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UFC 225: Whittaker vs. Romero 2
Robert Whittaker
Robert Whittaker
19-4 · AUS
VS
Yoel Romero
Yoel Romero
13-2 · USA
June 9, 2018 · Chicago, Illinois, USA
Middleweight · 5 rounds · Main event
Robert Whittaker def. Yoel Romero by S-DEC, R5 5:00
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1
Whittaker33/850/000:00
Romero9/240/000:00
R2
Whittaker29/770/000:00
Romero20/480/100:00
R3
Whittaker18/420/000:37
Romero36/772/612:11
R4
Whittaker34/930/000:00
Romero20/440/000:00
R5
Whittaker14/290/100:00
Romero26/471/312:10
Total
Whittaker128/3260/100:37
Romero111/2403/1024:21

Scorecards

Whittaker vs Romero

RdBrian PuccilloChris LeeSal D'AmatoCommunity
R110-910-910-910-9
R210-910-910-910-9
R39-109-109-108.9-10
R410-910-99-109.8-9.3
R59-109-109-108.5-10
Total48-4748-4747-4847.2-47.3

Media (28 cards) · avg 47.746.8 · 20 Whittaker · 0 Romero · 8 draws

Official cards + public consensus via MMA Decisions. Per round: Whittaker-Romero.

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
WhittakerWin probabilityRomero
59.0%41.0%
KO / TKO
74%
Submission
2%
Decision
24%
Expected fight time: 18.1 min
What drives the pick

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

Predicted outcomes
Whittaker59%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO40%68%
Submission2%3%
Decision17%29%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes101 (58132)act 128
Takedowns0.2 (0.01.0)act 0
Romero41%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO34%83%
Submission0%0%
Decision7%17%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes77 (44100)act 111
Takedowns0.2 (0.01.1)act 3
Combined totals~178 sig strikes~0.5 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R15%
R24%
R333%
R420%
R514%
Distance24%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 0.6%
Whittaker
62.3%-168
Romero
+16837.1%
Most takedownstie 63.2%
Whittaker
16.9%+119
Romero
-11920.0%
Significant strikes — over/under
Whittaker
Expected: 101.3
101.5
Over 101.5
42.4%
+136
Under 101.5
57.6%
-136
0127254
Romero
Expected: 77.2
77
Over 77
42.2%
+135
Exactly 77
0.9%
push
Under 77
56.9%
-135
097193
Takedowns — over/under
Whittaker
Expected: 0.2
0
Over 0
19.9%
Exactly 0
80.1%
push
Under 0
0.0%
035
Romero
Expected: 0.2
0
Over 0
23.3%
Exactly 0
76.7%
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 18.1 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
Whittaker59.0%71.1%−12.1-275
Romero41.0%28.9%+12.1+235

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
70.0Striking73.7
Romero +3.7
51.3Grappling49.1
Whittaker +2.2
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
WhittakerRomero
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1650
Pound-for-pound
1645
1638
Divisional
1641
1537
Striking offense
1540
1513
Striking defense
1531
1481
Grappling offense
1496
1554
Grappling defense
1537
Physical
27 yrs
Age
41 yrs
6'0"
Height
6'0"
73"
Reach
73"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
Striking (UFC career)
4.77
Strikes landed / min
3.09
41%
Strike accuracy
53%
3.50
Strikes absorbed / min
2.39
63%
Strike defense
64%
Grappling (UFC career)
0.44
Takedowns / 15 min
2.02
67%
Takedown accuracy
37%
87%
Takedown defense
80%
0.0
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.0
Form & résumé
83%
UFC win rate
90%
+8
Win/loss streak
+1
100%
Last-5 win rate
80%
50%
Finish rate
78%
Recent opp. quality
336
Days since last fight
119
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Robert Whittaker
  • WYoel RomeroU-DEC R5
    Close -13011mo before
  • WJacare SouzaKO/TKO R2
    Close +2251y 2mo before
  • WDerek BrunsonKO/TKO R1
    Close +1001y 6mo before
  • WRafael NatalU-DEC R3
    Close -3252y 2mo before
  • WUriah HallU-DEC R3
    Close +1352y 7mo before
Yoel Romero
  • WLuke RockholdKO/TKO R3
    Close +1604mo before
  • LRobert WhittakerU-DEC R5
    Close +11011mo before
  • WChris WeidmanKO/TKO R3
    Close +1801y 7mo before
  • WJacare SouzaS-DEC R3
    Close +1202y 6mo before
  • WLyoto MachidaKO/TKO R3
    Close +1452y 11mo before
Whittaker — win / loss by method
Record: 19-4-0

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
9 wins, 1 loss
W
47% of wins
L
25% of losses
Submission
5 wins, 1 loss
W
26% of wins
L
25% of losses
Decision
5 wins, 2 losses
W
26% of wins
L
50% of losses
UFC
10win2loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
5 (50%)KO/TKO(50%) 1
0 (0%)Submission(0%) 0
5 (50%)Decision(50%) 1
Non-UFC
9win2loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
4 (44%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
5 (56%)Submission(50%) 1
0 (0%)Decision(50%) 1
Romero — win / loss by method
Record: 13-2-0

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, 1 loss
W
85% of wins
L
50% of losses
Submission
0 wins, 0 losses
W
0% of wins
L
0% of losses
Decision
2 wins, 1 loss
W
15% of wins
L
50% of losses
UFC
9win1loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
7 (78%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
0 (0%)Submission(0%) 0
2 (22%)Decision(100%) 1
Non-UFC
4win1loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
4 (100%)KO/TKO(100%) 1
0 (0%)Submission(0%) 0
0 (0%)Decision(0%) 0

Profiles

Experience
Whittaker
Romero
12
UFC fights
10
135.4 min · 11.3 avg
Octagon time
126.4 min · 12.6 avg
17y 4m
Career length
16y 7m
UFC schedule strength

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

Whittaker
Romero
149W–33L · 81.9%
Overall
154W–26L · 85.6%
126W–29L · 81.3%
Wins
136W–22L · 86.1%
23W–4L · 85.2%
Losses
18W–4L · 81.8%
Non-UFC schedule strength
Whittaker
Romero
64W–29L · 68.8%
Overall
24W–9L · 72.7%
39W–13L · 75.0%
Wins
14W–6L · 70.0%
25W–16L · 61.0%
Losses
10W–3L · 76.9%
Distance striking
Whittaker
Romero
5.07
Landed / min
2.95
37.8%
Accuracy
47.9%
65.8%
Defense
66.3%
0.89
Knockdowns / 15 min
0.83
74.8%
Time at distance
71.8%
Grappling & control
Whittaker
Romero
0.44
Takedowns / 15 min
2.02
66.7%
Takedown accuracy
37.0%
86.8%
Takedown defense
80.0%
0.00
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.00
45.8%
Control share
67.9%
Strike target map
Whittaker
  • Head75%(485)div 63%
  • Body12%(78)div 19%
  • Legs13%(83)div 18%
Romero
  • Head54%(211)div 63%
  • Body21%(82)div 19%
  • Legs25%(98)div 18%

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

Robert Whittaker
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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

Yoel Romero
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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