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UFC 36: Worlds Collide
Matt Hughes
Matt Hughes
30-3 · USA
VS
Hayato Sakurai
Hayato Sakurai
19-1-2 · JPN
March 22, 2002 · Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Welterweight · 5 rounds
169.0lb
Weigh-in
170.0lb
Matt Hughes def. Hayato Sakurai by KO/TKO (Punches), R4 3:01
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1
Hughes4/103/304:22
Sakurai2/50/000:00
R2
Hughes7/122/304:25
Sakurai2/30/010:00
R3
Hughes9/133/404:19
Sakurai1/40/000:00
R4 · 3:01
Hughes16/231/102:46
Sakurai0/00/000:00
Total
Hughes36/589/11015:52
Sakurai5/120/010:00

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
HughesWin probabilitySakurai
28.2%71.8%
KO / TKO
24%
Submission
38%
Decision
38%
Expected fight time: 13.4 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 Sakurai. Tap a bar for why.

Predicted outcomes
Hughes28%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO11%39%
Submission8%30%
Decision9%31%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes55 (3172)act 36
Takedowns2.0 (0.24.2)act 9
Sakurai72%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO12%18%
Submission30%41%
Decision30%41%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes48 (2762)act 5
Takedowns0.2 (0.00.9)act 0
Combined totals~103 sig strikes~2.2 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R144%
R23%
R37%
R44%
R53%
Distance39%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 1.1%
Hughes
56.3%-132
Sakurai
+13242.6%
Most takedownstie 8.6%
Hughes
87.1%-2048
Sakurai
+20484.3%
Significant strikes — over/under
Hughes
Expected: 55.3
55.5
Over 55.5
42.2%
+137
Under 55.5
57.8%
-137
070139
Sakurai
Expected: 47.7
47.5
Over 47.5
42.7%
+134
Under 47.5
57.3%
-134
060120
Takedowns — over/under
Hughes
Expected: 2.0
2
Over 2
39.8%
-118
Exactly 2
26.4%
push
Under 2
33.7%
+118
036
Sakurai
Expected: 0.2
0
Over 0
23.8%
Exactly 0
76.2%
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 13.4 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

No market on record for this bout.

Trait web
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
HughesSakurai
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1549
Pound-for-pound
1559
1536
Divisional
1559
1485
Striking offense
1482
1510
Striking defense
1500
1546
Grappling offense
1561
1523
Grappling defense
1558
Physical
28 yrs
Age
26 yrs
5'9"
Height
5'7"
73"
Reach
Switch
Stance
Orthodox
Striking (UFC career)
3.95
Strikes landed / min
64%
Strike accuracy
0.42
Strikes absorbed / min
68%
Strike defense
Grappling (UFC career)
6.83
Takedowns / 15 min
71%
Takedown accuracy
Takedown defense
0.6
Sub attempts / 15 min
Form & résumé
75%
UFC win rate
+1
Win/loss streak
75%
Last-5 win rate
67%
Finish rate
Recent opp. quality
140
Days since last fight
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Matt Hughes
  • WCarlos NewtonKO/TKO R2
    5mo before
  • LDennis HallmanSUB R1
    1y 3mo before
  • WMarcelo AguiarKO/TKO R1
    1y 9mo before
  • WValeri IgnatovU-DEC R3
    2y 6mo before
Hayato Sakurai
No prior UFC fights.
Hughes — win / loss by method
Record: 30-3-0

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
15 wins, 1 loss
W
50% of wins
L
33% of losses
Submission
9 wins, 2 losses
W
30% of wins
L
67% of losses
Decision
6 wins, 0 losses
W
20% of wins
L
0% of losses
UFC
3win1loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
2 (67%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
0 (0%)Submission(100%) 1
1 (33%)Decision(0%) 0
Non-UFC
27win2loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
13 (48%)KO/TKO(50%) 1
9 (33%)Submission(50%) 1
5 (19%)Decision(0%) 0
Sakurai — win / loss by method
Record: 19-1-2

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
16% of wins
L
0% of losses
Submission
9 wins, 0 losses
W
47% of wins
L
0% of losses
Decision
7 wins, 1 loss
W
37% of wins
L
100% of losses
UFC
0win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
0 ()KO/TKO() 0
0 ()Submission() 0
0 ()Decision() 0
Non-UFC
19win1loss2draw0NC
WinsLosses
3 (16%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
9 (47%)Submission(0%) 0
7 (37%)Decision(100%) 1

Profiles

Experience
Hughes
Sakurai
4
UFC fights
0
26.4 min · 6.6 avg
Octagon time
28y 7m
Career length
UFC schedule strength

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

Hughes
Sakurai
28W–10L · 73.7%
Overall
12W–7L · 63.2%
Wins
16W–3L · 84.2%
Losses
Non-UFC schedule strength
Hughes
Sakurai
139W–66L · 67.8%
Overall
59W–21L · 73.8%
114W–62L · 64.8%
Wins
53W–20L · 72.6%
25W–4L · 86.2%
Losses
6W–1L · 85.7%
Distance striking
Hughes
Sakurai
0.91
Landed / min
43.3%
Accuracy
80.8%
Defense
0.00
Knockdowns / 15 min
54.0%
Time at distance
Grappling & control
Hughes
Sakurai
6.83
Takedowns / 15 min
70.6%
Takedown accuracy
Takedown defense
0.57
Sub attempts / 15 min
84.4%
Control share
Strike target map
Hughes
  • Head66%(69)div 60%
  • Body34%(35)div 23%
  • Legs0%(0)div 17%
Sakurai
  • Head0%(0)div 60%
  • Body0%(0)div 23%
  • Legs0%(0)div 17%
  • No strike data on record.

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.

Hayato Sakurai

No UFC fights on record.

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