UFC 328 sees rare double occurrence: fighters with 8+ takedowns lose title bouts

At UFC 328, a statistical rarity occurred twice in the same event when fighters who secured 8 or more takedowns lost their title fights. Historically, UFC fighters who land 5 or more takedowns in championship bouts win 81.08% of the time, while those landing 7 or more win 83% of the time. Khamzat Chimaev and Tatsuro Taira landed 9 and 8 takedowns respectively but both lost their fights. Taira specifically had quality takedowns with full positional control lasting nearly 11 minutes, yet was still finished by his opponent. The post analyzes that while elite wrestlers maintain high winning percentages, complete mixed martial arts skill remains superior, as wrestling is energy-intensive and highly dependent on health conditions, weight cuts, and other factors that can drastically shift winning probabilities.