Octagon time
140.5 min · 7.8 avg
20y 10m
Career length
22y 3m
UFC schedule strength

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

Brown
Saunders
404W–131L · 75.5%
Overall
325W–90L · 78.3%
204W–63L · 76.4%
Wins
144W–44L · 76.6%
200W–68L · 74.6%
Losses
181W–46L · 79.7%
Non-UFC schedule strength
Brown
Saunders
62W–37L · 62.6%
Overall
233W–69L · 77.2%
12W–2L · 85.7%
Wins
172W–57L · 75.1%
50W–35L · 58.8%
Losses
61W–12L · 83.6%
Distance striking
Brown
Saunders
5.71
Landed / min
5.57
43.2%
Accuracy
41.1%
61.6%
Defense
60.0%
0.62
Knockdowns / 15 min
0.32
36.8%
Time at distance
35.7%
Grappling & control
Brown
Saunders
1.57
Takedowns / 15 min
0.21
46.0%
Takedown accuracy
40.0%
63.6%
Takedown defense
68.9%
1.64
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.96
32.4%
Control share
20.3%
Strike target map
Brown
  • Head62%(516)div 63%
  • Body29%(237)div 20%
  • Legs9%(76)div 16%
Saunders
  • Head50%(237)div 63%
  • Body39%(186)div 20%
  • Legs11%(51)div 16%

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

Matt Brown
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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

Ben Saunders
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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