Fight Matrix

5 Exciting Reasons Why You Ought to Have the Right Sports Gear

Posted on January 25, 2020 by A. J. Riot

Engaging in sporting activities is very crucial for one’s health, as well as mental wellness. However, you ought to get ready to participate in sports. The right clothing goes a long way in not only boosting your confidence but also enhancing your overall performance. Here are compelling reasons why you must have the right sporting gear.

Breathability

During exercises and sports workouts, sweating is inevitable. It would be best if you have the ideal gear to enhance breathability. The right clothing will wick away moisture, thus keeping you dry as well as fresh. It’s a great chance to ensure you stay comfortable and continue with sports without the need to change into another outfit.

The ideal sports apparel fabric won’t promote any bacterial growth. The less sweat you have, the lesser the bacteria growth as well as less smellier workout gear.

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Fight Matrix Program – UFC Fight Night 166: Blaydes vs. dos Santos (01-25-2020)

Posted on January 22, 2020 by Jason

Heavyweight (265)
[#4] Junior dos Santos (21-6-0, +197) vs. [#7] Curtis Blaydes (12-2-0, -245)
Junior dos Santos is the All-Time #6 ranked Heavyweight and #25 ranked Absolute fighter.
Curtis Blaydes is the All-Time #41 ranked Heavyweight fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Junior dos Santos (2-1-0)
2019-06-29: L vs. [#3HW+] Francis Ngannou (14-3-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:11 of round 1
2019-03-09: W vs. [#5HW+] Derrick Lewis (22-7-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:58 of round 2
2018-12-01: W vs. [#44HW+] Tai Tuivasa (10-4-0) via TKO (Punches) in 2:30 of round 2

Last 3 Fights: Curtis Blaydes (2-1-0)
2019-09-07: W vs. [#17HW+] Shamil Abdurakhimov (20-6-0) via TKO (Elbow and Punch) in 2:22 of round 2
2019-03-23: W vs. [#16HW+] Justin Willis (8-2-0) via UD (30-27, 30-26, 30-25)
2018-11-24: L vs. [#3HW+] Francis Ngannou (14-3-0) via TKO (Punches) in 0:45 of round 1

Odds Favorite (Implied): Curtis Blaydes – Win%: 67.83
Elo Favorite (Standard): Junior dos Santos (2018.18) [+70.21] – Win%: 57.95
Elo Favorite (Modified): Junior dos Santos (2029.22) [+65.99] – Win%: 57.17
Glicko-1 Favorite (Adj): Junior dos Santos (2019.20) [+66.54] – Win%: 62.07
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Junior dos Santos 210, Curtis Blaydes 140
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Curtis Blaydes leads 2-1
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Welterweight (170)
[#7] Rafael dos Anjos (29-12-0, -260) vs. [#25] Michael Chiesa (16-4-0, +209)
Rafael dos Anjos is the All-Time #24 ranked Welterweight and #31 ranked Absolute fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Rafael dos Anjos (1-2-0)
2019-07-20: L vs. [#5WW] Leon Edwards (18-3-0) via UD (50-45, 49-46, 49-46)
2019-05-18: W vs. [#6LW] Kevin Lee (18-5-0) via Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) in 3:47 of round 4
2018-11-30: L vs. [#1WW/#3DD/#6P4P] Kamaru Usman (16-1-0) via UD (49-45, 50-43, 48-47)

Last 3 Fights: Michael Chiesa (2-1-0)
2019-07-06: W vs. [#63WW] Diego Sanchez (29-12-0) via UD (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
2018-12-29: W vs. [#75WW] Carlos Condit (30-13-0) via Submission (Kimura) in 0:56 of round 2
2018-07-07: L vs. [#12LW] Anthony Pettis (22-10-0) via Submission (Triangle Armbar) in 0:52 of round 2

Odds Favorite (Implied): Rafael dos Anjos – Win%: 69.05
Elo Favorite (Standard): Rafael dos Anjos (2029.40) [+89.18] – Win%: 60.05
Elo Favorite (Modified): Rafael dos Anjos (1994.37) [+67.74] – Win%: 57.36
Glicko-1 Favorite (Adj): Rafael dos Anjos (2007.12) [+76.27] – Win%: 63.60
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Rafael dos Anjos 189, Michael Chiesa 203
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Rafael dos Anjos leads 2-0
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Featherweight (145)
[#7] Josh Emmett (15-2-0, -103) vs. [#32] Arnold Allen (15-1-0, -120)

