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UFC 63: Hughes vs Penn
Matt Hughes
Matt Hughes
40-4 · USA
VS
BJ Penn
BJ Penn
10-3-1 · USA
September 23, 2006 · Anaheim, California, USA
Welterweight · 5 rounds · Main event
170.0lb
Weigh-in
166.5lb
Matt Hughes def. BJ Penn by KO/TKO (Punches), R3 3:53
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1
Hughes7/270/701:52
Penn13/220/000:39
R2
Hughes4/121/202:55
Penn2/50/001:19
R3 · 3:53
Hughes24/490/002:11
Penn2/100/100:00
Total
Hughes35/881/906:58
Penn17/370/101:58

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
HughesWin probabilityPenn
30.5%69.5%
KO / TKO
23%
Submission
7%
Decision
70%
Expected fight time: 20.5 min
What drives the pick

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

Predicted outcomes
Hughes30%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO9%29%
Submission3%10%
Decision18%61%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes74 (4296)act 35
Takedowns1.9 (0.04.8)act 1
Penn70%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO14%21%
Submission4%5%
Decision52%74%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes51 (2967)act 17
Takedowns0.2 (0.00.5)act 0
Combined totals~125 sig strikes~2.1 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R17%
R212%
R36%
R43%
R52%
Distance70%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 0.8%
Hughes
66.1%-200
Penn
+20033.1%
Most takedownstie 29.8%
Hughes
64.4%-1101
Penn
+11015.8%
Significant strikes — over/under
Hughes
Expected: 73.8
74
Over 74
41.9%
+137
Exactly 74
0.9%
push
Under 74
57.2%
-137
093185
Penn
Expected: 51.3
51.5
Over 51.5
42.2%
+137
Under 51.5
57.8%
-137
065129
Takedowns — over/under
Hughes
Expected: 1.9
2
Over 2
37.1%
+128
Exactly 2
15.7%
push
Under 2
47.3%
-128
036
Penn
Expected: 0.2
0
Over 0
12.8%
Exactly 0
87.2%
push
Under 0
0.0%
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 20.5 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
Hughes30.5%67.1%−36.6-225
Penn69.5%32.9%+36.6+195

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
77.0Striking74.1
Hughes +2.9
74.7Grappling62.0
Hughes +12.7
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
HughesPenn
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1665
Pound-for-pound
1566
1641
Divisional
1508
1482
Striking offense
1499
1551
Striking defense
1531
1569
Grappling offense
1521
1529
Grappling defense
1518
Physical
32 yrs
Age
27 yrs
5'9"
Height
5'9"
73"
Reach
70"
Switch
Stance
Orthodox
Striking (UFC career)
2.51
Strikes landed / min
2.72
63%
Strike accuracy
61%
0.67
Strikes absorbed / min
1.81
52%
Strike defense
55%
Grappling (UFC career)
4.49
Takedowns / 15 min
2.53
66%
Takedown accuracy
71%
38%
Takedown defense
61%
1.3
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.6
Form & résumé
87%
UFC win rate
75%
+5
Win/loss streak
-1
100%
Last-5 win rate
60%
77%
Finish rate
83%
Recent opp. quality
119
Days since last fight
203
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Matt Hughes
  • WRoyce GracieKO/TKO R1
    Close -3004mo before
  • WJoe RiggsSUB R1
    Close -36010mo before
  • WFrank TriggSUB R1
    Close -2001y 5mo before
  • WGeorges St-PierreSUB R1
    Close -2851y 11mo before
  • WRenato VerissimoU-DEC R3
    Close -1702y 3mo before
BJ Penn
  • LGeorges St-PierreS-DEC R3
    Close -1157mo before
  • WMatt HughesSUB R1
    Close +2002y 8mo before
  • DCaol UnoS-DEC R5
    !Close -3503y 7mo before
  • WMatt SerraU-DEC R3
    4y before
  • WPaul CreightonKO/TKO R2
    4y 4mo before
Hughes — win / loss by method
Record: 40-4-0

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
19 wins, 1 loss
W
48% of wins
L
25% of losses
Submission
13 wins, 3 losses
W
33% of wins
L
75% of losses
Decision
8 wins, 0 losses
W
20% of wins
L
0% of losses
UFC
13win2loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
6 (46%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
4 (31%)Submission(100%) 2
3 (23%)Decision(0%) 0
Non-UFC
27win2loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
13 (48%)KO/TKO(50%) 1
9 (33%)Submission(50%) 1
5 (19%)Decision(0%) 0
Penn — win / loss by method
Record: 10-3-1

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
4 wins, 0 losses
W
40% of wins
L
0% of losses
Submission
3 wins, 0 losses
W
30% of wins
L
0% of losses
Decision
3 wins, 3 losses
W
30% of wins
L
100% of losses
UFC
6win2loss1draw0NC
WinsLosses
4 (67%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
1 (17%)Submission(0%) 0
1 (17%)Decision(100%) 2
Non-UFC
4win1loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
0 (0%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
2 (50%)Submission(0%) 0
2 (50%)Decision(100%) 1

Profiles

Experience
Hughes
Penn
15
UFC fights
9
133.7 min · 8.9 avg
Octagon time
100.9 min · 11.2 avg
28y 7m
Career length
25y 3m
UFC schedule strength

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

Hughes
Penn
155W–27L · 85.2%
Overall
92W–12L · 88.5%
133W–23L · 85.3%
Wins
70W–10L · 87.5%
22W–4L · 84.6%
Losses
22W–2L · 91.7%
Non-UFC schedule strength
Hughes
Penn
139W–66L · 67.8%
Overall
43W–8L · 84.3%
114W–62L · 64.8%
Wins
38W–8L · 82.6%
25W–4L · 86.2%
Losses
5W–0L · 100.0%
Distance striking
Hughes
Penn
1.58
Landed / min
3.49
36.9%
Accuracy
46.9%
73.0%
Defense
62.7%
0.00
Knockdowns / 15 min
0.30
21.3%
Time at distance
31.8%
Grappling & control
Hughes
Penn
4.49
Takedowns / 15 min
2.53
65.6%
Takedown accuracy
70.8%
37.5%
Takedown defense
61.0%
1.35
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.59
83.5%
Control share
46.2%
Strike target map
Hughes
  • Head75%(251)div 69%
  • Body24%(80)div 21%
  • Legs1%(5)div 10%
Penn
  • Head65%(177)div 69%
  • Body24%(67)div 21%
  • Legs11%(30)div 10%

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

Matt Hughes
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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

BJ Penn
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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