At UFC 328, a rare statistical anomaly occurred twice: fighters who landed eight or more takedowns in a title fight ended up losing. Historically, fighters who land five or more takedowns in UFC title bouts win 81.08% of the time, and those with seven or more win 83% of the time. Khamzat Chimaev landed nine takedowns and Tatsuro Taira landed eight, yet both lost their championship fights. Taira had quality takedowns with full grounding and nearly 11 minutes of control time but was still finished. The analysis suggests that while elite wrestling remains highly effective, complete universalism in skillsets may be even more crucial, especially when factors like weight cuts, injuries, or travel can diminish a wrestler's performance.
Saturday, May 9, 2026
