Dominance Score
The Dominance Score measures how convincingly a fighter wins their fights. It answers the question: "When this fighter steps into the octagon, how thoroughly do they outperform their opponent?"
Scores range from 0 to 100, where 50 is average. A score of 75+ puts a fighter among the most dominant in the sport.
What Goes Into It
The Dominance Score combines seven performance factors, each weighted by importance:
| Factor | Weight | What It Measures |
|---|---|---|
| Win Rate | 30% | How often the fighter wins, adjusted for opponent quality |
| Finish Rate | 20% | How often wins come by KO/TKO or submission |
| Sig. Strikes Differential | 15% | Net significant strikes landed vs absorbed per fight |
| Knockdown Differential | 10% | Net knockdowns scored vs suffered per fight |
| Takedown Differential | 10% | Net takedowns landed vs conceded per fight |
| Control Time Differential | 8% | Net octagon control time per fight |
| Recent Form | 7% | Win rate over the last 5 fights |
Opponent Quality Matters
Not all wins are equal. Beating an Elite-tier opponent is worth 1.5x a standard win, while beating a Low-tier fighter only counts for 0.7x. This means a fighter who consistently faces top competition gets rewarded for it.
| Opponent Tier | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| Elite | 1.5x |
| Mid | 1.0x (baseline) |
| Low | 0.7x |
| Unknown/Debut | 0.5x |
Time Decay
Recent fights matter more than old ones. A performance from last year carries full weight, but fights from 4-5 years ago are significantly discounted. This ensures the score reflects a fighter's current level, not their entire career equally.
| How Long Ago | Weight |
|---|---|
| 0-1 years | 100% |
| 2 years | 90% |
| 3 years | 74% |
| 4 years | 52% |
| 5 years | 24% |
| 6+ years | 15% (floor) |
Sample Size Confidence
Fighters with very few UFC bouts get their score pulled toward 50 (average) to avoid misleading extremes. A fighter needs around 8 fights before their score fully reflects their performance.
- 1 fight: score is 87.5% anchored to 50
- 4 fights: score is 50% anchored to 50
- 8+ fights: score is fully earned
Example Calculation
Fighter A has 10 UFC fights, wins 8 (80% win rate), finishes 5 of them (62.5% finish rate), averages +15 sig strikes per fight, +0.5 knockdowns, +1.2 takedowns, and +45 seconds of control time. Recent form: 4 of last 5 wins (80%). Most opponents are Mid-tier.
Each metric is normalized to a 0-100 scale:
- Win rate: 80 (direct)
- Finish rate: 62.5 (direct)
- Sig strikes diff: 50 + 15 = 65 (shifted midpoint)
- Knockdown diff: 50 + (0.5 x 25) = 62.5
- Takedown diff: 50 + (1.2 x 16.67) = 70
- Control diff: 50 + (45 / 3.6) = 62.5
- Recent form: 80 (direct)
Weighted sum:
(80 x 0.30) + (62.5 x 0.20) + (65 x 0.15) + (62.5 x 0.10) +
(70 x 0.10) + (62.5 x 0.08) + (80 x 0.07) = 71.35
With 10 fights (full confidence), the final Dominance Score is ~71.