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UFC 232: Jones vs. Gustafsson 2
VS
Chad Mendes
Chad Mendes
18-4 · USA
December 29, 2018 · Los Angeles, California, USA
Featherweight · 3 rounds
145.0lb
Weigh-in
146.0lb
Alexander Volkanovski def. Chad Mendes by KO/TKO (Punches), R2 4:14
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1
Volkanovski16/530/000:00
Mendes15/271/200:09
R2 · 4:14
Volkanovski38/710/010:08
Mendes13/242/210:36
Total
Volkanovski54/1240/010:08
Mendes28/513/410:45

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
VolkanovskiWin probabilityMendes
69.8%30.2%
KO / TKO
34%
Submission
17%
Decision
50%
Expected fight time: 11.1 min
What drives the pick

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

Predicted outcomes
Volkanovski70%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO24%34%
Submission12%18%
Decision34%48%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes67 (3887)act 54
Takedowns0.3 (0.01.5)act 0
Mendes30%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO10%34%
Submission4%14%
Decision16%52%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes41 (2354)act 28
Takedowns0.6 (0.02.1)act 3
Combined totals~108 sig strikes~0.9 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R122%
R28%
R320%
Distance50%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 0.9%
Volkanovski
71.0%-253
Mendes
+25328.1%
Most takedownstie 39.2%
Volkanovski
19.4%+213
Mendes
-21341.4%
Significant strikes — over/under
Volkanovski
Expected: 67.0
67
Over 67
42.0%
+136
Exactly 67
1.0%
push
Under 67
57.0%
-136
084168
Mendes
Expected: 41.2
41
Over 41
42.0%
+134
Exactly 41
1.6%
push
Under 41
56.4%
-134
052103
Takedowns — over/under
Volkanovski
Expected: 0.3
0.5
Over 0.5
30.8%
+224
Under 0.5
69.2%
-224
035
Mendes
Expected: 0.6
0.5
Over 0.5
52.0%
-109
Under 0.5
48.0%
+109
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
Volkanovski69.8%43.8%+26.0+120
Mendes30.2%56.2%−26.0-140

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
87.4Striking72.7
Volkanovski +14.7
69.9Grappling66.3
Volkanovski +3.6
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
VolkanovskiMendes
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1613
Pound-for-pound
1615
1587
Divisional
1606
1516
Striking offense
1515
1512
Striking defense
1515
1523
Grappling offense
1510
1513
Grappling defense
1557
Physical
30 yrs
Age
33 yrs
5'6"
Height
5'6"
71"
Reach
66"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
Striking (UFC career)
6.09
Strikes landed / min
3.30
64%
Strike accuracy
50%
2.55
Strikes absorbed / min
2.60
64%
Strike defense
69%
Grappling (UFC career)
3.87
Takedowns / 15 min
3.36
41%
Takedown accuracy
46%
82%
Takedown defense
100%
0.7
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.3
Form & résumé
100%
UFC win rate
69%
+5
Win/loss streak
+1
100%
Last-5 win rate
40%
40%
Finish rate
67%
Recent opp. quality
168
Days since last fight
168
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Alexander Volkanovski
  • WDarren ElkinsU-DEC R3
    Close -2206mo before
  • WJeremy KennedyKO/TKO R2
    Close -20011mo before
  • WShane YoungU-DEC R3
    both missedClose -6401y 1mo before
  • WMizuto HirotaU-DEC R3
    Close -5801y 7mo before
  • WYusuke KasuyaKO/TKO R2
    Close -1552y 1mo before
Chad Mendes
  • WMyles JuryKO/TKO R1
    Close -1206mo before
  • LFrankie EdgarKO/TKO R1
    Close +1153y 1mo before
  • LConor McGregorKO/TKO R2
    Close +1653y 6mo before
  • WRicardo LamasKO/TKO R1
    Close -4603y 9mo before
  • LJose AldoU-DEC R5
    Close +1854y 2mo before
Volkanovski — win / loss by method
Record: 18-1-0

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
10 wins, 1 loss
W
56% of wins
L
100% of losses
Submission
3 wins, 0 losses
W
17% of wins
L
0% of losses
Decision
5 wins, 0 losses
W
28% of wins
L
0% of losses
UFC
5win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
2 (40%)KO/TKO() 0
0 (0%)Submission() 0
3 (60%)Decision() 0
Non-UFC
13win1loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
8 (62%)KO/TKO(100%) 1
3 (23%)Submission(0%) 0
2 (15%)Decision(0%) 0
Mendes — win / loss by method
Record: 18-4-0

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, 3 losses
W
44% of wins
L
75% of losses
Submission
2 wins, 0 losses
W
11% of wins
L
0% of losses
Decision
8 wins, 1 loss
W
44% of wins
L
25% of losses
UFC
9win4loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
6 (67%)KO/TKO(75%) 3
0 (0%)Submission(0%) 0
3 (33%)Decision(25%) 1
Non-UFC
9win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
2 (22%)KO/TKO() 0
2 (22%)Submission() 0
5 (56%)Decision() 0

Profiles

Experience
Volkanovski
Mendes
5
UFC fights
13
62.0 min · 12.4 avg
Octagon time
107.1 min · 8.2 avg
14y 2m
Career length
17y 10m
UFC schedule strength

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

Volkanovski
Mendes
74W–17L · 81.3%
Overall
243W–56L · 81.3%
74W–17L · 81.3%
Wins
163W–48L · 77.3%
0W–0L
Losses
80W–8L · 90.9%
Non-UFC schedule strength
Volkanovski
Mendes
110W–50L · 68.8%
Overall
87W–35L · 71.3%
99W–46L · 68.3%
Wins
87W–35L · 71.3%
11W–4L · 73.3%
Losses
0W–0L
Distance striking
Volkanovski
Mendes
7.02
Landed / min
3.21
58.1%
Accuracy
42.9%
67.3%
Defense
71.1%
0.73
Knockdowns / 15 min
0.98
39.7%
Time at distance
68.6%
Grappling & control
Volkanovski
Mendes
3.87
Takedowns / 15 min
3.36
41.0%
Takedown accuracy
46.2%
82.4%
Takedown defense
100.0%
0.73
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.28
88.7%
Control share
93.6%
Strike target map
Volkanovski
  • Head72%(271)div 65%
  • Body11%(43)div 19%
  • Legs17%(64)div 16%
Mendes
  • Head68%(241)div 65%
  • Body8%(27)div 19%
  • Legs24%(85)div 16%

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

Alexander Volkanovski
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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

Chad Mendes
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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