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Nikolay Veretennikov

Welterweight · REAL v1.0 (registered) #66; v1.1 (shadow) #68

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 66-69: the 10th to 90th percentile of his position across weight vectors drawn near the 70/30 weights. Rating 1,452, deviation 157: measured from 6 UFC bouts; a one-bout newcomer sits near 290.

Age 36 (born 1989-12-22) · Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) · Reach 74 in (188 cm) · Stance Orthodox · 169 days since last bout (2026-05-16) · Last five 2-3 · Streak L1

Why he is ranked here

Rating 1,452 is the division's 69th highest of 76 board fighters; the ledger stands at -4.0 (less 2.0 for blowout losses, less 2.0 for other losses outside the top 5; 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 = -0.30 (rating term, 70% weight) -0.15 (ledger term, 30% weight) -0.15 (form penalty); score order put him at #66.

TermValueDetail
Score-0.5970% rating term + 30% ledger term - form penalty
Rating term-0.30resume rating 1,452, scaled against the division's interdecile range
Ledger term-0.15quality ledger -4.0: +0.0 QW +0.0 proof -2.0 blowout -2.0 weak
Form penalty0.15last five 2-3
Quality wins, 15 years00 over top-10 opponents, 0 over top-15
Placementscore order #66v1.0 (registered)
Shadow board v1.1#68score -0.84; score order #68

Rules, weights and worked examples: methodology.

All 6 UFC bouts

DateEventOpponentOpp. official rankResultMethodRoundModel p
2026-05-16UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. CostaKhaos WilliamsunrankedLKO/TKO1 (3:31)43%
2026-02-07UFC Fight Night: Bautista vs. OliveiraNiko PriceunrankedWKO/TKO1 (1:42)43%
2025-10-04UFC 320: Ankalaev vs. Pereira 2Punahele SorianounrankedLunanimous decision3 (5:00)32%
2025-07-19UFC 318: Holloway vs. Poirier 3Francisco PradounrankedWsplit decision3 (5:00)34%
2025-02-22UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. SongAustin VanderfordunrankedLKO/TKO2 (4:13)52%
2024-08-10UFC Fight Night: Tybura vs. Spivac 2Danny BarlowunrankedLsplit decision3 (5:00)39%

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 minute2.56(13th percentile at Welterweight)
Significant strike accuracy54%(76th percentile at Welterweight)
Knockdowns scored per 15 minutes0.00(32nd percentile at Welterweight)
Share of wins by finish50%(44th percentile at Welterweight)
Defence and damage
Significant strikes absorbed per minute3.40(46th percentile at Welterweight)
Significant strike defence44%(8th percentile at Welterweight)
Knockdowns suffered per 15 minutes0.25(64th percentile at Welterweight)
Significant strikes absorbed, career202(49th percentile at Welterweight)
KO/TKO losses2 (last 2026-05-16, 169 days ago)(87th percentile at Welterweight)
Submission losses0(66th percentile at Welterweight)
KO/TKO losses per bout over 10 years, each weighted down by the finisher's danger0.156(83rd percentile at Welterweight)
Grappling
Takedowns landed per 15 minutes0.50(38th percentile at Welterweight)
Takedown defence67%(54th percentile at Welterweight)
Share of cage time in control6%(28th percentile at Welterweight)
Share of significant strikes landed in the clinch or on the ground28%(68th percentile at Welterweight)
Stylestriker (2.3 takedown attempts per 15 min; 6% control)
Career stage
Age36.9(80th percentile at Welterweight)
Age at UFC debut34.6(97th percentile at Welterweight)
Years since UFC debut2.2(38th percentile at Welterweight)
UFC bouts6(49th percentile at Welterweight)
Cage time, minutes59(49th percentile at Welterweight)
Bouts per year, last three years2.7(93rd percentile at Welterweight)
Days since last bout169(66th percentile at Welterweight)