Last 3 Fights: Josh Emmett (2-1-0)
2019-07-13: W vs. [#26FW] Mirsad Bektic (13-2-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:25 of round 1
2019-03-30: W vs. [#84LW] Michael Johnson (19-15-0) via KO (Punch) in 4:14 of round 3
2018-02-24: L vs. [#14FW] Jeremy Stephens (28-17-0) via KO (Elbows) in 1:35 of round 2

Last 3 Fights: Arnold Allen (3-0-0)
2019-07-06: W vs. [#100FW] Gilbert Melendez (22-8-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2019-03-16: W vs. [#86FW] Jordan Rinaldi (14-7-0) via UD (29-28, 30-27, 30-26)
2018-05-27: W vs. [#81FW] Mads Burnell (13-3-0) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 2:41 of round 3

Odds Favorite (Implied): Arnold Allen – Win%: 51.80
Elo Favorite (Standard): Josh Emmett (1954.82) [+113.53] – Win%: 62.68
Elo Favorite (Modified): Josh Emmett (1940.09) [+106.52] – Win%: 61.45
Glicko-1 Favorite (Adj): Josh Emmett (1937.01) [+96.57] – Win%: 67.16
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Josh Emmett 196, Arnold Allen 203
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: No common opposition or both are winless against common opposition.
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Featured Upcoming Bouts (Outside of UFC)

Friday, March 6th 2026: RIZIN 52

[#5 W105] Saori Oshima

[#11 W105] Keito Oyama

Last Fight Date: 11/02/2025 [Rizin Fighting Federation]
Last Opponent: [#1 W105] Seika Izawa
Last 5: W L L W L

Last Fight Date: 11/02/2025 [Rizin Fighting Federation]
Last Opponent: [NR] Bo Mi Lee
Last 5: L W W W W

Sunday, March 8th 2026: Deep Osaka Impact 2026 1st Round

[#7 W105] Moeri Suda

[#10 W105] Namiko Kawabata

Last Fight Date: 9/15/2025 [DEEP]
Last Opponent: [#5 W105] Saori Oshima
Last 5: W W W W L

Last Fight Date: 5/25/2025 [DEEP]
Last Opponent: [#36 W105] Honoka Shigeta
Last 5: L L L W W

Friday, March 20th 2026: Professional Fighters League PFL Madrid - Van Steenis vs. Edwards 2

[#8 MW] Costello Van Steenis

[#13 MW] Fabian Edwards

Last Fight Date: 7/19/2025 [PFL]
Last Opponent: [#14 MW] Johnny Eblen
Last 5: W L W W W

Last Fight Date: 8/21/2025 [PFL]
Last Opponent: [#29 MW] Dalton Rosta
Last 5: W L W W W

Featured Fighters

[#5 LW]	Justin Gaethje	[#11 LW]	Paddy Pimblett
[#1 LW]	Ilia Topuria	[#1 WW]	Islam Makhachev
[#2 LW]	Arman Tsarukyan	[#174 MW]	Andrey Pulyaev
[NR]	Conor McGregor	[NR]	Khabib Nurmagomedov
[#7 BW]	Yadong Song	[#3 BW]	Sean OMalley

Current MMA Rankings Updated (01-19-2020)

Posted on January 19, 2020 by Jason

Fight Matrix Program – UFC 246: McGregor vs. Cerrone (01-18-2020)

Posted on January 13, 2020 by Jason

Welterweight (170)
[#16] Donald Cerrone (36-13-0, +247) vs. [*] Conor McGregor (21-4-0, -316)
Conor McGregor is the All-Time #43 ranked Absolute fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Donald Cerrone (1-2-0)
2019-09-14: L vs. [#4LW] Justin Gaethje (21-2-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:18 of round 1
2019-06-08: L vs. [#2LW/#5DD/#9P4P] Tony Ferguson (25-3-0) via TKO (Doctor Stoppage) in 5:00 of round 2
2019-05-04: W vs. [#12LW] Al Iaquinta (15-6-1) via UD (49-45, 49-45, 49-46)

