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Kennedy Nzechukwu

Heavyweight · REAL v1.0 (registered) #37; v1.1 (shadow) #44

Descriptive profile. The resume rank is what has been earned; these statistics are context, not a prediction. A test on Oct 20, 2026 found that career statistics add nothing reliable to age, layoff and experience as predictors of the next result (experiments/REGISTER.md, EXP-2026-10-20-14).

Weight band 32-44: the 10th to 90th percentile of his position across weight vectors drawn near the 70/30 weights. Rating 1,551, deviation 115: measured from 16 UFC bouts; a one-bout newcomer sits near 290.

Age 34 (born 1992-06-13) · Height 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) · Reach 83 in (211 cm) · Stance Southpaw · 71 days since last bout (2026-08-22) · Last five 2-3 · Streak L2

Why he is ranked here

Rating 1,551 is the division's 22nd highest of 55 board fighters; the ledger stands at -2.9 (+0.1 from quality wins, less 2.0 for blowout losses, less 1.0 for other losses outside the top 5; losses count for three years); 1 quality win in 15 years, 0 over top-10 opponents; form penalty 0.15 for a 2-3 last five. Score -0.14 = +0.09 (rating term, 70% weight) -0.08 (ledger term, 30% weight) -0.15 (form penalty); score order put him at #37.

TermValueDetail
Score-0.1470% rating term + 30% ledger term - form penalty
Rating term+0.09resume rating 1,551, scaled against the division's interdecile range
Ledger term-0.08quality ledger -2.9: +0.1 QW +0.0 proof -2.0 blowout -1.0 weak
Form penalty0.15last five 2-3
Quality wins, 15 years10 over top-10 opponents, 0 over top-15
Placementscore order #37v1.0 (registered)
Shadow board v1.1#44score -0.39; score order #44

Rules, weights and worked examples: methodology.

Last ten bouts

DateEventOpponentOpp. official rankResultMethodRoundModel p
2026-08-22UFC Fight Night: Hernandez vs. RodriguesShamil GazievunrankedLKO/TKO1 (1:20)51%
2025-12-13UFC Fight Night: Royval vs. KapeMarcus BuchechaunrankedDunanimous decision3 (5:00)53%
2025-07-12UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. TeixeiraValter WalkerunrankedLsubmission1 (0:54)46%
2024-12-07UFC 310: Pantoja vs. AsakuraLukasz BrzeskiunrankedWKO/TKO1 (4:51)69%
2024-10-26UFC 308: Topuria vs. HollowayChris BarnettunrankedWKO/TKO1 (4:27)58%
2024-03-16UFC Fight Night: Tuivasa vs. TyburaOvince Saint PreuxunrankedLsplit decision3 (5:00)67%
2023-08-05UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. FontDustin Jacoby#15LKO/TKO1 (1:22)46%
2023-05-06UFC 288: Sterling vs. CejudoDevin ClarkunrankedWsubmission2 (2:28)53%
2022-11-19UFC Fight Night: Nzechukwu vs. CutelabaIon CutelabaunrankedWKO/TKO2 (1:02)34%
2022-07-09UFC Fight Night: Dos Anjos vs. FizievKarl RobersonunrankedWKO/TKO3 (2:19)56%

Opp. official rank = the UFC media-panel rank of the opponent on the date (C champion, #1 to #15, unranked; n/a before Feb 2013 or where no official board existed). Model p = the predictive model's pre-fight win chance for him (frozen performance-adjusted Elo; bouts before 2020 were in its tuning sample). Linked opponents have a profile.

Career statistics

Through 2026-10-31, UFC bouts only. Percentile = share of the 55 board fighters at Heavyweight at or below this value; high is a position in the division, not a verdict.

