From PPV buys to social media trends, 2024 was another banner year for MMA promotions around the world and especially for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
However, that's not to say the UFC dominates the sport across the board; In fact, a new statistical study has now revealed that the promotion is curiously lagging behind some of its rivals.
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC
MMA research shows that the UFC ranks last in percentage of finishes and more
If you want to grow your MMA knowledge in 2025, we highly recommend following data scientist Nate Latshaw on social media.
The Philadelphia-based researcher is an expert in sports analytics and earlier this week revealed the results of his years of research into the brutal sport we all love – with several fascinating (and surprising) results from across the MMA world.
Notably, of the 10 major MMA promotions worldwide (Cage Warriors, KSW, Brave CF, RIZIN, LFA, CFFC, PFL, ONE, Oktagon MMA, and UFC), Ultimate Fighting Championship would rank last in terms of ending of the battle. finishes.
According to Latshaw's data, only 44.8% of UFC fights in 2024 ended via KO/TKKO or submission, the lowest among all other MMA promotions – compared to 65.9% in Cage Warriors (1st), 63% in KSW (2nd). ), 61.8% in the RIZIN (4th) and 53% in the PFL (8th).
It was the same story in more specific categories, including knockouts, submissions and first-round finishes; where the UFC finished last for KOs (28.7%), second-to-last for submissions (16.2%) and last again for first-round finishes (20.3%).
Latshaw also delves into how the knockout percentage by weight class has changed over the past decade, from 33% in 2015 across all divisions (men and women) to 29% in 2024.
Granted, there could have been quite a few more KO/TKOs this past calendar year if the UFC hadn't decided to introduce their new glove design in the summer.
Knockouts dropped significantly after the introduction of the new gloves, so much so that Dana White confirmed the promotion would return to the old design after UFC 309 in November.
If you have a few minutes to spare before the first UFC event of 2025, Latshaw's fascinating X-thread is definitely worth reading in full.
1/2024 MMA Stats Annual Review
This thread contains:
1⃣ Comparisons of 10 #MMA promotions in 2024
2⃣ Trends of the past decade in the #UFC
3⃣ Links to my advanced analysis work in MMA
Enjoy! pic.twitter.com/rta2X7YIcQ
— Nate Latshaw (@NateLatshaw) January 5, 2025
View Tweet
A quick statistical summary of the UFC in 2024
2024 was another banner year for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, with over 512 fights across 42 unique shows (both PPV and non-PPV) for a total of 101 hours of fight time.
The event with the most knockouts was UFC on ESPN 54: Blanchfield vs Fiorot in March – that card consisted of eight KO/TKOs scored, five in the prelims and another three on the main card.
174 post-fight bonuses were given out: with fighters earning approximately $9.95 million from Fight of the Night or Performance of the Night checks.
The best night to get a post-fight bonus was of course UFC 300, where four $300,000 checks were handed out – although Max Holloway would ultimately walk away with two of them.
Underdogs also had a solid attendance, with 146 wins and 367 losses against the betting favorites; most of which came at UFC 267: Strickland vs Du Plessis with seven – could we see a similar stat at UFC 312: Du Plessis vs Strickland 2 in February?
Related posts
Comments