The Ultimate Fight Fan
+ Log a bet
UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya
VS
Justin Tafa
Justin Tafa
3-0 · AUS
October 5, 2019 · Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Heavyweight · 3 rounds
265.0lb
Weigh-in
265.0lb
Yorgan De Castro def. Justin Tafa by KO/TKO (Punch), R1 2:10
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1 · 2:10
De Castro4/120/010:12
Tafa6/90/001:09
Total
De Castro4/120/010:12
Tafa6/90/001:09

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
De CastroWin probabilityTafa
35.3%64.7%
KO / TKO
56%
Submission
9%
Decision
34%
Expected fight time: 8.3 min
What drives the pick

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

Predicted outcomes
De Castro35%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO19%55%
Submission3%9%
Decision13%36%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes29 (1637)act 4
Takedowns0.4 (0.01.6)act 0
Tafa65%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO37%57%
Submission6%10%
Decision22%33%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes39 (2251)act 6
Takedowns0.3 (0.01.5)act 0
Combined totals~68 sig strikes~0.7 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R143%
R215%
R37%
Distance35%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 1.5%
De Castro
35.4%+178
Tafa
-17863.1%
Most takedownstie 57.0%
De Castro
22.8%-114
Tafa
+11420.1%
Significant strikes — over/under
De Castro
Expected: 28.8
29
Over 29
40.8%
+139
Exactly 29
2.3%
push
Under 29
56.9%
-139
03672
Tafa
Expected: 39.1
39
Over 39
41.8%
+135
Exactly 39
1.7%
push
Under 39
56.5%
-135
04998
Takedowns — over/under
De Castro
Expected: 0.4
0.5
Over 0.5
27.3%
+267
Under 0.5
72.7%
-267
035
Tafa
Expected: 0.3
0.5
Over 0.5
24.5%
+308
Under 0.5
75.5%
-308
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 8.3 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
De Castro35.3%51.1%−15.8-115
Tafa64.7%48.9%+15.8-105

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.

Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1518
Pound-for-pound
1508
1518
Divisional
1508
1500
Striking offense
1500
1500
Striking defense
1500
1500
Grappling offense
1494
1500
Grappling defense
1500
Physical
32 yrs
Age
25 yrs
6'0"
Height
6'0"
74"
Reach
74"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
Striking (UFC career)
Strikes landed / min
Strike accuracy
Strikes absorbed / min
Strike defense
Grappling (UFC career)
Takedowns / 15 min
Takedown accuracy
Takedown defense
Sub attempts / 15 min
Form & résumé
UFC win rate
Win/loss streak
Last-5 win rate
Finish rate
Recent opp. quality
Days since last fight
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Yorgan De Castro
No prior UFC fights.
Justin Tafa
No prior UFC fights.
De Castro — win / loss by method
Record: 5-0-0

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
4 wins, 0 losses
W
80% of wins
L
Submission
0 wins, 0 losses
W
0% of wins
L
Decision
1 win, 0 losses
W
20% of wins
L
UFC
0win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
0 ()KO/TKO() 0
0 ()Submission() 0
0 ()Decision() 0
Non-UFC
5win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
4 (80%)KO/TKO() 0
0 (0%)Submission() 0
1 (20%)Decision() 0
Tafa — win / loss by method
Record: 3-0-0

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
3 wins, 0 losses
W
100% of wins
L
Submission
0 wins, 0 losses
W
0% of wins
L
Decision
0 wins, 0 losses
W
0% of wins
L
UFC
0win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
0 ()KO/TKO() 0
0 ()Submission() 0
0 ()Decision() 0
Non-UFC
3win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
3 (100%)KO/TKO() 0
0 (0%)Submission() 0
0 (0%)Decision() 0

Profiles

Experience
De Castro
Tafa
0
UFC fights
0
Octagon time
Career length
UFC schedule strength

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

De Castro
Tafa
Overall
Wins
Losses
Non-UFC schedule strength
De Castro
Tafa
12W–12L · 50.0%
Overall
5W–3L · 62.5%
12W–12L · 50.0%
Wins
5W–3L · 62.5%
0W–0L
Losses
0W–0L
Distance striking
De Castro
Tafa
Landed / min
Accuracy
Defense
Knockdowns / 15 min
Time at distance
Grappling & control
De Castro
Tafa
Takedowns / 15 min
Takedown accuracy
Takedown defense
Sub attempts / 15 min
Control share
Strike target map
De Castro
  • Head0%(0)div 66%
  • Body0%(0)div 19%
  • Legs0%(0)div 14%
  • No strike data on record.
Tafa
  • Head0%(0)div 66%
  • Body0%(0)div 19%
  • Legs0%(0)div 14%
  • No strike data on record.

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

Yorgan De Castro

No UFC fights on record.

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

Justin Tafa

No UFC fights on record.

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