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UFC 102: Couture vs Nogueira
Aaron Simpson
Aaron Simpson
6-0 · USA
VS
Ed Herman
Ed Herman
17-7 · USA
August 29, 2009 · Portland, Oregon, USA
Middleweight · 3 rounds
185.0lb
Weigh-in
185.5lb
Aaron Simpson def. Ed Herman by KO/TKO (to Knee Injury), R2 0:17
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1
Simpson25/492/213:04
Herman7/300/000:00
R2 · 0:17
Simpson0/11/100:01
Herman0/20/000:00
Total
Simpson25/503/313:05
Herman7/320/000:00

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
SimpsonWin probabilityHerman
70.6%29.4%
KO / TKO
49%
Submission
18%
Decision
33%
Expected fight time: 9.2 min
What drives the pick

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

Predicted outcomes
Simpson71%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO40%56%
Submission8%12%
Decision23%32%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes38 (2150)act 25
Takedowns1.0 (0.03.0)act 3
Herman29%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO10%34%
Submission9%32%
Decision10%34%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes27 (1435)act 7
Takedowns0.3 (0.01.2)act 0
Combined totals~65 sig strikes~1.3 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R119%
R245%
R33%
Distance33%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 1.6%
Simpson
65.4%-198
Herman
+19833.1%
Most takedownstie 39.4%
Simpson
47.5%-361
Herman
+36113.2%
Significant strikes — over/under
Simpson
Expected: 38.3
38.5
Over 38.5
42.2%
+137
Under 38.5
57.8%
-137
04896
Herman
Expected: 26.7
26.5
Over 26.5
42.9%
+133
Under 26.5
57.1%
-133
03467
Takedowns — over/under
Simpson
Expected: 1.0
1
Over 1
34.4%
+134
Exactly 1
19.6%
push
Under 1
46.0%
-134
035
Herman
Expected: 0.3
0.5
Over 0.5
21.4%
+368
Under 0.5
78.6%
-368
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 9.2 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
Simpson70.6%51.7%+18.9-119
Herman29.4%48.3%−18.9-103

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
97.2Striking68.4
Simpson +28.8
50.0Grappling87.4
Herman +37.4
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
SimpsonHerman
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1534
Pound-for-pound
1525
1534
Divisional
1524
1492
Striking offense
1470
1505
Striking defense
1517
1559
Grappling offense
1541
1561
Grappling defense
1490
Physical
35 yrs
Age
28 yrs
6'0"
Height
6'1"
73"
Reach
77"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
Striking (UFC career)
9.60
Strikes landed / min
3.10
59%
Strike accuracy
55%
0.60
Strikes absorbed / min
1.60
75%
Strike defense
40%
Grappling (UFC career)
9.00
Takedowns / 15 min
4.53
100%
Takedown accuracy
52%
Takedown defense
86%
0.0
Sub attempts / 15 min
1.4
Form & résumé
100%
UFC win rate
50%
+1
Win/loss streak
+1
100%
Last-5 win rate
60%
100%
Finish rate
75%
Recent opp. quality
150
Days since last fight
133
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Aaron Simpson
  • WTim McKenzieKO/TKO R1
    Close -2035mo before
Ed Herman
  • WDavid LoiseauU-DEC R3
    Close -1034mo before
  • LAlan BelcherS-DEC R3
    Close -26011mo before
  • LDemian MaiaSUB R2
    Close +1551y 4mo before
  • WJoe DoerksenKO/TKO R3
    Close -1481y 9mo before
  • WScott SmithSUB R2
    Close -1632y 2mo before
Simpson — win / loss by method
Record: 6-0-0

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, 0 losses
W
83% of wins
L
Submission
1 win, 0 losses
W
17% of wins
L
Decision
0 wins, 0 losses
W
0% of wins
L
UFC
1win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
1 (100%)KO/TKO() 0
0 (0%)Submission() 0
0 (0%)Decision() 0
Non-UFC
5win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
4 (80%)KO/TKO() 0
1 (20%)Submission() 0
0 (0%)Decision() 0
Herman — win / loss by method
Record: 17-7-0

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
4 wins, 0 losses
W
24% of wins
L
0% of losses
Submission
11 wins, 5 losses
W
65% of wins
L
71% of losses
Decision
2 wins, 2 losses
W
12% of wins
L
29% of losses
UFC
4win4loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
1 (25%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
2 (50%)Submission(50%) 2
1 (25%)Decision(50%) 2
Non-UFC
13win3loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
3 (23%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
9 (69%)Submission(100%) 3
1 (8%)Decision(0%) 0

Profiles

Experience
Simpson
Herman
1
UFC fights
8
1.7 min · 1.7 avg
Octagon time
76.2 min · 9.5 avg
26y 3m
Career length
23y 3m
UFC schedule strength

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

Simpson
Herman
12W–5L · 70.6%
Overall
118W–37L · 76.1%
12W–5L · 70.6%
Wins
78W–22L · 78.0%
0W–0L
Losses
40W–15L · 72.7%
Non-UFC schedule strength
Simpson
Herman
3W–0L · 100.0%
Overall
162W–62L · 72.3%
3W–0L · 100.0%
Wins
121W–52L · 69.9%
0W–0L
Losses
41W–10L · 80.4%
Distance striking
Simpson
Herman
6.29
Landed / min
3.07
60.0%
Accuracy
25.7%
75.0%
Defense
48.3%
9.00
Knockdowns / 15 min
0.20
28.6%
Time at distance
15.4%
Grappling & control
Simpson
Herman
9.00
Takedowns / 15 min
4.53
100.0%
Takedown accuracy
52.3%
Takedown defense
85.7%
0.00
Sub attempts / 15 min
1.38
100.0%
Control share
79.0%
Strike target map
Simpson
  • Head69%(11)div 63%
  • Body19%(3)div 20%
  • Legs13%(2)div 17%
Herman
  • Head63%(149)div 63%
  • Body35%(83)div 20%
  • Legs2%(4)div 17%

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

Aaron Simpson
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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

Ed Herman
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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