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Nicolas Dalby

Welterweight · REAL v1.0 (registered) #35; v1.1 (shadow) #42

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 35-39: the 10th to 90th percentile of his position across weight vectors drawn near the 70/30 weights. Rating 1,554, deviation 126: measured from 15 UFC bouts; a one-bout newcomer sits near 290.

Age 41 (born 1984-11-16) · Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) · Reach 74 in (188 cm) · Stance Orthodox · 344 days since last bout (2025-11-22) · Last five 3-2 · Streak W1

Why he is ranked here

Rating 1,554 is the division's 39th highest of 76 board fighters; the ledger stands at -1.8 (+0.2 from quality wins, less 2.0 for other losses outside the top 5; losses count for three years); 2 quality wins in 15 years, 0 over top-10 opponents; no form penalty (3-2 last five). Score -0.04 = -0.00 (rating term, 70% weight) -0.04 (ledger term, 30% weight) -0.00 (form penalty); score order put him at #35.

TermValueDetail
Score-0.0470% rating term + 30% ledger term - form penalty
Rating term-0.00resume rating 1,554, scaled against the division's interdecile range
Ledger term-0.04quality ledger -1.8: +0.2 QW +0.0 proof -0.0 blowout -2.0 weak
Form penalty0.00last five 3-2
Quality wins, 15 years20 over top-10 opponents, 0 over top-15
Placementscore order #35v1.0 (registered)
Shadow board v1.1#42score -0.24; score order #42

Rules, weights and worked examples: methodology.

Last ten bouts

DateEventOpponentOpp. official rankResultMethodRoundModel p
2025-11-22UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs. HookerSaygid IzagakhmaevunrankedWsplit decision3 (5:00)69%
2025-04-26UFC Fight Night: Machado Garry vs. PratesRandy BrownunrankedLKO/TKO2 (1:39)48%
2024-06-22UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. AliskerovRinat FakhretdinovunrankedLsplit decision3 (5:00)40%
2023-11-04UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs. LewisGabriel BonfimunrankedWKO/TKO2 (4:33)54%
2023-06-17UFC Fight Night: Vettori vs. CannonierMuslim SalikhovunrankedWunanimous decision3 (5:00)47%
2023-01-21UFC 283: Teixeira vs. HillWarlley AlvesunrankedWsplit decision3 (5:00)56%
2022-07-23UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. AspinallClaudio SilvaunrankedWunanimous decision3 (5:00)49%
2021-06-26UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. VolkovTim MeansunrankedLunanimous decision3 (5:00)34%
2020-11-21UFC 255: Figueiredo vs. PerezDaniel RodriguezunrankedWunanimous decision3 (5:00)42%
2020-07-25UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. TillJesse RonsonunrankedNCno contest1 (2:48)59%

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

Output
Significant strikes landed per minute3.88(41st percentile at Welterweight)
Significant strike accuracy44%(20th percentile at Welterweight)
Knockdowns scored per 15 minutes0.15(38th percentile at Welterweight)
Share of wins by finish12%(12th percentile at Welterweight)
Defence and damage
Significant strikes absorbed per minute3.51(49th percentile at Welterweight)
Significant strike defence52%(42nd percentile at Welterweight)
Knockdowns suffered per 15 minutes0.38(79th percentile at Welterweight)
Significant strikes absorbed, career699(82nd percentile at Welterweight)
KO/TKO losses1 (last 2025-04-26, 554 days ago)(70th percentile at Welterweight)
Submission losses0(66th percentile at Welterweight)
KO/TKO losses per bout over 10 years, each weighted down by the finisher's danger0.067(58th percentile at Welterweight)
Grappling
Takedowns landed per 15 minutes0.90(51st percentile at Welterweight)
Takedown defence59%(36th percentile at Welterweight)
Share of cage time in control23%(68th percentile at Welterweight)
Share of significant strikes landed in the clinch or on the ground38%(80th percentile at Welterweight)
Stylemixed (3.4 takedown attempts per 15 min; 23% control)
Career stage
Age42.0(97th percentile at Welterweight)
Age at UFC debut30.5(73rd percentile at Welterweight)
Years since UFC debut11.4(91st percentile at Welterweight)
UFC bouts15(83rd percentile at Welterweight)
Cage time, minutes199(84th percentile at Welterweight)
Bouts per year, last three years1.3(43rd percentile at Welterweight)
Days since last bout344(83rd percentile at Welterweight)

