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UFC 221: Romero vs. Rockhold
Yoel Romero
Yoel Romero
12-2 · USA
VS
Luke Rockhold
Luke Rockhold
16-3 · USA
February 10, 2018 · Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Middleweight · 5 rounds · Main event
Yoel Romero def. Luke Rockhold by KO/TKO (Punch), R3 1:48
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1
Romero10/270/000:00
Rockhold18/410/000:00
R2
Romero24/460/000:06
Rockhold17/510/000:00
R3 · 1:48
Romero11/190/010:02
Rockhold10/270/000:00
Total
Romero45/920/010:08
Rockhold45/1190/000:00

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
RomeroWin probabilityRockhold
34.0%66.0%
KO / TKO
35%
Submission
11%
Decision
54%
Expected fight time: 17.9 min
What drives the pick

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

Predicted outcomes
Romero34%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO14%42%
Submission1%2%
Decision19%56%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes77 (44101)act 45
Takedowns0.5 (0.01.9)act 0
Rockhold66%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO21%32%
Submission10%15%
Decision35%53%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes68 (3888)act 45
Takedowns0.6 (0.02.3)act 0
Combined totals~145 sig strikes~1.1 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R115%
R214%
R39%
R45%
R53%
Distance54%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 0.8%
Romero
56.0%-129
Rockhold
+12943.3%
Most takedownstie 52.6%
Romero
22.2%+114
Rockhold
-11425.2%
Significant strikes — over/under
Romero
Expected: 77.4
77.5
Over 77.5
42.4%
+136
Under 77.5
57.6%
-136
097194
Rockhold
Expected: 67.6
67.5
Over 67.5
42.6%
+135
Under 67.5
57.4%
-135
085169
Takedowns — over/under
Romero
Expected: 0.5
0.5
Over 0.5
27.6%
+262
Under 0.5
72.4%
-262
035
Rockhold
Expected: 0.6
0.5
Over 0.5
30.1%
+232
Under 0.5
69.9%
-232
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 17.9 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
Romero34.0%37.2%−3.2+160
Rockhold66.0%62.8%+3.2-185

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
74.4Striking80.5
Rockhold +6.0
50.1Grappling67.4
Rockhold +17.3
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
RomeroRockhold
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1630
Pound-for-pound
1618
1625
Divisional
1612
1533
Striking offense
1524
1530
Striking defense
1494
1505
Grappling offense
1517
1526
Grappling defense
1521
Physical
40 yrs
Age
33 yrs
6'0"
Height
6'3"
73"
Reach
77"
Southpaw
Stance
Southpaw
Striking (UFC career)
3.02
Strikes landed / min
5.16
53%
Strike accuracy
61%
2.24
Strikes absorbed / min
2.66
65%
Strike defense
56%
Grappling (UFC career)
2.23
Takedowns / 15 min
1.46
37%
Takedown accuracy
45%
80%
Takedown defense
64%
0.0
Sub attempts / 15 min
1.7
Form & résumé
89%
UFC win rate
75%
-1
Win/loss streak
+1
80%
Last-5 win rate
80%
75%
Finish rate
100%
Recent opp. quality
217
Days since last fight
147
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Yoel Romero
  • LRobert WhittakerU-DEC R5
    Close +1107mo before
  • WChris WeidmanKO/TKO R3
    Close +1801y 3mo before
  • WJacare SouzaS-DEC R3
    Close +1202y 2mo before
  • WLyoto MachidaKO/TKO R3
    Close +1452y 8mo before
  • WTim KennedyKO/TKO R3
    Close +1233y 4mo before
Luke Rockhold
  • WDavid BranchKO/TKO R2
    Close -5005mo before
  • LMichael BispingKO/TKO R1
    Close -7501y 8mo before
  • WChris WeidmanKO/TKO R4
    Close +1302y 2mo before
  • WLyoto MachidaSUB R2
    Close -1452y 10mo before
  • WMichael BispingSUB R2
    Close -5253y 3mo before
Romero — win / loss by method
Record: 12-2-0

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
10 wins, 1 loss
W
83% 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
17% of wins
L
50% of losses
UFC
8win1loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
6 (75%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
0 (0%)Submission(0%) 0
2 (25%)Decision(100%) 1
Non-UFC
4win1loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
4 (100%)KO/TKO(100%) 1
0 (0%)Submission(0%) 0
0 (0%)Decision(0%) 0
Rockhold — win / loss by method
Record: 16-3-0

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
6 wins, 3 losses
W
38% of wins
L
100% of losses
Submission
8 wins, 0 losses
W
50% of wins
L
0% of losses
Decision
2 wins, 0 losses
W
13% of wins
L
0% of losses
UFC
6win2loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
3 (50%)KO/TKO(100%) 2
3 (50%)Submission(0%) 0
0 (0%)Decision(0%) 0
Non-UFC
10win1loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
3 (30%)KO/TKO(100%) 1
5 (50%)Submission(0%) 0
2 (20%)Decision(0%) 0

Profiles

Experience
Romero
Rockhold
9
UFC fights
8
114.6 min · 12.7 avg
Octagon time
51.5 min · 6.4 avg
16y 7m
Career length
19y 0m
UFC schedule strength

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

Romero
Rockhold
138W–23L · 85.7%
Overall
160W–40L · 80.0%
120W–19L · 86.3%
Wins
110W–23L · 82.7%
18W–4L · 81.8%
Losses
50W–17L · 74.6%
Non-UFC schedule strength
Romero
Rockhold
24W–9L · 72.7%
Overall
98W–33L · 74.8%
14W–6L · 70.0%
Wins
97W–32L · 75.2%
10W–3L · 76.9%
Losses
1W–1L · 50.0%
Distance striking
Romero
Rockhold
2.96
Landed / min
4.63
48.7%
Accuracy
51.3%
66.9%
Defense
61.3%
0.79
Knockdowns / 15 min
0.58
69.8%
Time at distance
51.2%
Grappling & control
Romero
Rockhold
2.23
Takedowns / 15 min
1.46
37.0%
Takedown accuracy
45.5%
80.0%
Takedown defense
63.6%
0.00
Sub attempts / 15 min
1.75
67.7%
Control share
62.5%
Strike target map
Romero
  • Head54%(188)div 63%
  • Body21%(72)div 19%
  • Legs25%(86)div 18%
Rockhold
  • Head65%(172)div 63%
  • Body21%(56)div 19%
  • Legs14%(38)div 18%

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

Yoel Romero
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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

Luke Rockhold
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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