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UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson
Robert Whittaker
Robert Whittaker
16-4 · AUS
VS
Derek Brunson
Derek Brunson
16-3 · USA
November 26, 2016 · Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Middleweight · 5 rounds · Main event
Robert Whittaker def. Derek Brunson by KO/TKO (Kick), R1 4:07
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1 · 4:07
Whittaker33/580/010:07
Brunson19/420/301:12
Total
Whittaker33/580/010:07
Brunson19/420/301:12

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 probabilityBrunson
47.4%52.6%
KO / TKO
73%
Submission
4%
Decision
23%
Expected fight time: 17.0 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 Brunson. Tap a bar for why.

Predicted outcomes
Whittaker47%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO33%69%
Submission2%5%
Decision12%26%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes92 (53119)act 33
Takedowns0.1 (0.00.3)act 0
Brunson53%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO40%75%
Submission2%4%
Decision11%21%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes75 (4397)act 19
Takedowns0.9 (0.02.9)act 0
Combined totals~166 sig strikes~1.0 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R110%
R29%
R329%
R417%
R512%
Distance23%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 0.7%
Whittaker
59.3%-148
Brunson
+14840.1%
Most takedownstie 49.5%
Whittaker
7.8%+549
Brunson
-54942.8%
Significant strikes — over/under
Whittaker
Expected: 91.7
91.5
Over 91.5
42.7%
+134
Under 91.5
57.3%
-134
0115230
Brunson
Expected: 74.6
74.5
Over 74.5
42.6%
+135
Under 74.5
57.4%
-135
094187
Takedowns — over/under
Whittaker
Expected: 0.1
0
Over 0
11.8%
Exactly 0
88.2%
push
Under 0
0.0%
035
Brunson
Expected: 0.9
1
Over 1
29.8%
+182
Exactly 1
15.8%
push
Under 1
54.4%
-182
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 17.0 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
Whittaker47.4%47.8%−0.4+100
Brunson52.6%52.2%+0.4-120

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
68.5Striking63.9
Whittaker +4.6
53.1Grappling66.7
Brunson +13.6
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
WhittakerBrunson
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1599
Pound-for-pound
1613
1586
Divisional
1613
1525
Striking offense
1521
1499
Striking defense
1517
1480
Grappling offense
1521
1551
Grappling defense
1523
Physical
25 yrs
Age
32 yrs
6'0"
Height
6'1"
73"
Reach
77"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
Striking (UFC career)
4.95
Strikes landed / min
3.05
41%
Strike accuracy
42%
4.07
Strikes absorbed / min
2.43
64%
Strike defense
52%
Grappling (UFC career)
0.61
Takedowns / 15 min
3.21
67%
Takedown accuracy
32%
93%
Takedown defense
100%
0.0
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.9
Form & résumé
78%
UFC win rate
88%
+5
Win/loss streak
+5
100%
Last-5 win rate
100%
43%
Finish rate
71%
Recent opp. quality
217
Days since last fight
70
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Robert Whittaker
  • WRafael NatalU-DEC R3
    Close -3257mo before
  • WUriah HallU-DEC R3
    Close +1351y before
  • WBrad TavaresKO/TKO R1
    Close +1151y 7mo before
  • WClint HesterKO/TKO R2
    Close +1702y 1mo before
  • WMike RhodesU-DEC R3
    Close -2502y 5mo before
Derek Brunson
  • WUriah HallKO/TKO R1
    Close -1852mo before
  • WRoan CarneiroKO/TKO R1
    Close -3659mo before
  • WSam AlveyKO/TKO R1
    Close -3801y 4mo before
  • WEd HermanKO/TKO R1
    Close -6601y 10mo before
  • WLorenz LarkinU-DEC R3
    Close -1652y 3mo before
Whittaker — win / loss by method
Record: 16-4-0

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
7 wins, 1 loss
W
44% of wins
L
25% of losses
Submission
5 wins, 1 loss
W
31% of wins
L
25% of losses
Decision
4 wins, 2 losses
W
25% of wins
L
50% of losses
UFC
7win2loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
3 (43%)KO/TKO(50%) 1
0 (0%)Submission(0%) 0
4 (57%)Decision(50%) 1
Non-UFC
9win2loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
4 (44%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
5 (56%)Submission(50%) 1
0 (0%)Decision(50%) 1
Brunson — 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
9 wins, 2 losses
W
56% of wins
L
67% of losses
Submission
3 wins, 0 losses
W
19% of wins
L
0% of losses
Decision
4 wins, 1 loss
W
25% of wins
L
33% of losses
UFC
7win1loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
4 (57%)KO/TKO(100%) 1
1 (14%)Submission(0%) 0
2 (29%)Decision(0%) 0
Non-UFC
9win2loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
5 (56%)KO/TKO(50%) 1
2 (22%)Submission(0%) 0
2 (22%)Decision(50%) 1

Profiles

Experience
Whittaker
Brunson
9
UFC fights
8
97.8 min · 10.9 avg
Octagon time
51.4 min · 6.4 avg
17y 4m
Career length
16y 2m
UFC schedule strength

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

Whittaker
Brunson
97W–25L · 79.5%
Overall
125W–42L · 74.9%
74W–21L · 77.9%
Wins
119W–41L · 74.4%
23W–4L · 85.2%
Losses
6W–1L · 85.7%
Non-UFC schedule strength
Whittaker
Brunson
64W–29L · 68.8%
Overall
84W–46L · 64.6%
39W–13L · 75.0%
Wins
53W–33L · 61.6%
25W–16L · 61.0%
Losses
31W–13L · 70.5%
Distance striking
Whittaker
Brunson
5.23
Landed / min
3.59
37.9%
Accuracy
34.2%
66.1%
Defense
59.1%
0.92
Knockdowns / 15 min
0.88
77.2%
Time at distance
45.0%
Grappling & control
Whittaker
Brunson
0.61
Takedowns / 15 min
3.21
66.7%
Takedown accuracy
32.4%
93.1%
Takedown defense
100.0%
0.00
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.88
58.5%
Control share
96.6%
Strike target map
Whittaker
  • Head75%(362)div 63%
  • Body10%(46)div 19%
  • Legs16%(76)div 18%
Brunson
  • Head78%(122)div 63%
  • Body6%(9)div 19%
  • Legs17%(26)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.

Derek Brunson
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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