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UFC 121: Lesnar vs Velasquez
Diego Sanchez
Diego Sanchez
21-4 · USA
VS
Paulo Thiago
Paulo Thiago
13-2 · BRA
October 23, 2010 · Anaheim, California, USA
Welterweight · 3 rounds
Diego Sanchez def. Paulo Thiago by U-DEC, R3 5:00
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1
Sanchez7/320/400:31
Thiago24/431/201:30
R2
Sanchez15/311/303:59
Thiago11/180/000:00
R3
Sanchez26/491/104:44
Thiago1/40/100:02
Total
Sanchez48/1122/809:14
Thiago36/651/301:32

Scorecards

Sanchez vs Thiago

RdLarry LandlessLuis CobianMike BeltranCommunity
R1---9.2-9.8
R2---10-9
R3---10-8.9
Total29-2830-2629-2829.2-27.7

Media (5 cards) · avg 2928 · 5 Sanchez · 0 Thiago

Official cards + public consensus via MMA Decisions. Per round: Sanchez-Thiago.

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
SanchezWin probabilityThiago
27.5%72.5%
KO / TKO
22%
Submission
14%
Decision
64%
Expected fight time: 12.0 min
What drives the pick

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

Predicted outcomes
Sanchez27%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO8%31%
Submission2%8%
Decision17%61%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes33 (1843)act 48
Takedowns0.4 (0.01.7)act 2
Thiago73%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO14%19%
Submission12%16%
Decision47%65%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes39 (2251)act 36
Takedowns0.3 (0.01.1)act 1
Combined totals~72 sig strikes~0.7 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R117%
R27%
R312%
Distance64%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 1.5%
Sanchez
41.4%+138
Thiago
-13857.1%
Most takedownstie 60.9%
Sanchez
21.9%-127
Thiago
+12717.2%
Significant strikes — over/under
Sanchez
Expected: 32.8
33
Over 33
41.0%
+139
Exactly 33
2.0%
push
Under 33
57.0%
-139
04182
Thiago
Expected: 38.9
39
Over 39
41.5%
+137
Exactly 39
1.7%
push
Under 39
56.8%
-137
04998
Takedowns — over/under
Sanchez
Expected: 0.4
0.5
Over 0.5
25.0%
+300
Under 0.5
75.0%
-300
035
Thiago
Expected: 0.3
0.5
Over 0.5
20.9%
+379
Under 0.5
79.1%
-379
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 12.0 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
Sanchez27.5%42.7%−15.2+130
Thiago72.5%57.3%+15.2-140

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
65.6Striking65.5
Sanchez +0.1
44.6Grappling48.4
Thiago +3.8
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
SanchezThiago
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1609
Pound-for-pound
1561
1589
Divisional
1557
1490
Striking offense
1493
1522
Striking defense
1524
1500
Grappling offense
1518
1514
Grappling defense
1509
Physical
28 yrs
Age
29 yrs
5'10"
Height
5'11"
72"
Reach
74"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
Striking (UFC career)
2.66
Strikes landed / min
1.23
38%
Strike accuracy
38%
2.20
Strikes absorbed / min
1.26
61%
Strike defense
68%
Grappling (UFC career)
1.65
Takedowns / 15 min
0.81
19%
Takedown accuracy
20%
49%
Takedown defense
42%
1.1
Sub attempts / 15 min
1.9
Form & résumé
71%
UFC win rate
60%
-2
Win/loss streak
-1
60%
Last-5 win rate
60%
50%
Finish rate
67%
Recent opp. quality
147
Days since last fight
133
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Diego Sanchez
  • LJohn HathawayU-DEC R3
    Close -2155mo before
  • LBJ PennKO/TKO R5
    Close +22510mo before
  • WClay GuidaS-DEC R3
    Close -3471y 4mo before
  • WJoe StevensonU-DEC R3
    Close -3161y 8mo before
  • WLuigi FioravantiKO/TKO R3
    Close -5602y 4mo before
Paulo Thiago
  • LMartin KampmannU-DEC R3
    Close -2184mo before
  • WMike SwickSUB R2
    Close +1709mo before
  • WJacob VolkmannU-DEC R3
    Close -19011mo before
  • LJon FitchU-DEC R3
    Close +3851y 3mo before
  • WJosh KoscheckKO/TKO R1
    Close +3881y 8mo before
Sanchez — win / loss by method
Record: 21-4-0

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
9 wins, 1 loss
W
43% of wins
L
25% of losses
Submission
6 wins, 0 losses
W
29% of wins
L
0% of losses
Decision
6 wins, 3 losses
W
29% of wins
L
75% of losses
UFC
10win4loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
5 (50%)KO/TKO(25%) 1
0 (0%)Submission(0%) 0
5 (50%)Decision(75%) 3
Non-UFC
11win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
4 (36%)KO/TKO() 0
6 (55%)Submission() 0
1 (9%)Decision() 0
Thiago — win / loss by method
Record: 13-2-0

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
2 wins, 0 losses
W
15% of wins
L
0% of losses
Submission
8 wins, 0 losses
W
62% of wins
L
0% of losses
Decision
3 wins, 2 losses
W
23% of wins
L
100% of losses
UFC
3win2loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
1 (33%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
1 (33%)Submission(0%) 0
1 (33%)Decision(100%) 2
Non-UFC
10win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
1 (10%)KO/TKO() 0
7 (70%)Submission() 0
2 (20%)Decision() 0

Profiles

Experience
Sanchez
Thiago
14
UFC fights
5
172.9 min · 12.4 avg
Octagon time
55.4 min · 11.1 avg
24y 1m
Career length
21y 1m
UFC schedule strength

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

Sanchez
Thiago
223W–66L · 77.2%
Overall
71W–12L · 85.5%
171W–58L · 74.7%
Wins
35W–6L · 85.4%
52W–8L · 86.7%
Losses
36W–6L · 85.7%
Non-UFC schedule strength
Sanchez
Thiago
54W–57L · 48.6%
Overall
28W–8L · 77.8%
54W–57L · 48.6%
Wins
28W–8L · 77.8%
0W–0L
Losses
0W–0L
Distance striking
Sanchez
Thiago
2.82
Landed / min
2.07
28.7%
Accuracy
31.4%
67.0%
Defense
79.2%
0.43
Knockdowns / 15 min
1.08
48.2%
Time at distance
33.2%
Grappling & control
Sanchez
Thiago
1.65
Takedowns / 15 min
0.81
19.4%
Takedown accuracy
20.0%
48.6%
Takedown defense
41.7%
1.13
Sub attempts / 15 min
1.90
59.7%
Control share
26.3%
Strike target map
Sanchez
  • Head79%(364)div 63%
  • Body18%(83)div 21%
  • Legs3%(13)div 16%
Thiago
  • Head60%(41)div 63%
  • Body21%(14)div 21%
  • Legs19%(13)div 16%

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

Diego Sanchez
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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

Paulo Thiago
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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