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UFC 178: Johnson vs Cariaso
Yoel Romero
Yoel Romero
8-1 · USA
VS
Tim Kennedy
Tim Kennedy
18-4 · USA
September 27, 2014 · Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Middleweight · 3 rounds
Yoel Romero def. Tim Kennedy by KO/TKO (Punch), R3 0:58
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1
Romero12/202/200:15
Kennedy4/280/200:00
R2
Romero9/321/201:15
Kennedy25/570/200:01
R3 · 0:58
Romero18/280/020:36
Kennedy1/10/200:00
Total
Romero39/803/422:06
Kennedy30/860/600:01

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 probabilityKennedy
49.1%50.9%
KO / TKO
25%
Submission
21%
Decision
54%
Expected fight time: 10.6 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 Kennedy. Tap a bar for why.

Predicted outcomes
Romero49%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO15%30%
Submission7%15%
Decision27%55%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes40 (2251)act 39
Takedowns0.4 (0.01.7)act 3
Kennedy51%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO10%19%
Submission14%28%
Decision27%53%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes34 (1944)act 30
Takedowns0.5 (0.02.0)act 0
Combined totals~73 sig strikes~0.9 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R127%
R212%
R37%
Distance54%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 1.5%
Romero
56.6%-135
Kennedy
+13541.9%
Most takedownstie 44.1%
Romero
23.7%+136
Kennedy
-13632.2%
Significant strikes — over/under
Romero
Expected: 39.5
39.5
Over 39.5
42.6%
+135
Under 39.5
57.4%
-135
05099
Kennedy
Expected: 33.7
33.5
Over 33.5
42.9%
+133
Under 33.5
57.1%
-133
04385
Takedowns — over/under
Romero
Expected: 0.4
0.5
Over 0.5
33.1%
+202
Under 0.5
66.9%
-202
035
Kennedy
Expected: 0.5
0.5
Over 0.5
41.1%
+143
Under 0.5
58.9%
-143
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 10.6 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
Romero49.1%44.0%+5.1+123
Kennedy50.9%56.0%−5.1-133

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
80.8Striking75.6
Romero +5.3
48.2Grappling49.6
Kennedy +1.5
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
RomeroKennedy
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1578
Pound-for-pound
1586
1578
Divisional
1585
1510
Striking offense
1506
1513
Striking defense
1513
1520
Grappling offense
1505
1523
Grappling defense
1506
Physical
37 yrs
Age
35 yrs
6'0"
Height
5'11"
73"
Reach
74"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
Striking (UFC career)
3.68
Strikes landed / min
2.64
59%
Strike accuracy
52%
1.92
Strikes absorbed / min
1.46
69%
Strike defense
68%
Grappling (UFC career)
2.53
Takedowns / 15 min
2.35
39%
Takedown accuracy
47%
64%
Takedown defense
60%
0.0
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.0
Form & résumé
100%
UFC win rate
100%
+4
Win/loss streak
+3
100%
Last-5 win rate
100%
75%
Finish rate
33%
Recent opp. quality
161
Days since last fight
164
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Yoel Romero
  • WBrad TavaresU-DEC R3
    Close +1355mo before
  • WDerek BrunsonKO/TKO R3
    Close -2108mo before
  • WRonny MarkesKO/TKO R3
    Close -15511mo before
  • WClifford StarksKO/TKO R1
    Close -1751y 5mo before
Tim Kennedy
  • WMichael BispingU-DEC R5
    Close +1855mo before
  • WRafael NatalKO/TKO R1
    Close -38011mo before
  • WRoger GracieU-DEC R3
    Close -1551y 3mo before
Romero — win / loss by method
Record: 8-1-0

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
88% of wins
L
100% of losses
Submission
0 wins, 0 losses
W
0% of wins
L
0% of losses
Decision
1 win, 0 losses
W
13% of wins
L
0% of losses
UFC
4win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
3 (75%)KO/TKO() 0
0 (0%)Submission() 0
1 (25%)Decision() 0
Non-UFC
4win1loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
4 (100%)KO/TKO(100%) 1
0 (0%)Submission(0%) 0
0 (0%)Decision(0%) 0
Kennedy — win / loss by method
Record: 18-4-0

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
8 wins, 1 loss
W
44% of wins
L
25% of losses
Submission
6 wins, 0 losses
W
33% of wins
L
0% of losses
Decision
4 wins, 3 losses
W
22% of wins
L
75% of losses
UFC
3win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
1 (33%)KO/TKO() 0
0 (0%)Submission() 0
2 (67%)Decision() 0
Non-UFC
15win4loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
7 (47%)KO/TKO(25%) 1
6 (40%)Submission(0%) 0
2 (13%)Decision(75%) 3

Profiles

Experience
Romero
Kennedy
4
UFC fights
3
41.6 min · 10.4 avg
Octagon time
44.7 min · 14.9 avg
16y 7m
Career length
24y 11m
UFC schedule strength

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

Romero
Kennedy
45W–5L · 90.0%
Overall
47W–10L · 82.5%
45W–5L · 90.0%
Wins
47W–10L · 82.5%
0W–0L
Losses
0W–0L
Non-UFC schedule strength
Romero
Kennedy
24W–9L · 72.7%
Overall
195W–62L · 75.9%
14W–6L · 70.0%
Wins
156W–54L · 74.3%
10W–3L · 76.9%
Losses
39W–8L · 83.0%
Distance striking
Romero
Kennedy
4.05
Landed / min
3.30
53.6%
Accuracy
42.7%
69.7%
Defense
70.8%
0.72
Knockdowns / 15 min
0.34
61.2%
Time at distance
47.4%
Grappling & control
Romero
Kennedy
2.53
Takedowns / 15 min
2.35
38.9%
Takedown accuracy
46.7%
64.3%
Takedown defense
60.0%
0.00
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.00
63.6%
Control share
84.0%
Strike target map
Romero
  • Head48%(74)div 63%
  • Body27%(41)div 19%
  • Legs25%(38)div 18%
Kennedy
  • Head51%(60)div 63%
  • Body19%(23)div 19%
  • Legs30%(35)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.

Tim Kennedy
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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