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UFC 82: Pride of a Champion
Chris Leben
Chris Leben
17-5 · USA
VS
Alessio Sakara
Alessio Sakara
12-6 · ITA
March 1, 2008 · Columbus, Ohio, USA
Middleweight · 3 rounds
185.0lb
Weigh-in
185.0lb
Chris Leben def. Alessio Sakara by KO/TKO (Punches), R1 3:16
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1 · 3:16
Leben24/500/110:27
Sakara13/330/000:00
Total
Leben24/500/110:27
Sakara13/330/000:00

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
LebenWin probabilitySakara
46.1%53.9%
KO / TKO
43%
Submission
21%
Decision
36%
Expected fight time: 8.8 min
What drives the pick

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

Predicted outcomes
Leben46%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO19%42%
Submission11%23%
Decision16%35%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes29 (1638)act 24
Takedowns0.6 (0.02.4)act 0
Sakara54%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO24%43%
Submission10%19%
Decision20%38%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes36 (2047)act 13
Takedowns0.6 (0.02.3)act 0
Combined totals~65 sig strikes~1.3 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R137%
R219%
R38%
Distance36%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 1.6%
Leben
40.0%+146
Sakara
-14658.4%
Most takedownstie 42.1%
Leben
29.3%-102
Sakara
+10228.6%
Significant strikes — over/under
Leben
Expected: 29.4
29.5
Over 29.5
42.2%
+137
Under 29.5
57.8%
-137
03774
Sakara
Expected: 35.9
36
Over 36
41.5%
+137
Exactly 36
1.8%
push
Under 36
56.7%
-137
04590
Takedowns — over/under
Leben
Expected: 0.6
0.5
Over 0.5
38.4%
+160
Under 0.5
61.6%
-160
035
Sakara
Expected: 0.6
0.5
Over 0.5
38.1%
+162
Under 0.5
61.9%
-162
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 8.8 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
Leben46.1%58.0%−11.9-153
Sakara53.9%42.0%+11.9+128

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
64.0Striking79.7
Sakara +15.7
55.5Grappling68.7
Sakara +13.3
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
LebenSakara
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1567
Pound-for-pound
1514
1569
Divisional
1514
1498
Striking offense
1507
1512
Striking defense
1500
1519
Grappling offense
1526
1501
Grappling defense
1506
Physical
27 yrs
Age
26 yrs
5'11"
Height
6'0"
73"
Reach
72"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
Striking (UFC career)
2.79
Strikes landed / min
5.31
44%
Strike accuracy
50%
2.23
Strikes absorbed / min
2.07
50%
Strike defense
57%
Grappling (UFC career)
2.03
Takedowns / 15 min
4.86
58%
Takedown accuracy
77%
57%
Takedown defense
70%
0.4
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.0
Form & résumé
70%
UFC win rate
43%
+1
Win/loss streak
+1
40%
Last-5 win rate
40%
71%
Finish rate
67%
Recent opp. quality
164
Days since last fight
42
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Chris Leben
  • WTerry MartinKO/TKO R3
    Close +1805mo before
  • LKalib StarnesU-DEC R3
    Close -2609mo before
  • LJason MacDonaldSUB R2
    Close -1701y 2mo before
  • WJorge SantiagoKO/TKO R2
    Close -3001y 6mo before
  • LAnderson SilvaKO/TKO R1
    Close +1701y 8mo before
Alessio Sakara
  • WJames LeeKO/TKO R1
    Close -14542d before
  • LHouston AlexanderKO/TKO R1
    Close +1356mo before
  • WVictor ValimakiKO/TKO R1
    Close -15010mo before
  • LDrew McFedriesKO/TKO R1
    Close -6051y 3mo before
  • LDean ListerSUB R1
    Close +2151y 9mo before
Leben — win / loss by method
Record: 17-5-0

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
53% of wins
L
20% of losses
Submission
4 wins, 1 loss
W
24% of wins
L
20% of losses
Decision
4 wins, 3 losses
W
24% of wins
L
60% of losses
UFC
7win3loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
4 (57%)KO/TKO(33%) 1
1 (14%)Submission(33%) 1
2 (29%)Decision(33%) 1
Non-UFC
10win2loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
5 (50%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
3 (30%)Submission(0%) 0
2 (20%)Decision(100%) 2
Sakara — win / loss by method
Record: 12-6-0, 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
7 wins, 2 losses
W
58% of wins
L
33% of losses
Submission
2 wins, 2 losses
W
17% of wins
L
33% of losses
Decision
3 wins, 2 losses
W
25% of wins
L
33% of losses
UFC
3win3loss0draw1NC
WinsLosses
2 (67%)KO/TKO(67%) 2
0 (0%)Submission(33%) 1
1 (33%)Decision(0%) 0
Non-UFC
9win3loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
5 (56%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
2 (22%)Submission(33%) 1
2 (22%)Decision(67%) 2

Profiles

Experience
Leben
Sakara
10
UFC fights
7
81.1 min · 8.1 avg
Octagon time
30.9 min · 4.4 avg
23y 9m
Career length
24y 1m
UFC schedule strength

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

Leben
Sakara
126W–33L · 79.2%
Overall
46W–19L · 70.8%
85W–21L · 80.2%
Wins
28W–13L · 68.3%
41W–12L · 77.4%
Losses
18W–6L · 75.0%
Non-UFC schedule strength
Leben
Sakara
85W–30L · 73.9%
Overall
24W–17L · 58.5%
59W–25L · 70.2%
Wins
7W–9L · 43.8%
26W–5L · 83.9%
Losses
17W–8L · 68.0%
1 of Sakara's non-UFC opponents have no record in our data, so this is understated. Refresh data to fill them in.
Distance striking
Leben
Sakara
4.13
Landed / min
6.21
29.6%
Accuracy
42.3%
57.6%
Defense
70.5%
0.55
Knockdowns / 15 min
0.49
20.6%
Time at distance
27.1%
Grappling & control
Leben
Sakara
2.03
Takedowns / 15 min
4.86
57.9%
Takedown accuracy
76.9%
56.5%
Takedown defense
70.0%
0.37
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.00
55.4%
Control share
91.3%
Strike target map
Leben
  • Head61%(137)div 63%
  • Body23%(51)div 20%
  • Legs17%(38)div 17%
Sakara
  • Head91%(149)div 63%
  • Body9%(14)div 20%
  • Legs1%(1)div 17%

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

Chris Leben
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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

Alessio Sakara
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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