Output
Significant strikes landed per minute4.65(71st percentile at Heavyweight)
Significant strike accuracy50%(45th percentile at Heavyweight)
Knockdowns scored per 15 minutes0.33(58th percentile at Heavyweight)
Share of wins by finish88%(70th percentile at Heavyweight)
Defence and damage
Significant strikes absorbed per minute4.49(71st percentile at Heavyweight)
Significant strike defence51%(60th percentile at Heavyweight)
Knockdowns suffered per 15 minutes0.45(67th percentile at Heavyweight)
Significant strikes absorbed, career605(93rd percentile at Heavyweight)
KO/TKO losses3 (last 2026-08-22, 71 days ago)(91st percentile at Heavyweight)
Submission losses2(98th percentile at Heavyweight)
KO/TKO losses per bout over 10 years, each weighted down by the finisher's danger0.102(62nd percentile at Heavyweight)
Grappling
Takedowns landed per 15 minutes0.56(51st percentile at Heavyweight)
Takedown defence81%(63rd percentile at Heavyweight)
Share of cage time in control18%(60th percentile at Heavyweight)
Share of significant strikes landed in the clinch or on the ground24%(45th percentile at Heavyweight)
Stylemixed (1.2 takedown attempts per 15 min; 18% control)
Career stage
Age34.4(52nd percentile at Heavyweight)
Age at UFC debut26.8(22nd percentile at Heavyweight)
Years since UFC debut7.6(87th percentile at Heavyweight)
UFC bouts16(89th percentile at Heavyweight)
Cage time, minutes135(84th percentile at Heavyweight)
Bouts per year, last three years2.0(67th percentile at Heavyweight)
Days since last bout71(44th percentile at Heavyweight)

