The Ultimate Fight Fan
+ Log a bet
UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Branch
Luke Rockhold
Luke Rockhold
15-3 · USA
VS
David Branch
David Branch
21-3 · USA
September 16, 2017 · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Middleweight · 5 rounds · Main event
Luke Rockhold def. David Branch by KO/TKO (Punches), R2 4:05
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1
Rockhold15/241/201:19
Branch19/361/201:48
R2 · 4:05
Rockhold43/611/302:22
Branch6/200/000:30
Total
Rockhold58/852/503:41
Branch25/561/202:18

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
RockholdWin probabilityBranch
58.3%41.7%
KO / TKO
42%
Submission
31%
Decision
27%
Expected fight time: 13.1 min
What drives the pick

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

Predicted outcomes
Rockhold58%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO27%46%
Submission21%36%
Decision10%18%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes44 (2457)act 58
Takedowns0.7 (0.02.7)act 2
Branch42%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO15%35%
Submission10%24%
Decision17%41%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes39 (2251)act 25
Takedowns0.8 (0.02.9)act 1
Combined totals~83 sig strikes~1.5 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R131%
R218%
R312%
R47%
R55%
Distance27%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 1.3%
Rockhold
54.7%-124
Branch
+12444.0%
Most takedownstie 44.5%
Rockhold
24.7%+125
Branch
-12530.8%
Significant strikes — over/under
Rockhold
Expected: 43.6
43.5
Over 43.5
42.7%
+134
Under 43.5
57.3%
-134
055110
Branch
Expected: 38.9
39
Over 39
41.5%
+137
Exactly 39
1.7%
push
Under 39
56.8%
-137
04998
Takedowns — over/under
Rockhold
Expected: 0.7
0.5
Over 0.5
32.1%
+211
Under 0.5
67.9%
-211
035
Branch
Expected: 0.8
1
Over 1
26.5%
+233
Exactly 1
11.8%
push
Under 1
61.7%
-233
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 13.1 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
Rockhold58.3%80.6%−22.3-500
Branch41.7%19.4%+22.3+400

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
79.3Striking68.6
Rockhold +10.7
71.5Grappling36.1
Rockhold +35.5
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
RockholdBranch
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1605
Pound-for-pound
1547
1598
Divisional
1547
1516
Striking offense
1468
1497
Striking defense
1520
1514
Grappling offense
1504
1523
Grappling defense
1497
Physical
32 yrs
Age
35 yrs
6'3"
Height
6'1"
77"
Reach
78"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
Striking (UFC career)
4.90
Strikes landed / min
1.49
59%
Strike accuracy
40%
2.64
Strikes absorbed / min
0.87
57%
Strike defense
69%
Grappling (UFC career)
1.06
Takedowns / 15 min
2.33
50%
Takedown accuracy
33%
67%
Takedown defense
33%
2.1
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.0
Form & résumé
71%
UFC win rate
60%
-1
Win/loss streak
+1
80%
Last-5 win rate
60%
100%
Finish rate
0%
Recent opp. quality
469
Days since last fight
126
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Luke Rockhold
  • LMichael BispingKO/TKO R1
    Close -7501y 3mo before
  • WChris WeidmanKO/TKO R4
    Close +1301y 9mo before
  • WLyoto MachidaSUB R2
    Close -1452y 5mo before
  • WMichael BispingSUB R2
    Close -5252y 10mo before
  • WTim BoetschSUB R1
    Close -10003y 5mo before
David Branch
  • WKrzysztof JotkoS-DEC R3
    Close +1504mo before
  • LRousimar PalharesSUB R2
    Close +1406y 6mo before
  • WRich AttonitoU-DEC R3
    Close -1606y 9mo before
  • WTomasz DrwalU-DEC R3
    Close +1357y before
  • LGerald HarrisKO/TKO R3
    Close +2107y 2mo before
Rockhold — win / loss by method
Record: 15-3-0

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
5 wins, 3 losses
W
33% of wins
L
100% of losses
Submission
8 wins, 0 losses
W
53% of wins
L
0% of losses
Decision
2 wins, 0 losses
W
13% of wins
L
0% of losses
UFC
5win2loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
2 (40%)KO/TKO(100%) 2
3 (60%)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
Branch — win / loss by method
Record: 21-3-0

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
5 wins, 1 loss
W
24% of wins
L
33% of losses
Submission
7 wins, 1 loss
W
33% of wins
L
33% of losses
Decision
9 wins, 1 loss
W
43% of wins
L
33% of losses
UFC
3win2loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
0 (0%)KO/TKO(50%) 1
0 (0%)Submission(50%) 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

Profiles

Experience
Rockhold
Branch
7
UFC fights
5
42.5 min · 6.1 avg
Octagon time
64.3 min · 12.9 avg
19y 0m
Career length
18y 10m
UFC schedule strength

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

Rockhold
Branch
139W–37L · 79.0%
Overall
72W–13L · 84.7%
89W–20L · 81.7%
Wins
45W–7L · 86.5%
50W–17L · 74.6%
Losses
27W–6L · 81.8%
Non-UFC schedule strength
Rockhold
Branch
98W–33L · 74.8%
Overall
221W–64L · 77.5%
97W–32L · 75.2%
Wins
211W–60L · 77.9%
1W–1L · 50.0%
Losses
10W–4L · 71.4%
Distance striking
Rockhold
Branch
4.24
Landed / min
1.91
49.0%
Accuracy
24.6%
61.0%
Defense
78.2%
0.71
Knockdowns / 15 min
0.00
56.1%
Time at distance
33.4%
Grappling & control
Rockhold
Branch
1.06
Takedowns / 15 min
2.33
50.0%
Takedown accuracy
33.3%
66.7%
Takedown defense
33.3%
2.12
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.00
62.9%
Control share
78.7%
Strike target map
Rockhold
  • Head63%(132)div 63%
  • Body23%(48)div 19%
  • Legs13%(28)div 18%
Branch
  • Head40%(38)div 63%
  • Body32%(31)div 19%
  • Legs28%(27)div 18%

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

Luke Rockhold
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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

David Branch
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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