How the model reads him
The number attached to Val is a matchup output, not a ranking. Rating versus rating, then style versus style, then the things that bite in this sport specifically — age and time off. It gets graded on the fight board like every other call.
What we'd flag
Two limits worth carrying. We only hold UFC and Contender Series fights from 2015, so anything before that is invisible to these numbers. And a single punch can settle a fight the better fighter was winning — this sport punishes confident predictions more than most. For Val specifically, Val has only 2 fights on our tape, so every rate here is built on very little.