Last 3 Fights: Conor McGregor (2-1-0)
2018-10-06: L vs. [#1LW/#1DD/#4P4P] Khabib Nurmagomedov (28-0-0) via Submission (Neck Crank) in 3:03 of round 4
2016-11-12: W vs. [#27WW] Eddie Alvarez (30-7-0) via TKO (Punches) in 3:04 of round 2
2016-08-20: W vs. [#11WW] Nate Diaz (20-12-0) via MD (47-47, 48-47, 48-47)

Odds Favorite (Implied): Conor McGregor – Win%: 72.49
Elo Favorite (Standard): Conor McGregor (2172.99) [+190.54] – Win%: 70.49
Elo Favorite (Modified): Conor McGregor (2111.55) [+152.79] – Win%: 66.12
Glicko-1 Favorite (Adj): Conor McGregor (2112.86) [+120.48] – Win%: 70.54
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Donald Cerrone 126, Conor McGregor 469
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Conor McGregor leads 3-2
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Women Bantamweight (135)
[#3] Holly Holm (12-5-0, -137) vs. [#5] Raquel Pennington (10-7-0, +112)
Holly Holm is the All-Time #17 ranked Women’s fighter.
Raquel Pennington is the All-Time #47 ranked Women’s fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Holly Holm (1-2-0)
2019-07-06: L vs. [#1BW/#1DD/#1P4P] Amanda Nunes (19-4-0) via TKO (Head Kick and Punches) in 4:10 of round 1
2018-06-09: W vs. [#6FW] Megan Anderson (9-4-0) via UD (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
2017-12-30: L vs. [#1FW/#5DD/#4P4P] Cristiane Justino (21-2-0) via UD (49-46, 48-47, 48-47)

Last 3 Fights: Raquel Pennington (1-2-0)
2019-07-20: W vs. [#6BW] Irene Aldana (12-5-0) via SD (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
2018-11-10: L vs. [#2BW/#8DD] Germaine de Randamie (9-4-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2018-05-12: L vs. [#1BW/#1DD/#1P4P] Amanda Nunes (19-4-0) via TKO (Elbows and Punches) in 2:36 of round 5

Odds Favorite (Implied): Holly Holm – Win%: 55.06
Elo Favorite (Standard): Raquel Pennington (1583.55) [+56.64] – Win%: 56.43
Elo Favorite (Modified): Raquel Pennington (1542.93) [+10.96] – Win%: 51.20
Glicko-1 Favorite (Adj): Holly Holm (1561.35) [+30.00] – Win%: 55.62
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Holly Holm 196, Raquel Pennington 182
Previous Match-up Record: Holly Holm leads 1-0-0
Wins Against Common Opposition: Raquel Pennington leads 2-1
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Heavyweight (265)
[#18] Alexey Oleynik (59-13-1, +110) vs. [#58] Maurice Greene (8-3-0, -135)

Last 3 Fights: Alexey Oleynik (1-2-0)
2019-07-20: L vs. [#14HW+] Walt Harris (13-7-0) via KO (Knee and Punches) in 0:12 of round 1
2019-04-20: L vs. [#9HW+] Alistair Overeem (45-18-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:45 of round 1
2018-09-15: W vs. [#19HW+] Mark Hunt (13-14-1) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 4:26 of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Maurice Greene (2-1-0)
2019-10-26: L vs. [#36HW+] Sergei Pavlovich (14-1-0) via TKO (Punches) in 2:11 of round 1
2019-06-29: W vs. [#72HW+] Junior Albini (14-6-0) via TKO (Punches) in 3:38 of round 1
2019-03-09: W vs. [#94HW+] Jeff Hughes (10-3-0) via SD (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Odds Favorite (Implied): Maurice Greene – Win%: 54.67
Elo Favorite (Standard): Alexey Oleynik (1634.72) [+94.73] – Win%: 60.65
Elo Favorite (Modified): Alexey Oleynik (1693.73) [+155.53] – Win%: 66.39
Glicko-1 Favorite (Adj): Alexey Oleynik (1680.24) [+164.59] – Win%: 78.08
Days Since Last Pro Fight: Alexey Oleynik 182, Maurice Greene 84
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 1 win(s) against common opposition.
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What To Know About The Annual WWE Royal Rumble

