The Ultimate Fight Fan
+ Log a bet
UFC Fight Night: Royval vs. Taira
Junior Tafa
Junior Tafa
5-3 · NZL
VS
Sean Sharaf
Sean Sharaf
4-0 · USA
October 12, 2024 · Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Heavyweight · 3 rounds
241.0lb
Weigh-in
252.0lb
Junior Tafa def. Sean Sharaf by KO/TKO (Punches), R2 2:15
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1
Tafa36/750/000:00
Sharaf46/1021/500:46
R2 · 2:15
Tafa35/530/000:02
Sharaf7/160/300:00
Total
Tafa71/1280/000:02
Sharaf53/1181/800:46

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
TafaWin probabilitySharaf
53.9%46.1%
KO / TKO
53%
Submission
14%
Decision
33%
Expected fight time: 8.4 min
Retrospective pick: the walk-forward model's call at the time of the fight — persisted out-of-sample, with no hindsight about the result.
What drives the pick

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

Predicted outcomes
Tafa54%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO30%54%57%
Submission7%14%4%
Decision17%32%8%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes27 (1137)act 71
Takedowns0.3 (0.01.6)act 0
Sharaf46%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO23%51%21%
Submission7%15%4%
Decision16%34%6%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes28 (1138)act 53
Takedowns0.9 (0.03.2)act 1
Combined totals~56 sig strikes~1.2 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R140%
R219%
R38%
Distance33%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 1.7%
Tafa
48.2%+104
Sharaf
-10450.1%
Most takedownstie 41.8%
Tafa
17.1%+241
Sharaf
-24141.2%
Significant strikes — over/under
Tafa
Expected: 27.5
27.5
Over 27.5
39.7%
+152
Under 27.5
60.3%
-152
03569
Sharaf
Expected: 28.1
28
Over 28
39.1%
+151
Exactly 28
1.7%
push
Under 28
59.2%
-151
03671
Takedowns — over/under
Tafa
Expected: 0.3
0.5
Over 0.5
25.9%
+287
Under 0.5
74.1%
-287
035
Sharaf
Expected: 0.9
1
Over 1
31.2%
+167
Exactly 1
16.8%
push
Under 1
52.0%
-167
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 8.4 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
Final
ModelMarketGapLine
To win
Tafa53.9%67.3%−13.4-241
Sharaf46.1%32.7%+13.4+191
By method
Tafa by KO/TKO28.4%57.1%−28.7-214
Tafa by submission7.6%4.4%+3.2+1819
Tafa by decision17.9%8.0%+9.9+948
Sharaf by KO/TKO24.3%20.8%+3.5+303
Sharaf by submission6.5%3.8%+2.7+2126
Sharaf by decision15.3%6.0%+9.3+1292
Total rounds (over)
Over 1.5 rds60.2%30.8%+29.4+202
Over 2.5 rds40.9%19.7%+21.2+374
Goes the distance
Fight goes to decision33.2%14.5%+18.7+545

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
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
TafaSharaf
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1487
Pound-for-pound
1512
1487
Divisional
1512
1506
Striking offense
1500
1508
Striking defense
1500
1490
Grappling offense
1500
1494
Grappling defense
1500
Physical
28 yrs
Age
31 yrs
6'3"
Height
6'3"
75"
Reach
77"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
Striking (UFC career)
1.67
Strikes landed / min
42%
Strike accuracy
1.67
Strikes absorbed / min
48%
Strike defense
Grappling (UFC career)
0.00
Takedowns / 15 min
Takedown accuracy
74%
Takedown defense
0.0
Sub attempts / 15 min
Form & résumé
25%
UFC win rate
-2
Win/loss streak
25%
Last-5 win rate
100%
Finish rate
Recent opp. quality
56
Days since last fight
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Junior Tafa
  • LValter WalkerSUB R1
    Close +11456d before
  • LMarcos Rogerio de LimaKO/TKO R2
    Close +1908mo before
  • WParker PorterKO/TKO R1
    Close -1621y 2mo before
  • LMohammed UsmanU-DEC R3
    Close -1161y 6mo before
Sean Sharaf
No prior UFC fights.
Tafa — win / loss by method
Record: 5-3-0

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
5 wins, 1 loss
W
100% of wins
L
33% of losses
Submission
0 wins, 1 loss
W
0% of wins
L
33% of losses
Decision
0 wins, 1 loss
W
0% of wins
L
33% of losses
UFC
1win3loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
1 (100%)KO/TKO(33%) 1
0 (0%)Submission(33%) 1
0 (0%)Decision(33%) 1
Non-UFC
4win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
4 (100%)KO/TKO() 0
0 (0%)Submission() 0
0 (0%)Decision() 0
Sharaf — win / loss by method
Record: 4-0-0

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
4 wins, 0 losses
W
100% of wins
L
Submission
0 wins, 0 losses
W
0% of wins
L
Decision
0 wins, 0 losses
W
0% of wins
L
UFC
0win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
0 ()KO/TKO() 0
0 ()Submission() 0
0 ()Decision() 0
Non-UFC
4win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
4 (100%)KO/TKO() 0
0 (0%)Submission() 0
0 (0%)Decision() 0

Profiles

Experience
Tafa
Sharaf
4
UFC fights
0
27.6 min · 6.9 avg
Octagon time
4y 1m
Career length
UFC schedule strength

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

Tafa
Sharaf
54W–20L · 73.0%
Overall
14W–8L · 63.6%
Wins
40W–12L · 76.9%
Losses
Non-UFC schedule strength
Tafa
Sharaf
28W–20L · 58.3%
Overall
4W–6L · 40.0%
28W–20L · 58.3%
Wins
4W–6L · 40.0%
0W–0L
Losses
0W–0L
Distance striking
Tafa
Sharaf
4.38
Landed / min
35.3%
Accuracy
56.1%
Defense
0.54
Knockdowns / 15 min
24.9%
Time at distance
Grappling & control
Tafa
Sharaf
0.00
Takedowns / 15 min
Takedown accuracy
73.7%
Takedown defense
0.00
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.3%
Control share
Strike target map
Tafa
  • Head80%(37)div 65%
  • Body17%(8)div 20%
  • Legs2%(1)div 16%
Sharaf
  • Head0%(0)div 65%
  • Body0%(0)div 20%
  • Legs0%(0)div 16%
  • No strike data on record.

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

Junior Tafa
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

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

Sean Sharaf

No UFC fights on record.

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