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UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Lee
David Branch
David Branch
21-4 · USA
VS
Thiago Santos
Thiago Santos
17-5 · BRA
April 21, 2018 · Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
Middleweight · 3 rounds
David Branch def. Thiago Santos by KO/TKO (Punch), R1 2:30
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1 · 2:30
Branch5/150/110:02
Santos14/290/000:00
Total
Branch5/150/110:02
Santos14/290/000:00

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
BranchWin probabilitySantos
46.4%53.6%
KO / TKO
25%
Submission
9%
Decision
66%
Expected fight time: 12.0 min
What drives the pick

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

Predicted outcomes
Branch46%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO5%12%
Submission7%14%
Decision34%74%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes30 (1740)act 5
Takedowns0.9 (0.02.9)act 0
Santos54%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO19%36%
Submission3%5%
Decision32%59%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes43 (2456)act 14
Takedowns0.2 (0.00.9)act 0
Combined totals~73 sig strikes~1.1 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R115%
R214%
R35%
Distance66%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 1.4%
Branch
33.8%+191
Santos
-19164.7%
Most takedownstie 43.5%
Branch
45.5%-413
Santos
+41311.0%
Significant strikes — over/under
Branch
Expected: 30.4
30.5
Over 30.5
42.3%
+136
Under 30.5
57.7%
-136
03977
Santos
Expected: 42.9
43
Over 43
41.6%
+137
Exactly 43
1.5%
push
Under 43
56.8%
-137
054108
Takedowns — over/under
Branch
Expected: 0.9
1
Over 1
32.5%
+153
Exactly 1
17.8%
push
Under 1
49.7%
-153
035
Santos
Expected: 0.2
0
Over 0
17.6%
Exactly 0
82.4%
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 12.0 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
Branch46.4%40.4%+6.0+140
Santos53.6%59.6%−6.0-160

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
63.9Striking79.2
Santos +15.3
38.8Grappling33.2
Branch +5.6
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
BranchSantos
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1534
Pound-for-pound
1602
1533
Divisional
1602
1470
Striking offense
1525
1513
Striking defense
1532
Grappling offense
Grappling defense
Physical
36 yrs
Age
34 yrs
6'1"
Height
6'2"
78"
Reach
76"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
Striking (UFC career)
1.65
Strikes landed / min
4.56
41%
Strike accuracy
48%
1.55
Strikes absorbed / min
2.02
57%
Strike defense
66%
Grappling (UFC career)
2.25
Takedowns / 15 min
0.42
34%
Takedown accuracy
25%
43%
Takedown defense
71%
0.0
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.0
Form & résumé
50%
UFC win rate
69%
-1
Win/loss streak
+4
60%
Last-5 win rate
80%
0%
Finish rate
89%
Recent opp. quality
217
Days since last fight
77
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
David Branch
  • LLuke RockholdKO/TKO R2
    Close +4007mo before
  • WKrzysztof JotkoS-DEC R3
    Close +15011mo before
  • LRousimar PalharesSUB R2
    Close +1407y 2mo before
  • WRich AttonitoU-DEC R3
    Close -1607y 5mo before
  • WTomasz DrwalU-DEC R3
    Close +1357y 7mo before
Thiago Santos
  • WAnthony SmithKO/TKO R2
    Close -2553mo before
  • WJack HermanssonKO/TKO R1
    Close -1106mo before
  • WGerald MeerschaertKO/TKO R2
    Close -1609mo before
  • WJack MarshmanKO/TKO R2
    Close -1651y 2mo before
  • LEric SpicelySUB R1
    Close -8001y 7mo before
Branch — win / loss by method
Record: 21-4-0

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
5 wins, 2 losses
W
24% of wins
L
50% of losses
Submission
7 wins, 1 loss
W
33% of wins
L
25% of losses
Decision
9 wins, 1 loss
W
43% of wins
L
25% of losses
UFC
3win3loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
0 (0%)KO/TKO(67%) 2
0 (0%)Submission(33%) 1
3 (100%)Decision(0%) 0
Non-UFC
18win1loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
5 (28%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
7 (39%)Submission(0%) 0
6 (33%)Decision(100%) 1
Santos — win / loss by method
Record: 17-5-0

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
12 wins, 2 losses
W
71% of wins
L
40% of losses
Submission
1 win, 2 losses
W
6% of wins
L
40% of losses
Decision
4 wins, 1 loss
W
24% of wins
L
20% of losses
UFC
9win4loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
8 (89%)KO/TKO(25%) 1
0 (0%)Submission(50%) 2
1 (11%)Decision(25%) 1
Non-UFC
8win1loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
4 (50%)KO/TKO(100%) 1
1 (13%)Submission(0%) 0
3 (38%)Decision(0%) 0

Profiles

Experience
Branch
Santos
6
UFC fights
13
73.4 min · 12.2 avg
Octagon time
70.7 min · 5.4 avg
18y 10m
Career length
15y 8m
UFC schedule strength

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

Branch
Santos
87W–16L · 84.5%
Overall
231W–62L · 78.8%
45W–7L · 86.5%
Wins
172W–49L · 77.8%
42W–9L · 82.4%
Losses
59W–13L · 81.9%
Non-UFC schedule strength
Branch
Santos
221W–64L · 77.5%
Overall
13W–13L · 50.0%
211W–60L · 77.9%
Wins
10W–11L · 47.6%
10W–4L · 71.4%
Losses
3W–2L · 60.0%
Distance striking
Branch
Santos
2.41
Landed / min
3.51
27.2%
Accuracy
35.6%
70.1%
Defense
71.2%
0.00
Knockdowns / 15 min
1.91
32.8%
Time at distance
60.1%
Grappling & control
Branch
Santos
2.25
Takedowns / 15 min
0.42
34.4%
Takedown accuracy
25.0%
42.9%
Takedown defense
71.0%
0.00
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.00
73.3%
Control share
45.8%
Strike target map
Branch
  • Head42%(51)div 63%
  • Body34%(41)div 19%
  • Legs24%(29)div 18%
Santos
  • Head56%(180)div 63%
  • Body22%(70)div 19%
  • Legs22%(72)div 18%

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

David Branch
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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

Thiago Santos
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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