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UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Gastelum
Joe Soto
Joe Soto
17-5 · USA
VS
Rani Yahya
Rani Yahya
23-8 · BRA
March 11, 2017 · Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil
Bantamweight · 3 rounds
135.0lb
Weigh-in
136.0lb
Joe Soto def. Rani Yahya by U-DEC, R3 5:00
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1
Soto9/290/000:01
Yahya21/731/200:50
R2
Soto31/630/001:00
Yahya28/1090/800:00
R3
Soto14/211/103:43
Yahya10/330/100:07
Total
Soto54/1131/104:44
Yahya59/2151/1100:57

Scorecards

Soto vs Yahya

RdFabio AlvesSal D'AmatoTony WeeksCommunity
R19-109-109-109.1-9.9
R210-910-910-99.9-9.1
R310-810-810-910-8.6
Total29-2729-2729-2829-27.6

Media (16 cards) · avg 29.327.2 · 16 Soto · 0 Yahya

Official cards + public consensus via MMA Decisions. Per round: Soto-Yahya.

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
SotoWin probabilityYahya
57.2%42.8%
KO / TKO
22%
Submission
21%
Decision
57%
Expected fight time: 11.5 min
What drives the pick

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

Predicted outcomes
Soto57%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO18%31%
Submission11%20%
Decision28%49%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes30 (1739)act 54
Takedowns0.3 (0.01.5)act 1
Yahya43%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO4%10%
Submission10%22%
Decision29%68%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes46 (2660)act 59
Takedowns1.0 (0.03.1)act 1
Combined totals~76 sig strikes~1.4 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R111%
R226%
R36%
Distance57%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 1.3%
Soto
30.7%+222
Yahya
-22268.0%
Most takedownstie 36.3%
Soto
15.1%+321
Yahya
-32148.5%
Significant strikes — over/under
Soto
Expected: 30.2
30
Over 30
41.8%
+134
Exactly 30
2.2%
push
Under 30
56.0%
-134
03876
Yahya
Expected: 46.0
46
Over 46
41.8%
+136
Exactly 46
1.4%
push
Under 46
56.7%
-136
058116
Takedowns — over/under
Soto
Expected: 0.3
0.5
Over 0.5
25.5%
+293
Under 0.5
74.5%
-293
035
Yahya
Expected: 1.0
1
Over 1
36.4%
+119
Exactly 1
20.3%
push
Under 1
43.3%
-119
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 11.5 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
Soto57.2%32.1%+25.1+200
Yahya42.8%67.9%−25.1-240

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
56.5Striking62.4
Yahya +5.9
49.2Grappling64.8
Yahya +15.5
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
SotoYahya
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1531
Pound-for-pound
1603
1514
Divisional
1581
1483
Striking offense
1478
1490
Striking defense
1540
1517
Grappling offense
1529
1523
Grappling defense
1495
Physical
29 yrs
Age
32 yrs
5'6"
Height
5'6"
65"
Reach
67"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
Striking (UFC career)
3.38
Strikes landed / min
1.46
40%
Strike accuracy
42%
5.59
Strikes absorbed / min
1.17
66%
Strike defense
50%
Grappling (UFC career)
0.83
Takedowns / 15 min
3.45
19%
Takedown accuracy
40%
44%
Takedown defense
28%
1.9
Sub attempts / 15 min
1.7
Form & résumé
40%
UFC win rate
73%
+2
Win/loss streak
+4
40%
Last-5 win rate
80%
100%
Finish rate
38%
Recent opp. quality
126
Days since last fight
168
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Joe Soto
  • WMarco BeltranSUB R1
    Close +1154mo before
  • WChris BealSUB R3
    Close -1259mo before
  • LMichinori TanakaS-DEC R3
    Close +1201y 2mo before
  • LAnthony BirchakKO/TKO R1
    Close -2001y 9mo before
  • LTJ DillashawKO/TKO R5
    Close +9002y 6mo before
Rani Yahya
  • WMichinori TanakaU-DEC R3
    Close -1056mo before
  • WMatthew LopezSUB R3
    Close +1508mo before
  • WMasanori KaneharaS-DEC R3
    Close +1151y 8mo before
  • WJohnny BedfordSUB R2
    Close +1152y 6mo before
  • LTom NiinimakiS-DEC R3
    Close -1053y 3mo before
Soto — 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
5 wins, 3 losses
W
29% of wins
L
60% of losses
Submission
10 wins, 1 loss
W
59% of wins
L
20% of losses
Decision
2 wins, 1 loss
W
12% of wins
L
20% of losses
UFC
2win3loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
0 (0%)KO/TKO(67%) 2
2 (100%)Submission(0%) 0
0 (0%)Decision(33%) 1
Non-UFC
15win2loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
5 (33%)KO/TKO(50%) 1
8 (53%)Submission(50%) 1
2 (13%)Decision(0%) 0
Yahya — win / loss by method
Record: 23-8-0, 1 NC

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
0 wins, 2 losses
W
0% of wins
L
25% of losses
Submission
17 wins, 1 loss
W
74% of wins
L
13% of losses
Decision
6 wins, 5 losses
W
26% of wins
L
63% of losses
UFC
8win2loss0draw1NC
WinsLosses
0 (0%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
3 (38%)Submission(0%) 0
5 (63%)Decision(100%) 2
Non-UFC
15win6loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
0 (0%)KO/TKO(33%) 2
14 (93%)Submission(17%) 1
1 (7%)Decision(50%) 3

Profiles

Experience
Soto
Yahya
5
UFC fights
11
54.2 min · 10.8 avg
Octagon time
130.3 min · 11.8 avg
20y 0m
Career length
23y 10m
UFC schedule strength

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

Soto
Yahya
55W–10L · 84.6%
Overall
149W–42L · 78.0%
24W–5L · 82.8%
Wins
119W–37L · 76.3%
31W–5L · 86.1%
Losses
30W–5L · 85.7%
Non-UFC schedule strength
Soto
Yahya
132W–59L · 69.1%
Overall
162W–54L · 75.0%
113W–54L · 67.7%
Wins
105W–46L · 69.5%
19W–5L · 79.2%
Losses
57W–8L · 87.7%
Distance striking
Soto
Yahya
4.04
Landed / min
3.34
39.5%
Accuracy
33.0%
67.8%
Defense
60.9%
0.00
Knockdowns / 15 min
0.00
79.3%
Time at distance
26.4%
Grappling & control
Soto
Yahya
0.83
Takedowns / 15 min
3.45
18.8%
Takedown accuracy
40.0%
44.4%
Takedown defense
27.8%
1.94
Sub attempts / 15 min
1.73
27.7%
Control share
55.9%
Strike target map
Soto
  • Head79%(145)div 63%
  • Body7%(13)div 21%
  • Legs14%(25)div 16%
Yahya
  • Head62%(118)div 63%
  • Body16%(30)div 21%
  • Legs22%(42)div 16%

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

Joe Soto
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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

Rani Yahya
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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