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Kyle Nelson

Lightweight · REAL v1.0 (registered) #85; v1.1 (shadow) #86

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 85-85: the 10th to 90th percentile of his position across weight vectors drawn near the 70/30 weights (the position does not depend on the weights). Rating 1,443, deviation 125: measured from 13 UFC bouts; a one-bout newcomer sits near 290.

Age 35 (born 1991-04-20) · Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) · Reach 71 in (180 cm) · Stance Switch · 15 days since last bout (2026-10-17) · Last five 2-3 · Streak L2

Why he is ranked here

Rating 1,443 is the division's 86th highest of 96 board fighters; the ledger stands at -3.0 (less 3.0 for blowout losses; losses count for three years); 0 quality wins in 15 years, 0 over top-10 opponents; form penalty 0.15 for a 2-3 last five. Score -0.59 = -0.29 (rating term, 70% weight) -0.15 (ledger term, 30% weight) -0.15 (form penalty); score order put him at #85.

TermValueDetail
Score-0.5970% rating term + 30% ledger term - form penalty
Rating term-0.29resume rating 1,443, scaled against the division's interdecile range
Ledger term-0.15quality ledger -3.0: +0.0 QW +0.0 proof -3.0 blowout -0.0 weak
Form penalty0.15last five 2-3
Quality wins, 15 years00 over top-10 opponents, 0 over top-15
Placementscore order #85v1.0 (registered)
Shadow board v1.1#86score -0.82; score order #86

Rules, weights and worked examples: methodology.

Last ten bouts

DateEventOpponentOpp. official rankResultMethodRoundModel p
2026-10-17UFC Fight Night: Buckley vs. MalottCristian PerezunrankedLKO/TKO1 (0:27)51%
2026-03-28UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs. PyferTerrance McKinneyunrankedLKO/TKO1 (0:24)49%
2025-10-18UFC Fight Night: De Ridder vs. AllenMatt FrevolaunrankedWunanimous decision3 (5:00)46%
2024-09-07UFC Fight Night: Burns vs. BradySteve GarciaunrankedLKO/TKO1 (3:59)38%
2024-03-30UFC Fight Night: Blanchfield vs. FiorotBill AlgeounrankedWKO/TKO1 (4:00)31%
2023-09-16Noche UFC: Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2Fernando PadillaunrankedWunanimous decision3 (5:00)37%
2023-06-10UFC 289: Nunes vs. AldanaBlake BilderunrankedWunanimous decision3 (5:00)40%
2023-02-04UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. SpivacDooho ChoiunrankedDmajority decision3 (5:00)46%
2022-07-23UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. AspinallJai HerbertunrankedLunanimous decision3 (5:00)38%
2020-09-12UFC Fight Night: Waterson vs. HillBilly QuarantillounrankedLKO/TKO3 (0:07)32%

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 96 board fighters at Lightweight at or below this value; high is a position in the division, not a verdict.

Output
Significant strikes landed per minute3.63(28th percentile at Lightweight)
Significant strike accuracy46%(35th percentile at Lightweight)
Knockdowns scored per 15 minutes0.13(29th percentile at Lightweight)
Share of wins by finish40%(26th percentile at Lightweight)
Defence and damage
Significant strikes absorbed per minute4.64(65th percentile at Lightweight)
Significant strike defence54%(54th percentile at Lightweight)
Knockdowns suffered per 15 minutes0.26(56th percentile at Lightweight)
Significant strikes absorbed, career535(73rd percentile at Lightweight)
KO/TKO losses5 (last 2026-10-17, 15 days ago)(98th percentile at Lightweight)
Submission losses1(82nd percentile at Lightweight)
KO/TKO losses per bout over 10 years, each weighted down by the finisher's danger0.203(92nd percentile at Lightweight)
Grappling
Takedowns landed per 15 minutes1.17(48th percentile at Lightweight)
Takedown defence67%(50th percentile at Lightweight)
Share of cage time in control20%(62nd percentile at Lightweight)
Share of significant strikes landed in the clinch or on the ground16%(39th percentile at Lightweight)
Stylemixed (5.1 takedown attempts per 15 min; 20% control)
Career stage
Age35.5(76th percentile at Lightweight)
Age at UFC debut27.6(62nd percentile at Lightweight)
Years since UFC debut7.9(75th percentile at Lightweight)
UFC bouts13(76th percentile at Lightweight)
Cage time, minutes115(68th percentile at Lightweight)
Bouts per year, last three years1.7(64th percentile at Lightweight)
Days since last bout15(10th percentile at Lightweight)

