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UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs Sonnen
Michael McDonald
Michael McDonald
15-2 · USA
VS
Brad Pickett
Brad Pickett
23-7 · GBR
August 17, 2013 · Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Bantamweight · 3 rounds
Michael McDonald def. Brad Pickett by SUB (Triangle Choke), R2 3:43
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1
McDonald42/690/120:29
Pickett11/470/000:00
R2 · 3:43
McDonald9/180/000:00
Pickett6/311/102:21
Total
McDonald51/870/120:29
Pickett17/781/102:21

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
McDonaldWin probabilityPickett
84.2%15.8%
KO / TKO
49%
Submission
12%
Decision
40%
Expected fight time: 9.3 min
What drives the pick

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

Predicted outcomes
McDonald84%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO43%51%
Submission8%10%
Decision33%39%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes50 (2865)act 51
Takedowns0.5 (0.02.0)act 0
Pickett16%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO6%37%
Submission3%19%
Decision7%44%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes26 (1434)act 17
Takedowns0.5 (0.01.8)act 1
Combined totals~76 sig strikes~1.0 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R128%
R227%
R35%
Distance40%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 1.2%
McDonald
76.8%-349
Pickett
+34922.0%
Most takedownstie 48.8%
McDonald
26.1%-104
Pickett
+10425.0%
Significant strikes — over/under
McDonald
Expected: 50.1
50
Over 50
41.9%
+135
Exactly 50
1.3%
push
Under 50
56.8%
-135
063126
Pickett
Expected: 26.0
26
Over 26
41.2%
+137
Exactly 26
2.5%
push
Under 26
56.3%
-137
03365
Takedowns — over/under
McDonald
Expected: 0.5
0.5
Over 0.5
32.7%
+206
Under 0.5
67.3%
-206
035
Pickett
Expected: 0.5
0.5
Over 0.5
32.1%
+211
Under 0.5
67.9%
-211
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 9.3 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
McDonald84.2%74.8%+9.4-320
Pickett15.8%25.2%−9.4+290

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
62.7Striking57.0
McDonald +5.8
61.9Grappling62.2
Pickett +0.3
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
McDonaldPickett
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1579
Pound-for-pound
1555
1579
Divisional
1556
1506
Striking offense
1508
1508
Striking defense
1488
1498
Grappling offense
1498
1500
Grappling defense
1502
Physical
22 yrs
Age
34 yrs
5'9"
Height
5'6"
70"
Reach
68"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
Striking (UFC career)
2.58
Strikes landed / min
4.16
39%
Strike accuracy
33%
2.61
Strikes absorbed / min
5.27
58%
Strike defense
63%
Grappling (UFC career)
1.69
Takedowns / 15 min
2.56
75%
Takedown accuracy
62%
64%
Takedown defense
73%
0.8
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.3
Form & résumé
80%
UFC win rate
60%
-1
Win/loss streak
+1
80%
Last-5 win rate
60%
50%
Finish rate
67%
Recent opp. quality
182
Days since last fight
133
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Michael McDonald
  • LRenan BaraoSUB R4
    Close +2656mo before
  • WMiguel TorresKO/TKO R1
    Close -1051y 4mo before
  • WAlex SotoKO/TKO R1
    Close -4101y 9mo before
  • WChris CariasoS-DEC R3
    Close -3802y 3mo before
  • WEdwin FigueroaU-DEC R3
    Close -4602y 5mo before
Brad Pickett
  • WMike EastonS-DEC R3
    Close -1454mo before
  • LEddie WinelandS-DEC R3
    Close +1458mo before
  • WYves JabouinKO/TKO R1
    Close -15611mo before
  • WDamacio PageSUB R2
    Close -2801y 4mo before
  • LRenan BaraoSUB R1
    Close +1151y 9mo before
McDonald — win / loss by method
Record: 15-2-0

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
9 wins, 1 loss
W
60% of wins
L
50% of losses
Submission
4 wins, 1 loss
W
27% of wins
L
50% of losses
Decision
2 wins, 0 losses
W
13% of wins
L
0% of losses
UFC
4win1loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
2 (50%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
0 (0%)Submission(100%) 1
2 (50%)Decision(0%) 0
Non-UFC
11win1loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
7 (64%)KO/TKO(100%) 1
4 (36%)Submission(0%) 0
0 (0%)Decision(0%) 0
Pickett — win / loss by method
Record: 23-7-0

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
30% of wins
L
14% of losses
Submission
10 wins, 3 losses
W
43% of wins
L
43% of losses
Decision
6 wins, 3 losses
W
26% of wins
L
43% of losses
UFC
3win2loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
1 (33%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
1 (33%)Submission(50%) 1
1 (33%)Decision(50%) 1
Non-UFC
20win5loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
6 (30%)KO/TKO(20%) 1
9 (45%)Submission(40%) 2
5 (25%)Decision(40%) 2

Profiles

Experience
McDonald
Pickett
5
UFC fights
5
53.2 min · 10.6 avg
Octagon time
46.9 min · 9.4 avg
18y 9m
Career length
21y 8m
UFC schedule strength

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

McDonald
Pickett
93W–7L · 93.0%
Overall
91W–24L · 79.1%
64W–6L · 91.4%
Wins
46W–15L · 75.4%
29W–1L · 96.7%
Losses
45W–9L · 83.3%
Non-UFC schedule strength
McDonald
Pickett
64W–25L · 71.9%
Overall
164W–95L · 63.3%
53W–21L · 71.6%
Wins
100W–61L · 62.1%
11W–4L · 73.3%
Losses
64W–34L · 65.3%
Distance striking
McDonald
Pickett
3.21
Landed / min
4.79
36.2%
Accuracy
28.9%
58.8%
Defense
64.0%
0.85
Knockdowns / 15 min
0.64
65.0%
Time at distance
65.4%
Grappling & control
McDonald
Pickett
1.69
Takedowns / 15 min
2.56
75.0%
Takedown accuracy
61.5%
64.3%
Takedown defense
73.3%
0.85
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.32
39.6%
Control share
70.5%
Strike target map
McDonald
  • Head76%(104)div 61%
  • Body12%(17)div 22%
  • Legs12%(16)div 17%
Pickett
  • Head69%(134)div 61%
  • Body15%(29)div 22%
  • Legs16%(32)div 17%

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

Michael McDonald
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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

Brad Pickett
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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