UFC Study Ranks 'Most Boring' Fighters, Including Alex Pereira

This UFC study claims to rank light heavyweight fighters by their 'boring score'.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

At first glance, Khalil Rountree Jr. is one of the most dangerous opponents on Alex Pereira's resume, but data might say otherwise.

'Poatan' takes on 'The War Horse' tonight at UFC 307. No.7-ranked light heavyweight Rountree Jr. was the least expected title challenger for Pereira, where many thought No.2 Magomed Ankalaev would get a second crack at the belt. Ankalaev has been dismissed as 'boring' by Pereira, who remarked that 'nobody wants to watch' his style of fighting.

Study Claims Ankalaev Less Boring Than Rountree Jr.

But is Ankalaev really boring? At least from a data perspective? A recent investigation from AskGamblers compared the UFCStats fight stats from the top 15 light heavyweight fighters and gave them a 'boring score' on how well they performed.

The dataset took the top 15 light heavyweight fighters and compared them by these metrics:

• Decision Win %
• Finish Rate %
• Strikes Landed Per Minute
• Takedown Average
• Submission Attempts
• Strike Defense
• Activity Level (Total Engagement)

For each metric, fighters are assigned a 'rank' based on their performance relative to others. These ranks are then summed together, with lower total scores indicating a fighter is more 'boring.' The system prioritizes metrics like finishes and striking activity, while higher decision rates contribute to a higher boring score.

According to their findings, Azamat Murzakanov is considered the most boring at ranked light heavyweight, and Dominick Reyes is the least. Rountree Jr. is the 12th most boring, and Ankalaev is the fourth. So despite Pereira calling Ankalaev 'boring', the data would suggest he's considerably more entertaining than Rountree Jr. View the full findings below.

Fighter	'Boring Score' (Higher=Boring)
Azamat Murzakanov	74
Bogdan Guskov	72
Volkan Oezdemir	61
Khalil Rountree Jr.	58
Carlos Ulberg	57
Anthony Smith	56
Nikita Krylov	55
Johnny Walker	55
Jamahal Hill	54
Jiri Prochazka	52
Magomed Ankalaev	50
Aleksandar Rakic	47
Alex Pereira	43
Jan Blachowicz	43
Dominick Reyes	39

Issues With the Methodology

Keen-eyed UFC fans will immediately look at the scores and doubt the results. They're correct to do so, and there are grounds to question the methodology. At least in recent memory, no fight fans would rank Blachowicz, Rakic, or Ankalaev in their top-five most exciting light heavyweights, least of all would fighters like Krylov, Guskov, or Ulberg be so high on the list. The data fails to take into consideration a few key elements.

Consideration for Context & Limited Data Source

First of all, UFC Stats only tracks data from UFC fights. Fighters like Guskov only have three UFC fights, which pales compared to 23-fight veterans like Anthony Smith. So, despite having an 88% finish rate in 16 wins, Guskov is high on the 'boring' list.

The findings also don't account for the level of competition or the circumstances of each fight, which skews the data. Rakic is allegedly top-five least boring, but apart from his TKO loss to Jiri Prochazka at UFC 300, his last exciting fight was against Jimi Manuwa five years ago in 2019.

Ignoring Qualitative Factors

Paul Miller-Imagn Images

Exciting moments and crowd reactions can't be tracked and are, therefore, completely ignored in the data. Prochazka vs. Teixeira ended in a fifth-round submission but remains one of the best fights of all time. Since this fight ran up the numbers on fight time and strikes landed/absorbed, is it then more boring than Anthony Smith pulling off a first-round finish?

The same logic applies to fighters with lower finish rates who still have exciting fights.

What makes a fighter boring is entirely subjective. Typically, wrestling heavy approaches or a lack of power punching is usually the deciding factor. But, in MMA, it's difficult to rank any one skillset above another.

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