UFC 328 sees rare double occurrence of fighters losing despite 8+ takedowns

At UFC 328, a rare statistical anomaly occurred twice when fighters who completed eight or more takedowns in title fights still lost their bouts. Historically, fighters who land five or more takedowns in UFC title fights win 81.08 percent of the time, and those with seven or more win 83 percent of the time. Chimaev landed nine takedowns and Tatsuro Taira landed eight, both in losing efforts. Taira particularly had quality takedowns with full ground control totaling nearly 11 minutes. The analysis suggests that while elite-level wrestling still provides an 80 percent win probability, total mixed martial arts skill remains superior, as wrestling is energy-intensive and highly dependent on weight cutting, health, and other variables.