Board position since Oct 2023

C1020304020252026Oct 2023Oct 20262023-10-06: #20, Light Heavyweight2023-10-13: #20, Light Heavyweight2023-10-20: #20, Light Heavyweight2023-11-03: #20, Light Heavyweight2023-11-10: #19, Light Heavyweight2023-11-17: #20, Light Heavyweight2023-12-01: #19, Light Heavyweight2023-12-08: #20, Light Heavyweight2023-12-15: #20, Light Heavyweight2024-01-12: #19, Light Heavyweight2024-01-19: #19, Light Heavyweight2024-02-02: #19, Light Heavyweight2024-02-09: #19, Light Heavyweight2024-02-16: #18, Light Heavyweight2024-02-23: #20, Light Heavyweight2024-03-01: #20, Light Heavyweight2024-03-08: #19, Light Heavyweight2024-03-15: #19, Light Heavyweight2024-03-22: #22, Light Heavyweight2024-03-29: #22, Light Heavyweight2024-04-05: #23, Light Heavyweight2024-04-12: #24, Light Heavyweight2024-04-26: #24, Light Heavyweight2024-05-03: #25, Light Heavyweight2024-05-10: #25, Light Heavyweight2024-05-17: #24, Light Heavyweight2024-05-31: #25, Light Heavyweight2024-06-07: #25, Light Heavyweight2024-06-14: #25, Light Heavyweight2024-06-21: #25, Light Heavyweight2024-06-28: #26, Light Heavyweight2024-07-12: #26, Light Heavyweight2024-07-19: #26, Light Heavyweight2024-07-26: #26, Light Heavyweight2024-08-02: #26, Light Heavyweight2024-08-09: #26, Light Heavyweight2024-08-16: #26, Light Heavyweight2024-08-23: #26, Light Heavyweight2024-09-06: #24, Light Heavyweight2024-09-13: #24, Light Heavyweight2024-09-27: #25, Light Heavyweight2024-10-04: #24, Light Heavyweight2024-10-11: #21, Light Heavyweight2024-10-18: #21, Light Heavyweight2024-10-25: #21, Light Heavyweight2024-11-01: #19, Light Heavyweight2024-11-08: #19, Light Heavyweight2024-11-15: #17, Light Heavyweight2024-11-22: #17, Light Heavyweight2024-12-06: #18, Light Heavyweight2024-12-13: #13, Heavyweight2025-01-10: #13, Heavyweight2025-01-17: #13, Heavyweight2025-01-31: #13, Heavyweight2025-02-07: #14, Heavyweight2025-02-14: #14, Heavyweight2025-02-21: #14, Heavyweight2025-02-28: #14, Heavyweight2025-03-07: #11, Heavyweight2025-03-14: #12, Heavyweight2025-03-21: #13, Heavyweight2025-03-28: #12, Heavyweight2025-04-04: #12, Heavyweight2025-04-11: #12, Heavyweight2025-04-25: #12, Heavyweight2025-05-02: #12, Heavyweight2025-05-09: #12, Heavyweight2025-05-16: #12, Heavyweight2025-05-30: #12, Heavyweight2025-06-06: #12, Heavyweight2025-06-13: #11, Heavyweight2025-06-20: #11, Heavyweight2025-06-27: #11, Heavyweight2025-07-11: #11, Heavyweight2025-07-18: #29, Heavyweight2025-07-25: #29, Heavyweight2025-08-01: #29, Heavyweight2025-08-08: #29, Heavyweight2025-08-15: #29, Heavyweight2025-08-22: #29, Heavyweight2025-09-05: #25, Heavyweight2025-09-12: #26, Heavyweight2025-09-26: #26, Heavyweight2025-10-03: #28, Heavyweight2025-10-10: #26, Heavyweight2025-10-17: #25, Heavyweight2025-10-24: #25, Heavyweight2025-10-31: #26, Heavyweight2025-11-07: #26, Heavyweight2025-11-14: #27, Heavyweight2025-11-21: #27, Heavyweight2025-12-05: #28, Heavyweight2025-12-12: #28, Heavyweight2026-01-23: #33, Heavyweight2026-01-30: #32, Heavyweight2026-02-06: #33, Heavyweight2026-02-20: #33, Heavyweight2026-02-27: #33, Heavyweight2026-03-06: #32, Heavyweight2026-03-13: #32, Heavyweight2026-03-20: #32, Heavyweight2026-03-27: #33, Heavyweight2026-04-03: #34, Heavyweight2026-04-10: #34, Heavyweight2026-04-17: #35, Heavyweight2026-04-24: #36, Heavyweight2026-05-01: #35, Heavyweight2026-05-08: #34, Heavyweight2026-05-15: #28, Heavyweight2026-05-29: #28, Heavyweight2026-06-05: #28, Heavyweight2026-06-13: #28, Heavyweight2026-06-19: #28, Heavyweight2026-06-26: #28, Heavyweight2026-07-10: #27, Heavyweight2026-07-17: #28, Heavyweight2026-07-24: #28, Heavyweight2026-07-31: #27, Heavyweight2026-08-07: #28, Heavyweight2026-08-14: #28, Heavyweight2026-08-21: #28, Heavyweight2026-08-28: #37, Heavyweight2026-09-04: #37, Heavyweight2026-09-11: #37, Heavyweight2026-09-18: #36, Heavyweight2026-09-25: #36, Heavyweight2026-09-26: #36, Heavyweight2026-10-03: #37, Heavyweight2026-10-10: #37, Heavyweight2026-10-17: #37, Heavyweight2026-10-24: #37, Heavyweight2026-10-31: #37, Heavyweight#37

Position on the registered v1.0 board at each weekly snapshot (C = title holder or reserved, drawn at the top; lower is better). Listed at Light Heavyweight, then Heavyweight over this period.

Predictive rating by bout

1,4001,4501,5001,5501,6001,65020212022202320242025Mar 2019Oct 20262019-03-30: 1,487 (L vs Paul Craig)2019-08-03: 1,494 (W vs Darko Stosic)2021-03-06: 1,496 (W vs Carlos Ulberg)2021-06-26: 1,547 (W vs Danilo Marques)2021-11-13: 1,489 (L vs Da Woon Jung)2022-03-05: 1,487 (L vs Nicolae Negumereanu)2022-07-09: 1,520 (W vs Karl Roberson)2022-11-19: 1,577 (W vs Ion Cutelaba)2023-05-06: 1,623 (W vs Devin Clark)2023-08-05: 1,565 (L vs Dustin Jacoby)2024-03-16: 1,514 (L vs Ovince Saint Preux)2024-10-26: 1,567 (W vs Chris Barnett)2024-12-07: 1,555 (W vs Lukasz Brzeski)2025-07-12: 1,496 (L vs Valter Walker)2025-12-13: 1,482 (D vs Marcus Buchecha)2026-08-22: 1,436 (L vs Shamil Gaziev)1,436