Board position since Oct 2023

C2040608020252026Oct 2023Oct 20262024-08-16: #49, Welterweight2024-08-23: #50, Welterweight2024-09-06: #50, Welterweight2024-09-13: #49, Welterweight2024-09-27: #49, Welterweight2024-10-04: #49, Welterweight2024-10-11: #47, Welterweight2024-10-18: #46, Welterweight2024-10-25: #46, Welterweight2024-11-01: #44, Welterweight2024-11-08: #43, Welterweight2024-11-15: #42, Welterweight2024-11-22: #41, Welterweight2024-12-06: #42, Welterweight2024-12-13: #41, Welterweight2025-01-10: #40, Welterweight2025-01-17: #41, Welterweight2025-01-31: #41, Welterweight2025-02-07: #41, Welterweight2025-02-14: #42, Welterweight2025-02-21: #42, Welterweight2025-02-28: #58, Welterweight2025-03-07: #58, Welterweight2025-03-14: #57, Welterweight2025-03-21: #58, Welterweight2025-03-28: #60, Welterweight2025-04-04: #60, Welterweight2025-04-11: #61, Welterweight2025-04-25: #57, Welterweight2025-05-02: #57, Welterweight2025-05-09: #57, Welterweight2025-05-16: #57, Welterweight2025-05-30: #57, Welterweight2025-06-06: #57, Welterweight2025-06-13: #58, Welterweight2025-06-20: #57, Welterweight2025-06-27: #58, Welterweight2025-07-11: #57, Welterweight2025-07-18: #56, Welterweight2025-07-25: #57, Welterweight2025-08-01: #57, Welterweight2025-08-08: #56, Welterweight2025-08-15: #56, Welterweight2025-08-22: #55, Welterweight2025-09-05: #56, Welterweight2025-09-12: #57, Welterweight2025-09-26: #59, Welterweight2025-10-03: #59, Welterweight2025-10-10: #64, Welterweight2025-10-17: #64, Welterweight2025-10-24: #64, Welterweight2025-10-31: #64, Welterweight2025-11-07: #65, Welterweight2025-11-14: #65, Welterweight2025-11-21: #64, Welterweight2025-12-05: #66, Welterweight2025-12-12: #66, Welterweight2026-01-23: #67, Welterweight2026-01-30: #68, Welterweight2026-02-06: #68, Welterweight2026-02-20: #68, Welterweight2026-02-27: #68, Welterweight2026-03-06: #70, Welterweight2026-03-13: #70, Welterweight2026-03-20: #71, Welterweight2026-03-27: #72, Welterweight2026-04-03: #72, Welterweight2026-04-10: #72, Welterweight2026-04-17: #71, Welterweight2026-04-24: #69, Welterweight2026-05-01: #69, Welterweight2026-05-08: #68, Welterweight2026-05-15: #68, Welterweight2026-05-29: #69, Welterweight2026-06-05: #69, Welterweight2026-06-13: #68, Welterweight2026-06-19: #68, Welterweight2026-06-26: #70, Welterweight2026-07-10: #74, Welterweight2026-07-17: #75, Welterweight2026-07-24: #75, Welterweight2026-07-31: #75, Welterweight2026-08-07: #75, Welterweight2026-08-14: #75, Welterweight2026-08-21: #74, Welterweight2026-08-28: #74, Welterweight2026-09-04: #75, Welterweight2026-09-11: #75, Welterweight2026-09-18: #74, Welterweight2026-09-25: #74, Welterweight2026-09-26: #72, Welterweight2026-10-03: #75, Welterweight2026-10-10: #75, Welterweight2026-10-17: #73, Welterweight2026-10-24: #72, Welterweight2026-10-31: #66, Welterweight#66

Position on the registered v1.0 board at each weekly snapshot (C = title holder or reserved, drawn at the top; lower is better). Absent from 36 of 132 snapshots (gaps in the line).

Predictive rating by bout

1,4001,4501,5001,55020252026Aug 2024Oct 20262024-08-10: 1,511 (L vs Danny Barlow)2025-02-22: 1,423 (L vs Austin Vanderford)2025-07-19: 1,457 (W vs Francisco Prado)2025-10-04: 1,424 (L vs Punahele Soriano)2026-02-07: 1,528 (W vs Niko Price)2026-05-16: 1,486 (L vs Khaos Williams)1,486

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 64 points behind the rating: fighters this age typically run 63 points behind their rating, and his own recent results track that.

ComponentPointsMeaning
Age component-63what fighters aged 36.9 typically run relative to their rating (population curve, all UFC bouts since 2011)
Own recent results-0his recency-weighted mean and trend over 6 bouts, shrunk toward zero; trend +0 points a year
Combined-64the 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+1.034353637382024-08-10 (age 34.6): L vs Danny Barlow, residual +0.092025-02-22 (age 35.2): L vs Austin Vanderford, residual -0.542025-07-19 (age 35.6): W vs Francisco Prado, residual +0.082025-10-04 (age 35.8): L vs Punahele Soriano, residual -0.272026-02-07 (age 36.1): W vs Niko Price, residual +0.532026-05-16 (age 36.4): L vs Khaos Williams, residual -0.38-0.09

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.