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UFC 82: Pride of a Champion
Heath Herring
Heath Herring
27-13 · USA
VS
Cheick Kongo
Cheick Kongo
11-3-1 · FRA
March 1, 2008 · Columbus, Ohio, USA
Heavyweight · 3 rounds
248.0lb
Weigh-in
233.5lb
Heath Herring def. Cheick Kongo by S-DEC, R3 5:00
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1
Herring4/102/211:11
Kongo22/263/303:27
R2
Herring27/320/001:42
Kongo14/212/203:06
R3
Herring26/381/202:57
Kongo9/130/001:44
Total
Herring57/803/415:50
Kongo45/605/508:17

Scorecards

Herring vs Kongo

RdCecil PeoplesNelson HamiltonTodd AgostaCommunity
R1---9.3-9.7
R2---9.7-9.3
R3---10-9
Total28-2929-2829-2829-28

Media (5 cards) · avg 2928 · 5 Herring · 0 Kongo

Official cards + public consensus via MMA Decisions. Per round: Herring-Kongo.

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
HerringWin probabilityKongo
36.9%63.1%
KO / TKO
49%
Submission
28%
Decision
24%
Expected fight time: 7.9 min
What drives the pick

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

Predicted outcomes
Herring37%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO16%42%
Submission15%40%
Decision6%18%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes19 (1024)act 57
Takedowns0.3 (0.01.5)act 3
Kongo63%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO33%52%
Submission13%21%
Decision17%27%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes26 (1434)act 45
Takedowns0.6 (0.02.3)act 5
Combined totals~45 sig strikes~1.0 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R134%
R236%
R36%
Distance24%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 2.3%
Herring
34.3%+185
Kongo
-18563.5%
Most takedownstie 43.5%
Herring
19.4%+190
Kongo
-19037.0%
Significant strikes — over/under
Herring
Expected: 18.6
18.5
Over 18.5
43.0%
+133
Under 18.5
57.0%
-133
02447
Kongo
Expected: 26.0
26
Over 26
41.3%
+136
Exactly 26
2.5%
push
Under 26
56.2%
-136
03366
Takedowns — over/under
Herring
Expected: 0.3
0.5
Over 0.5
28.3%
+253
Under 0.5
71.7%
-253
035
Kongo
Expected: 0.6
0.5
Over 0.5
45.0%
+122
Under 0.5
55.0%
-122
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 7.9 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
Herring36.9%37.9%−1.0+150
Kongo63.1%62.1%+1.0-190

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
63.0Striking79.2
Kongo +16.2
39.9Grappling39.6
Herring +0.3
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
HerringKongo
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1520
Pound-for-pound
1555
1520
Divisional
1555
1499
Striking offense
1517
1511
Striking defense
1540
1498
Grappling offense
1510
1493
Grappling defense
1481
Physical
29 yrs
Age
32 yrs
6'4"
Height
6'4"
78"
Reach
82"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
Striking (UFC career)
2.36
Strikes landed / min
3.57
34%
Strike accuracy
60%
1.93
Strikes absorbed / min
0.96
59%
Strike defense
50%
Grappling (UFC career)
0.67
Takedowns / 15 min
0.58
100%
Takedown accuracy
29%
27%
Takedown defense
47%
0.3
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.9
Form & résumé
33%
UFC win rate
80%
-1
Win/loss streak
+2
33%
Last-5 win rate
80%
0%
Finish rate
50%
Recent opp. quality
238
Days since last fight
175
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Heath Herring
  • LAntonio Rodrigo NogueiraU-DEC R3
    Close +4508mo before
  • WBrad ImesU-DEC R3
    Close -26511mo before
  • LJake O'BrienU-DEC R3
    Close -4501y 1mo before
Cheick Kongo
  • WMirko FilipovicU-DEC R3
    Close +3156mo before
  • WAssuerio SilvaM-DEC R3
    Close +19510mo before
  • LCarmelo MarreroS-DEC R3
    Close -5501y 5mo before
  • WChristian WellischKO/TKO R1
    Close -1701y 6mo before
  • WGilbert AldanaKO/TKO R1
    Close -1171y 8mo before
Herring — win / loss by method
Record: 27-13-0, 1 NC

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
10 wins, 5 losses
W
37% of wins
L
38% of losses
Submission
13 wins, 1 loss
W
48% of wins
L
8% of losses
Decision
3 wins, 7 losses
W
11% of wins
L
54% of losses
DQ / other
1 win, 0 losses
W
4% of wins
L
0% of losses
UFC
1win2loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
0 (0%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
0 (0%)Submission(0%) 0
1 (100%)Decision(100%) 2
Non-UFC
26win11loss0draw1NC
WinsLosses
10 (38%)KO/TKO(45%) 5
13 (50%)Submission(9%) 1
2 (8%)Decision(45%) 5
1 (4%)DQ / other(0%) 0
Kongo — win / loss by method
Record: 11-3-1

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
6 wins, 1 loss
W
55% of wins
L
33% of losses
Submission
2 wins, 0 losses
W
18% of wins
L
0% of losses
Decision
3 wins, 2 losses
W
27% of wins
L
67% of losses
UFC
4win1loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
2 (50%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
0 (0%)Submission(0%) 0
2 (50%)Decision(100%) 1
Non-UFC
7win2loss1draw0NC
WinsLosses
4 (57%)KO/TKO(50%) 1
2 (29%)Submission(0%) 0
1 (14%)Decision(50%) 1

Profiles

Experience
Herring
Kongo
3
UFC fights
5
45.0 min · 15.0 avg
Octagon time
52.1 min · 10.4 avg
29y 3m
Career length
25y 2m
UFC schedule strength

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

Herring
Kongo
41W–6L · 87.2%
Overall
51W–13L · 79.7%
6W–2L · 75.0%
Wins
46W–13L · 78.0%
35W–4L · 89.7%
Losses
5W–0L · 100.0%
Non-UFC schedule strength
Herring
Kongo
333W–117L · 74.0%
Overall
102W–62L · 62.2%
207W–93L · 69.0%
Wins
65W–46L · 58.6%
126W–24L · 84.0%
Losses
37W–16L · 69.8%
Distance striking
Herring
Kongo
3.07
Landed / min
7.03
23.9%
Accuracy
43.5%
65.2%
Defense
56.5%
1.33
Knockdowns / 15 min
0.29
36.9%
Time at distance
21.9%
Grappling & control
Herring
Kongo
0.67
Takedowns / 15 min
0.58
100.0%
Takedown accuracy
28.6%
26.7%
Takedown defense
46.7%
0.33
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.86
43.8%
Control share
39.1%
Strike target map
Herring
  • Head76%(81)div 66%
  • Body11%(12)div 17%
  • Legs12%(13)div 17%
Kongo
  • Head44%(82)div 66%
  • Body31%(57)div 17%
  • Legs25%(47)div 17%

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

Heath Herring
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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

Cheick Kongo
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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