Board position since Oct 2023

C102030405020252026Oct 2023Oct 20262023-10-06: #36, Welterweight2023-10-13: #36, Welterweight2023-10-20: #35, Welterweight2023-11-03: #35, Welterweight2023-11-10: #28, Welterweight2023-11-17: #28, Welterweight2023-12-01: #26, Welterweight2023-12-08: #26, Welterweight2023-12-15: #27, Welterweight2024-01-12: #30, Welterweight2024-01-19: #30, Welterweight2024-02-02: #30, Welterweight2024-02-09: #30, Welterweight2024-02-16: #30, Welterweight2024-02-23: #29, Welterweight2024-03-01: #29, Welterweight2024-03-08: #28, Welterweight2024-03-15: #28, Welterweight2024-03-22: #28, Welterweight2024-03-29: #28, Welterweight2024-04-05: #29, Welterweight2024-04-12: #29, Welterweight2024-04-26: #29, Welterweight2024-05-03: #29, Welterweight2024-05-10: #30, Welterweight2024-05-17: #29, Welterweight2024-05-31: #28, Welterweight2024-06-07: #28, Welterweight2024-06-14: #29, Welterweight2024-06-21: #29, Welterweight2024-06-28: #28, Welterweight2024-07-12: #28, Welterweight2024-07-19: #28, Welterweight2024-07-26: #28, Welterweight2024-08-02: #28, Welterweight2024-08-09: #28, Welterweight2024-08-16: #28, Welterweight2024-08-23: #28, Welterweight2024-09-06: #26, Welterweight2024-09-13: #25, Welterweight2024-09-27: #25, Welterweight2024-10-04: #24, Welterweight2024-10-11: #22, Welterweight2024-10-18: #23, Welterweight2024-10-25: #23, Welterweight2024-11-01: #20, Welterweight2024-11-08: #20, Welterweight2024-11-15: #20, Welterweight2024-11-22: #21, Welterweight2024-12-06: #21, Welterweight2024-12-13: #21, Welterweight2025-01-10: #21, Welterweight2025-01-17: #21, Welterweight2025-01-31: #21, Welterweight2025-02-07: #21, Welterweight2025-02-14: #21, Welterweight2025-02-21: #21, Welterweight2025-02-28: #21, Welterweight2025-03-07: #22, Welterweight2025-03-14: #22, Welterweight2025-03-21: #20, Welterweight2025-03-28: #22, Welterweight2025-04-04: #22, Welterweight2025-04-11: #22, Welterweight2025-04-25: #21, Welterweight2025-05-02: #34, Welterweight2025-05-09: #36, Welterweight2025-05-16: #32, Welterweight2025-05-30: #30, Welterweight2025-06-06: #30, Welterweight2025-06-13: #35, Welterweight2025-06-20: #35, Welterweight2025-06-27: #35, Welterweight2025-07-11: #35, Welterweight2025-07-18: #35, Welterweight2025-07-25: #35, Welterweight2025-08-01: #34, Welterweight2025-08-08: #34, Welterweight2025-08-15: #34, Welterweight2025-08-22: #33, Welterweight2025-09-05: #34, Welterweight2025-09-12: #34, Welterweight2025-09-26: #35, Welterweight2025-10-03: #35, Welterweight2025-10-10: #37, Welterweight2025-10-17: #37, Welterweight2025-10-24: #37, Welterweight2025-10-31: #37, Welterweight2025-11-07: #35, Welterweight2025-11-14: #34, Welterweight2025-11-21: #35, Welterweight2025-12-05: #37, Welterweight2025-12-12: #37, Welterweight2026-01-23: #38, Welterweight2026-01-30: #39, Welterweight2026-02-06: #40, Welterweight2026-02-20: #40, Welterweight2026-02-27: #39, Welterweight2026-03-06: #39, Welterweight2026-03-13: #39, Welterweight2026-03-20: #39, Welterweight2026-03-27: #39, Welterweight2026-04-03: #39, Welterweight2026-04-10: #40, Welterweight2026-04-17: #40, Welterweight2026-04-24: #40, Welterweight2026-05-01: #40, Welterweight2026-05-08: #38, Welterweight2026-05-15: #39, Welterweight2026-05-29: #39, Welterweight2026-06-05: #37, Welterweight2026-06-13: #36, Welterweight2026-06-19: #36, Welterweight2026-06-26: #37, Welterweight2026-07-10: #39, Welterweight2026-07-17: #40, Welterweight2026-07-24: #40, Welterweight2026-07-31: #40, Welterweight2026-08-07: #41, Welterweight2026-08-14: #41, Welterweight2026-08-21: #40, Welterweight2026-08-28: #41, Welterweight2026-09-04: #41, Welterweight2026-09-11: #39, Welterweight2026-09-18: #38, Welterweight2026-09-25: #37, Welterweight2026-09-26: #37, Welterweight2026-10-03: #37, Welterweight2026-10-10: #36, Welterweight2026-10-17: #36, Welterweight2026-10-24: #36, Welterweight2026-10-31: #35, Welterweight#35