Posted on January 12, 2020 by A. J. Riot

The long awaited annual World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Royal Rumble is finally here with us! This year’s edition of the January-held event promises entertaining matches with famous professional wrestlers cum crowd favorites such as The Fiend©, Daniel Bryan, Becky Lynch© and Asuka taking to the stage.

With the holiday season firmly behind us, the Wrestle Kingdom has shut its borders and wrestling fanatics can now anticipate the most intriguing PPV put forth by WWE this year. The Royal Rumble 2020 show acts as the first step on the exciting journey to WrestleMania but might just be a little more entertaining. The Royal Rumble competition, since its institution in 1988, has been a major part of WWE’s calendar, revolving around its rather widely-unpredictable thirty man-match.

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Highest Current Ratings (by Age)

Posted on January 12, 2020 by Jason

Taking a page out of ESPN’s book (Ranking the best boxers by age), here are the highest rated active fighters by current age (using Glicko, FM Division Dominance, FM “P4P” points)

Age	DD	P4P	Glicko
15	Yoo Jin Shin (1)	Yoo Jin Shin (1)	Yoo Jin Shin (1510)
16	Liandra Kemelly Freitas de Souza (1)	Liandra Kemelly Freitas de Souza (1)	Jhenifer Katrine Vasconcelos (1733) Nehoray Nahmani (1733)
17	Rodrigo Sobrinho de Moura (1)	Rodrigo Sobrinho de Moura (3)	Welisson dos Santos Paiva (1959)
18	Cristian Entony Silva Fernandes (1)	Leonardo Feitosa (3)	Leonardo Feitosa (1886)
19	Makoto Takahashi (1)	Makoto Takahashi (15)	Makoto Takahashi (2058)
20	Kay Hansen (1)	Kay Hansen (7)	Chase Hooper (2097)
21	Maycee Barber (1)	Maycee Barber (19)	Christian Lee (2488)
22	Yadong Song (1)	Salahdine Parnasse (24)	Salahdine Parnasse (2368)
23	Valesca Machado da Silva (1)	Arman Tsarukyan (15)	Ismail Naurdiev (2356)
24	A.J. McKee (57)	A.J. McKee (44)	A.J. McKee (2590)
25	Arnold Allen (1)	Arnold Allen (24)	Mukhamed Berkhamov (2420)
26	Petr Yan (156)	Petr Yan (36)	Petr Yan (2591)
27	Kevin Lee (121)	Rose Namajunas (44)	Natan Schulte (2557)
28	Max Holloway (413)	Max Holloway (88)	Max Holloway (2748)
29	Robert Whittaker (152)	Kyoji Horiguchi (93)	Robert Whittaker (2700)
30	Dustin Poirier (378)	Israel Adesanya (168)	Israel Adesanya (2827)
31	Khabib Nurmagomedov (673)	Khabib Nurmagomedov (258)	Khabib Nurmagomedov (2950)
32	Kamaru Usman (511)	Jon Jones (459)	Jon Jones (2943)
33	Francis Ngannou (219)	Demetrious Johnson (336)	Francis Ngannou (2757)
34	Jussier Formiga (157)	Cristiane Justino (58)	Gegard Mousasi (2736)
35	Tony Ferguson (425)	Tony Ferguson (172)	Tony Ferguson (2875)
36	Rafael Lovato Jr. (133)	Thiago Santos (41)	Ryan Bader (2819)
37	Stipe Miocic (507)	Stipe Miocic (254)	Stipe Miocic (2930)
38	Frankie Edgar (91)	Michel Prazeres (30)	Frankie Edgar (2430)
39	Bibiano Fernandes (51)	Bibiano Fernandes (44)	Bibiano Fernandes (2533)
40	Daniel Cormier (342)	Daniel Cormier (175)	Daniel Cormier (2864)
41	Jon Fitch (50)	Jon Fitch (31)	Jon Fitch (2617)
42	Yoel Romero (132)	Demian Maia (37)	Demian Maia (2673)
43	Fedor Emelianenko (1)	Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (20)	Fedor Emelianenko (2535)
44	Cheick Kongo (1)	Cheick Kongo (34)	Cheick Kongo (2523)
45	Miyuu Yamamoto (1)	Miyuu Yamamoto (9)	Mark Hunt (2153)
46	Masaya Takita (1)	Masaya Takita (2)	Maxim Novoselov (1945)
47	Piotr Swierczewski (1)	Joe Perry (1)	Valid Abdurachmanov (1783)
48	Ryuta Sakurai (1)	Ryuta Sakurai (2)	Ryuta Sakurai (1929)
49	Antonio McKee (1)	Kazuyuki Fujita (2)	Antonio McKee (2118)
50	Genilton Tavares (1)	Genilton Tavares (1)	Chuck Liddell (2082)
51	Masahiro Oishi (1)	Masahiro Oishi (1)	Masahiro Oishi (1663)
52	Yasuko Tamada (1)	Lee Mein (1)	Antonio Graceffo (1959)
53	Ramazan Ramazanov (1)	Ramazan Ramazanov (1)	Ramazan Ramazanov (2043)