Rating after each UFC bout from the frozen predictive model (performance-adjusted Elo, data/processed/elo_history.csv; a debut starts at 1,500). The resume rating's history is not stored, so this is the predictive line, which is a different number from the resume rating in the header.

Trajectory

Recent performances run about 63 points behind the rating: fighters this age typically run 36 points behind their rating, and his own recent results put him a further 27 points behind.

ComponentPointsMeaning
Age component-36what fighters aged 34.4 typically run relative to their rating (population curve, all UFC bouts since 2011)
Own recent results-27his recency-weighted mean and trend over 15 bouts, shrunk toward zero; trend -7 points a year
Combined-63the rating's likely distance from his current performance level, in rating points
Readingbehind ratingahead of, in line with (within 30 points), or behind the rating

Performance relative to the rating, by age

-1.0-0.5+0.0+0.5+1.0262728293031323334352019-03-30 (age 26.8): L vs Paul Craig, residual -0.552019-08-03 (age 27.1): W vs Darko Stosic, residual +0.232021-03-06 (age 28.7): W vs Carlos Ulberg, residual +0.512021-06-26 (age 29.0): W vs Danilo Marques, residual +0.502021-11-13 (age 29.4): L vs Da Woon Jung, residual -0.482022-03-05 (age 29.7): L vs Nicolae Negumereanu, residual -0.022022-07-09 (age 30.1): W vs Karl Roberson, residual +0.372022-11-19 (age 30.4): W vs Ion Cutelaba, residual +0.402023-05-06 (age 30.9): W vs Devin Clark, residual +0.382023-08-05 (age 31.1): L vs Dustin Jacoby, residual -0.542024-03-16 (age 31.8): L vs Ovince Saint Preux, residual -0.172024-10-26 (age 32.4): W vs Chris Barnett, residual +0.412024-12-07 (age 32.5): W vs Lukasz Brzeski, residual +0.252025-07-12 (age 33.1): L vs Valter Walker, residual -0.602026-08-22 (age 34.2): L vs Shamil Gaziev, residual -0.60-0.09

Each dot is one decided UFC bout at his age then: the performance score minus the rating's expectation, on the score's own scale from -1 to +1 (filled = win, hollow = loss; above zero is better than the rating implied; a finish as a slight favourite is about +0.45). The dashed line is the population curve for all fighters; the solid line is this fighter's own fitted level and trend as of the data date, weighted toward recent bouts. One unit sustained over many bouts corresponds to about 695 rating points; a single bout's residual is noisy.

Held-out evidence (walk-forward 2016 to 2026, EXP-2026-10-21-01): the age curve held in every test year; the individual component is a weak signal (correlation 0.06 with the next bout's residual; among fighters aged 33 or over, the lowest predicted quartile won 38% of next bouts against 53% expected, the highest 48% against 52%) and adds nothing to bout prediction beyond the shadow model. No board uses any of it: the rankings answer who has earned the place, not who wins next (EXP-2026-10-20-09). Method: src/mmalab/decline.py; settings: config/decline.yaml (expectation from the resume rating; one unit of residual is about 695 rating points).

Context flags

Descriptive only. Each line is a population fact about fighters like him, not a forecast for him; the register entries hold the measurements.

REAL v1.0 (registered method) · build c166ee8 · data through 2026-10-31 · page built 2026-11-06 · changelog. Independent fan research project built on public UFCStats data. Not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by UFC, Zuffa, LLC, TKO Group Holdings, or any athlete. All trademarks belong to their owners and are used only to identify athletes and events.