Position on the registered v1.0 board at each weekly snapshot (C = title holder or reserved, drawn at the top; lower is better).

Predictive rating by bout

1,4501,5001,5501,6001,6501,7002018202020222024May 2015Oct 20262015-05-30: 1,507 (W vs Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos)2015-10-24: 1,542 (D vs Darren Till)2016-04-10: 1,546 (L vs Zak Cummings)2016-09-03: 1,474 (L vs Peter Sobotta)2019-09-28: 1,560 (W vs Alex Oliveira)2020-11-21: 1,568 (W vs Daniel Rodriguez)2021-06-26: 1,575 (L vs Tim Means)2022-07-23: 1,606 (W vs Claudio Silva)2023-01-21: 1,639 (W vs Warlley Alves)2023-06-17: 1,680 (W vs Muslim Salikhov)2023-11-04: 1,693 (W vs Gabriel Bonfim)2024-06-22: 1,687 (L vs Rinat Fakhretdinov)2025-04-26: 1,638 (L vs Randy Brown)2025-11-22: 1,623 (W vs Saygid Izagakhmaev)1,623

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 99 points behind the rating: fighters this age typically run 126 points behind their rating, and his own recent results recover 27 of those points.

ComponentPointsMeaning
Age component-126what fighters aged 42.0 typically run relative to their rating (population curve, all UFC bouts since 2011)
Own recent results+27his recency-weighted mean and trend over 14 bouts, shrunk toward zero; trend +1 points a year
Combined-99the 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+1.0303234363840422015-05-30 (age 30.5): W vs Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos, residual +0.052016-04-10 (age 31.4): L vs Zak Cummings, residual -0.272016-09-03 (age 31.8): L vs Peter Sobotta, residual -0.402019-09-28 (age 34.9): W vs Alex Oliveira, residual +0.312020-07-25 (age 35.7): W vs Jesse Ronson, residual -0.022020-11-21 (age 36.0): W vs Daniel Rodriguez, residual +0.232021-06-26 (age 36.6): L vs Tim Means, residual +0.102022-07-23 (age 37.7): W vs Claudio Silva, residual +0.342023-01-21 (age 38.2): W vs Warlley Alves, residual +0.292023-06-17 (age 38.6): W vs Muslim Salikhov, residual +0.402023-11-04 (age 39.0): W vs Gabriel Bonfim, residual +0.562024-06-22 (age 39.6): L vs Rinat Fakhretdinov, residual +0.012025-04-26 (age 40.4): L vs Randy Brown, residual -0.402025-11-22 (age 41.0): W vs Saygid Izagakhmaev, residual -0.10-0.14

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.