We don’t have every single birth date, so if there is an obvious miss, let us know.

Spinanga

Current MMA Rankings Updated (01-12-2020)

Posted on January 12, 2020 by Jason

2019 Awards: Women’s Fighters of the Year

Posted on January 9, 2020 by Jason

As a recap, most “Fighter of the Year” awards on other sites are really “Breakout Fighter of the Year” awards in that fighters who win, were usually not top fighters in the beginning of the year, but became so by the end of the year.

A fighter like this can and has won our FotY awards, but our award is more about maintaining a high standing during the award year by performing well a sufficient number of times and against a sufficient quality of opponents. It is more comparable to a season MVP in major team sports, not a playoffs/surprise MVP.

Co-Winners: Amanda Nunes, Valentina Shevchenko

The Top 2 from 2018, share the title for 2019 as their achievements were virtually identical.

3rd Place: Weili Zhang

With two dominant wins in the UFC, the new Strawweight champion rounds out the Top 3.

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McGregor vs Cerrone – Preview

Posted on January 5, 2020 by Oleg

After taking a couple of weeks off, UFC will be kicking off 2020 with a return of their biggest star of the decade taking on the most decorated veteran and record holder who has never held a title. UFC 246: McGregor vs Cerrone will be one of those events that doesn’t have a star-studded undercard, and is marketed on the strength of the main event alone.

Conor McGregor will be facing Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone at welterweight; and while this is not a particularly meaningful fight from the divisional title perspective and not exactly a ‘Super-Fight’ either, it is an interesting bout which should be competitive and fun for as long as it lasts. Here, I will be taking a look at the careers of both fighters, the numerous acclaims and records they hold in the UFC, and the stylistic matchup. And if you are into UFC betting, putting some cash on whoever you think will take home the W might make watching this fight even more exciting.

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2019 Awards: Upsets of the Year (Addendum)

Posted on January 5, 2020 by Jason

Since we now post Glicko-based ratings, a 100% mathematically pure, albeit very limited system, I thought I’d use those ratings for more than just ranking. You may have noticed in a recent award post, I mentioned the biggest upset of the year based on Glicko rating point difference, which was Asakura KO(1) Horiguchi.

That upset still had some basic requirements, you can check the MMA Awards page for more details. Simply put, the loser has to be active and relevant on the world scale.

I thought it’d be interesting to see what the absolute biggest upset was in 2019, regardless of relevance.

I was shocked to see a 852.34 point difference where a fighter named Anthony Formoso (7-0) lost by submission, to a fighter named Chris “The Killer Skater” Sandt (1-16). Yes, an undefeated fighter lost to a 1-16 opponent. An 852.34 point difference roughly equates to a 0.1% chance of an upset.