Board position since Oct 2023

C2040608010020252026Oct 2023Oct 20262023-10-06: #59, Featherweight2023-10-13: #59, Featherweight2023-10-20: #59, Featherweight2023-11-03: #60, Featherweight2023-11-10: #60, Featherweight2023-11-17: #60, Featherweight2023-12-01: #59, Featherweight2023-12-08: #59, Featherweight2023-12-15: #57, Featherweight2024-01-12: #54, Featherweight2024-01-19: #55, Featherweight2024-02-02: #55, Featherweight2024-02-09: #54, Featherweight2024-02-16: #54, Featherweight2024-02-23: #54, Featherweight2024-03-01: #55, Featherweight2024-03-08: #55, Featherweight2024-03-15: #55, Featherweight2024-03-22: #56, Featherweight2024-03-29: #57, Featherweight2024-04-05: #44, Featherweight2024-04-12: #44, Featherweight2024-04-26: #43, Featherweight2024-05-03: #43, Featherweight2024-05-10: #44, Featherweight2024-05-17: #44, Featherweight2024-05-31: #44, Featherweight2024-06-07: #44, Featherweight2024-06-14: #44, Featherweight2024-06-21: #43, Featherweight2024-06-28: #44, Featherweight2024-07-12: #44, Featherweight2024-07-19: #45, Featherweight2024-07-26: #44, Featherweight2024-08-02: #43, Featherweight2024-08-09: #43, Featherweight2024-08-16: #42, Featherweight2024-08-23: #43, Featherweight2024-09-06: #44, Featherweight2024-09-13: #61, Featherweight2024-09-27: #57, Featherweight2024-10-04: #56, Featherweight2024-10-11: #56, Featherweight2024-10-18: #56, Featherweight2024-10-25: #55, Featherweight2024-11-01: #55, Featherweight2024-11-08: #56, Featherweight2024-11-15: #56, Featherweight2024-11-22: #55, Featherweight2024-12-06: #54, Featherweight2024-12-13: #55, Featherweight2025-01-10: #54, Featherweight2025-01-17: #55, Featherweight2025-01-31: #54, Featherweight2025-02-07: #55, Featherweight2025-02-14: #54, Featherweight2025-02-21: #54, Featherweight2025-02-28: #54, Featherweight2025-03-07: #54, Featherweight2025-03-14: #53, Featherweight2025-03-21: #54, Featherweight2025-03-28: #54, Featherweight2025-04-04: #54, Featherweight2025-04-11: #55, Featherweight2025-04-25: #56, Featherweight2025-05-02: #57, Featherweight2025-05-09: #57, Featherweight2025-05-16: #57, Featherweight2025-05-30: #58, Featherweight2025-06-06: #58, Featherweight2025-06-13: #58, Featherweight2025-06-20: #58, Featherweight2025-06-27: #58, Featherweight2025-07-11: #57, Featherweight2025-07-18: #56, Featherweight2025-07-25: #55, Featherweight2025-08-01: #56, Featherweight2025-08-08: #55, Featherweight2025-08-15: #54, Featherweight2025-08-22: #54, Featherweight2025-09-05: #54, Featherweight2025-09-12: #55, Featherweight2025-09-26: #56, Featherweight2025-10-03: #56, Featherweight2025-10-10: #57, Featherweight2025-10-17: #58, Featherweight2025-10-24: #47, Featherweight2025-10-31: #47, Featherweight2025-11-07: #47, Featherweight2025-11-14: #47, Featherweight2025-11-21: #48, Featherweight2025-12-05: #48, Featherweight2025-12-12: #47, Featherweight2026-01-23: #46, Featherweight2026-01-30: #45, Featherweight2026-02-06: #46, Featherweight2026-02-20: #46, Featherweight2026-02-27: #45, Featherweight2026-03-06: #46, Featherweight2026-03-13: #47, Featherweight2026-03-20: #48, Featherweight2026-03-27: #48, Featherweight2026-04-03: #64, Lightweight2026-04-10: #66, Lightweight2026-04-17: #66, Lightweight2026-04-24: #68, Lightweight2026-05-01: #69, Lightweight2026-05-08: #70, Lightweight2026-05-15: #68, Lightweight2026-05-29: #70, Lightweight2026-06-05: #69, Lightweight2026-06-13: #69, Lightweight2026-06-19: #68, Lightweight2026-06-26: #68, Lightweight2026-07-10: #68, Lightweight2026-07-17: #68, Lightweight2026-07-24: #68, Lightweight2026-07-31: #71, Lightweight2026-08-07: #73, Lightweight2026-08-14: #75, Lightweight2026-08-21: #74, Lightweight2026-08-28: #76, Lightweight2026-09-04: #76, Lightweight2026-09-11: #76, Lightweight2026-09-18: #77, Lightweight2026-09-25: #77, Lightweight2026-09-26: #77, Lightweight2026-10-03: #77, Lightweight2026-10-10: #75, Lightweight2026-10-17: #89, Lightweight2026-10-24: #88, Lightweight2026-10-31: #85, Lightweight#85

