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UFC 101: Declaration
Aaron Riley
Aaron Riley
28-11-1 · USA
VS
Shane Nelson
Shane Nelson
12-3 · USA
August 8, 2009 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Lightweight · 3 rounds
154.0lb
Weigh-in
156.0lb
Aaron Riley def. Shane Nelson by U-DEC, R3 5:00
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1
Riley20/390/201:34
Nelson14/280/300:01
R2
Riley18/511/202:32
Nelson11/310/100:00
R3
Riley12/321/103:39
Nelson3/150/100:00
Total
Riley50/1222/507:45
Nelson28/740/500:01

Scorecards

Riley vs Nelson

RdEric ColónJeff BlatnickNelson HamiltonCommunity
R1---10-9
R2---10-9
R3---10-9
Total30-2730-2730-2730-27

Media (4 cards) · avg 3027 · 4 Riley · 0 Nelson

Official cards + public consensus via MMA Decisions. Per round: Riley-Nelson.

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
RileyWin probabilityNelson
54.3%45.7%
KO / TKO
20%
Submission
19%
Decision
61%
Expected fight time: 11.3 min
What drives the pick

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

Predicted outcomes
Riley54%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO12%22%
Submission13%24%
Decision29%54%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes32 (1741)act 50
Takedowns0.8 (0.02.8)act 2
Nelson46%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO8%18%
Submission6%13%
Decision32%69%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes38 (2149)act 28
Takedowns0.6 (0.02.4)act 0
Combined totals~70 sig strikes~1.5 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R123%
R29%
R37%
Distance61%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 1.5%
Riley
41.1%+140
Nelson
-14057.4%
Most takedownstie 39.7%
Riley
34.1%-130
Nelson
+13026.2%
Significant strikes — over/under
Riley
Expected: 31.7
31.5
Over 31.5
43.0%
+133
Under 31.5
57.0%
-133
04080
Nelson
Expected: 37.9
38
Over 38
41.5%
+137
Exactly 38
1.7%
push
Under 38
56.8%
-137
04895
Takedowns — over/under
Riley
Expected: 0.8
1
Over 1
28.7%
+196
Exactly 1
15.1%
push
Under 1
56.2%
-196
035
Nelson
Expected: 0.6
0.5
Over 0.5
36.6%
+173
Under 0.5
63.4%
-173
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 11.3 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
Riley54.3%59.1%−4.8-163
Nelson45.7%40.9%+4.8+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
65.5Striking61.3
Riley +4.3
40.2Grappling51.8
Nelson +11.6
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
RileyNelson
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1499
Pound-for-pound
1546
1527
Divisional
1547
1495
Striking offense
1497
1497
Striking defense
1501
1498
Grappling offense
1503
1504
Grappling defense
1499
Physical
28 yrs
Age
24 yrs
5'8"
Height
5'9"
69"
Reach
70"
Southpaw
Stance
Southpaw
Striking (UFC career)
4.65
Strikes landed / min
0.95
43%
Strike accuracy
34%
4.59
Strikes absorbed / min
1.59
62%
Strike defense
70%
Grappling (UFC career)
1.26
Takedowns / 15 min
2.86
38%
Takedown accuracy
30%
42%
Takedown defense
0%
0.4
Sub attempts / 15 min
1.9
Form & résumé
25%
UFC win rate
100%
-1
Win/loss streak
+2
25%
Last-5 win rate
100%
0%
Finish rate
50%
Recent opp. quality
154
Days since last fight
154
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Aaron Riley
  • LShane NelsonKO/TKO R1
    Close -2555mo before
  • WJorge GurgelU-DEC R3
    Close -1119mo before
  • LSpencer FisherKO/TKO R1
    Close +1803y 7mo before
  • LRobbie LawlerU-DEC R3
    7y 3mo before
Shane Nelson
  • WAaron RileyKO/TKO R1
    Close +2105mo before
  • WGeorge RoopS-DEC R3
    Close -1038mo before
Riley — win / loss by method
Record: 28-11-1

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, 5 losses
W
32% of wins
L
45% of losses
Submission
10 wins, 2 losses
W
36% of wins
L
18% of losses
Decision
9 wins, 4 losses
W
32% of wins
L
36% of losses
UFC
1win3loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
0 (0%)KO/TKO(67%) 2
0 (0%)Submission(0%) 0
1 (100%)Decision(33%) 1
Non-UFC
27win8loss1draw0NC
WinsLosses
9 (33%)KO/TKO(38%) 3
10 (37%)Submission(25%) 2
8 (30%)Decision(38%) 3
Nelson — win / loss by method
Record: 12-3-0

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
3 wins, 0 losses
W
25% of wins
L
0% of losses
Submission
2 wins, 0 losses
W
17% of wins
L
0% of losses
Decision
7 wins, 3 losses
W
58% of wins
L
100% of losses
UFC
2win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
1 (50%)KO/TKO() 0
0 (0%)Submission() 0
1 (50%)Decision() 0
Non-UFC
10win3loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
2 (20%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
2 (20%)Submission(0%) 0
6 (60%)Decision(100%) 3

Profiles

Experience
Riley
Nelson
4
UFC fights
2
35.7 min · 8.9 avg
Octagon time
15.7 min · 7.9 avg
29y 0m
Career length
21y 11m
UFC schedule strength

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

Riley
Nelson
42W–8L · 84.0%
Overall
36W–13L · 73.5%
12W–4L · 75.0%
Wins
36W–13L · 73.5%
30W–4L · 88.2%
Losses
0W–0L
Non-UFC schedule strength
Riley
Nelson
160W–90L · 64.0%
Overall
77W–49L · 61.1%
89W–62L · 58.9%
Wins
45W–35L · 56.3%
71W–28L · 71.7%
Losses
32W–14L · 69.6%
Distance striking
Riley
Nelson
5.21
Landed / min
1.10
36.7%
Accuracy
20.0%
66.5%
Defense
77.8%
0.00
Knockdowns / 15 min
0.95
56.4%
Time at distance
17.4%
Grappling & control
Riley
Nelson
1.26
Takedowns / 15 min
2.86
37.5%
Takedown accuracy
30.0%
41.7%
Takedown defense
0.0%
0.42
Sub attempts / 15 min
1.91
53.4%
Control share
66.9%
Strike target map
Riley
  • Head50%(83)div 66%
  • Body27%(44)div 18%
  • Legs23%(39)div 16%
Nelson
  • Head93%(14)div 66%
  • Body7%(1)div 18%
  • Legs0%(0)div 16%

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

Aaron Riley
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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

Shane Nelson
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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