Using this method, this is actually the third biggest upset of all-time, with the biggest being King Mo beating Travis Wiuff (+913.22) in his debut back in 2008, and the runner-up being Mark Hunt’s 2005 split decision victory over Cro Cop (+911.67). Though, in these contests, King Mo and Mark Hunt both had a past high-level combat sports related pedigree. The same applies in the fourth biggest upset — Joe Schilling KO(2) Melvin Manhoef.

Current MMA Rankings Updated (01-05-2020)

Posted on January 5, 2020 by Jason

2019 Awards: Rookies of the Year

Posted on January 4, 2020 by Jason

Men: Juancamilo Ronderos

This one wasn’t close. 4-0 on the year, with a ranking easily within the Top 50 at Flyweight.

Women: Maria Laura Alves

No real breakaway candidate for this award, but Alves edges it, ending at #50 in the 115 division.

Honorable Mentions: Ewelina Wozniak, Nong Stamp

2019 Awards: Comeback & Most Improved Fighter of the Year

Posted on January 4, 2020 by Jason

As a refresher, our “comeback” award is about coming back from inactivity or major injury (that we know about) and in doing so, really impressing. You can see more details on the awards page about specific qualifiers.

Comeback Fighter of the Year: Nate Diaz

Although he went an even .500 on the year, he ended on the fringes of the Top 10 at Welterweight.

Most Improved Fighter of the Year: Jairzinho Rozenstruik

5-0 on the year and stoppages over Arlovski and Overeem elevate Rozenstruik to the doorstep of a title opportunity, but he’ll need to get past Ngannou before that becomes a reality.

2019 Awards: Most Noteworthy Match of the Year

Posted on January 3, 2020 by Jason

Most Noteworthy Match of the Year:

Khabib Nurmagomedov SUB(3) Dustin Poirier

A fairly easy choice. The undefeated Khabib, takes on Dustin Poirier, recent conquerer of Alvarez and Holloway.

Comparing the strength of schedule of Michael “Venom” Page and Anderson Silva through 18 fights

Posted on January 3, 2020 by Richard Mann

During the broadcast of Bellator 237, former referee turned commentator “Big” John McCarthy mentioned that Michael Page’s schedule through his career so far has been similar in terms of difficulty to that of former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva through the same stretch. Since Page has developed the reputation of a can smasher, this comment raised the ire of many MMA fans on social media. On its face, the comment is absurd. In his first 18 fights, Silva claimed the Shooto middleweight (168-pound) championship and knocked off a former UFC welterweight champion. But is the comparison really that outlandish?

Using Fight Matrix ranking points, it is possible to approximate the level of difficulty both fighters have faced through their first 18 fights. Every year, the website publishes the “Upsets of the Year” award. The most simple calculation is “Most Noteworthy,” which is the difference in ranking points (ranking points of a fighter minus the ranking points of an opponent). The higher the number, the larger the favorite. Through their first 18 fights, Page’s average most noteworthy score is 22.83, while Silva’s 21.61. However, that does not tell the entire story. Page’s average is buttressed by his fight against Douglas Lima. He went in as a heavy underdog against the Bellator champion and got knocked out in the second round. Without that fight, his average most noteworthy score rises to 41.35.

Also, Page’s level of opposition has declined significantly following his only career defeat. He has been a heavy favorite in his last three fights over Richard Keily, Gianni Melillo and Shinzo Anzai. The spike on the following chart is quite evident.

(Click here for the interactive Tableau Public version of this chart)

It would also be unfair to Silva to ignore that fact that his a large portion of his early opposition went on to have solid careers. When he fought Luiz Azeredo, Fabricio Camoes and Roan Carneiro they were a combined 3-2. All three went on to have extensive careers in major promotions such as the UFC and Pride FC. While those fighters blossomed later in their careers, it seems unlikely that will happen for some of Page’s early opponents. His first two opponents, Ben Dishman and Miguel Bernard, are still a combined 0-6 nearly eight years later.

While it does seem like large McCarthy was shilling from the commentary booth, Page’s early career run has not been that facile. However, his team and Bellator have clearly tried to give him a softer touch as of late.

Richard Mann is a regular contributor to @ESPNMMA, @FightMetric, @RotoWireMMA and @InterMat. You can follow him on Twitter at @richardamann.