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 Featherweight, then Lightweight over this period.

Predictive rating by bout

1,3501,4001,4501,5001,5501,60020212022202320242025Dec 2018Oct 20262018-12-08: 1,445 (L vs Diego Ferreira)2019-05-04: 1,392 (L vs Matt Sayles)2019-09-21: 1,494 (W vs Marco Polo Reyes)2020-09-12: 1,458 (L vs Billy Quarantillo)2022-07-23: 1,483 (L vs Jai Herbert)2023-02-04: 1,472 (D vs Dooho Choi)2023-06-10: 1,505 (W vs Blake Bilder)2023-09-16: 1,537 (W vs Fernando Padilla)2024-03-30: 1,578 (W vs Bill Algeo)2024-09-07: 1,538 (L vs Steve Garcia)2025-10-18: 1,573 (W vs Matt Frevola)2026-03-28: 1,509 (L vs Terrance McKinney)2026-10-17: 1,442 (L vs Cristian Perez)1,442

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 54 points behind the rating: fighters this age typically run 48 points behind their rating, and his own recent results track that.

ComponentPointsMeaning
Age component-48what fighters aged 35.5 typically run relative to their rating (population curve, all UFC bouts since 2011)
Own recent results-6his recency-weighted mean and trend over 12 bouts, shrunk toward zero; trend -2 points a year
Combined-54the 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+1.0272829303132333435362018-12-08 (age 27.6): L vs Diego Ferreira, residual -0.382019-05-04 (age 28.0): L vs Matt Sayles, residual -0.492019-09-21 (age 28.4): W vs Marco Polo Reyes, residual +0.662020-09-12 (age 29.4): L vs Billy Quarantillo, residual -0.342022-07-23 (age 31.3): L vs Jai Herbert, residual +0.022023-06-10 (age 32.1): W vs Blake Bilder, residual +0.342023-09-16 (age 32.4): W vs Fernando Padilla, residual +0.312024-03-30 (age 32.9): W vs Bill Algeo, residual +0.722024-09-07 (age 33.4): L vs Steve Garcia, residual -0.322025-10-18 (age 34.5): W vs Matt Frevola, residual +0.182026-03-28 (age 34.9): L vs Terrance McKinney, residual -0.382026-10-17 (age 35.5): L vs Cristian Perez, residual -0.49-0.08

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.