Crunching Numbers: MMA Gets Its Own Simulation Engine

Can MMA statistics help us predict what will happen in important fights?

Maybe. If they can't outright predict a single outcome, they can at least give us a sense of how the fight is likely to play out or maybe even look. That's the premise behind FightMetric's latest innovation: the MATch Up Analysis, or MATUA simulation engine, which according to FightMetric is "not a true prognostication tool" but "produces a statistical view of upcoming fights that may see things that our eyes do not."

"The MATUA model harnesses the power of FightMetric's deep database of statistics to simulate a match based on the two fighters' past statistical performance. The simulation is run 10,000 times to reduce random chance and then produces the num...