Dustin Stoltzfus defeats Mansur Abdul-Malik by Submission
Abdul-Malik vs Stoltzfus · UFC 330
What happened
The result, the defining moments, and what the verdict means.
The first round was competitive and close, with Stoltzfus working his jab, closing distance into a body lock and landing a spinning elbow along the fence without being able to take the fight down.
The second turned on his hands rather than his grappling. Stoltzfus stunned Abdul-Malik with right hands on the feet and backed him to the cage, and once he had him hurt he brought the fight to the mat, passed through a guillotine attempt and finished with the rear-naked choke at 4:25. The upset took one of the night’s $100,000 performance bonuses.
- Official event identityUFC 330: Makhachev vs Machado Garry
- Upset finish reportYahoo Sports · UFC 330 highlights: Stoltzfus shocks Abdul-Malik with upset submission
Watch
More from this fight.
More videos · 4 clips
Signature moments
Signature moments
Who Called It?
How the analysts' picks held up once the cage door closed.
Analyst picks: Bedtime MMA missed; We Want Picks missed; KennyOkoyeMMA missed; Michael Chiesa missed; DFS By The Numbers missed; AJ missed; JakeGerberMMA missed; MMA JOEY missed; Half The Battle missed; James Lynch missed.
Only 0 of 10 called the upset.
The experts above are a lens, not credentials we conferred — analyst, fighter or betting desk.
Full analyst picks ↓
Bedtime MMA Analyst called 67 of 99 Bedtime MMA: predicted Abdul-Malik · KO/TKO · R2. Actual Stoltzfus · Sub R2. Result: Miss.
Calls Abdul-Malik by second-round knockout.
Track record: winner called in 67 of 99 resolved picks, 28 a perfect call.
We Want Picks Betting desk called 55 of 87 We Want Picks: predicted Abdul-Malik · to win. Actual Stoltzfus · Sub R2. Result: Miss.
The hosts explicitly reconfirm that they both picked Abdul-Malik.
Track record: winner called in 55 of 87 resolved picks.
KennyOkoyeMMA Analyst called 22 of 28 KennyOkoyeMMA: predicted Abdul-Malik · to win. Actual Stoltzfus · Sub R2. Result: Miss.
Selects Abdul-Malik in the full-card prediction segment.
Track record: winner called in 22 of 28 resolved picks, 3 a perfect call.
Michael Chiesa AnalystFighter called 29 of 42 Michael Chiesa: predicted Abdul-Malik · to win. Actual Stoltzfus · Sub R2. Result: Miss.
Takes Abdul-Malik but explicitly does not expect a finish.
Track record: winner called in 29 of 42 resolved picks, 1 a perfect call.
DFS By The Numbers Betting deskAnalyst called 60 of 88 DFS By The Numbers: predicted Abdul-Malik · KO/TKO · R2. Actual Stoltzfus · Sub R2. Result: Miss.
Favors Abdul-Malik's athleticism and striking over Stoltzfus's defense, while noting concern over Abdul-Malik's urgency.
Track record: winner called in 60 of 88 resolved picks, 23 a perfect call.
AJ Betting deskAnalyst called 52 of 71 AJ: predicted Abdul-Malik · KO/TKO. Actual Stoltzfus · Sub R2. Result: Miss.
Calls Abdul-Malik by KO on the strength of his athleticism, wrestling and finishing profile.
Track record: winner called in 52 of 71 resolved picks, 25 a perfect call.
JakeGerberMMA Analyst called 44 of 62 JakeGerberMMA: predicted Abdul-Malik · KO/TKO. Actual Stoltzfus · Sub R2. Result: Miss.
Calls Abdul-Malik by TKO in either round one or two, so no single round is recorded.
Track record: winner called in 44 of 62 resolved picks, 10 a perfect call.
MMA JOEY Analyst called 18 of 27 MMA JOEY: predicted Abdul-Malik · KO/TKO · R2. Actual Stoltzfus · Sub R2. Result: Miss.
Calls Abdul-Malik by second-round ground-and-pound TKO.
Track record: winner called in 18 of 27 resolved picks, 3 a perfect call.
Half The Battle Analyst called 33 of 48 Half The Battle: predicted Abdul-Malik · to win. Actual Stoltzfus · Sub R2. Result: Miss.
Picks Abdul-Malik winner-only.
Track record: winner called in 33 of 48 resolved picks, 7 a perfect call.
James Lynch Analyst called 17 of 24 James Lynch: predicted Abdul-Malik · KO/TKO · R2. Actual Stoltzfus · Sub R2. Result: Miss.
Calls Abdul-Malik by second-round TKO, expecting Stoltzfus to be matched to make prospects look good.
Track record: winner called in 17 of 24 resolved picks, 3 a perfect call.
Archive Pre-fight material — kept for transparency.
- 9-1-1
- Record
- 16-8-0
- 3-1-1 last 5
- Recent formRecent formWin–loss record over the fighter’s last five bouts, newest first, as carried in their UFC/FightMetric career stats.
- 2-3 last 5
- —
- StanceStanceWhich side a fighter leads from — a striking term, not a religious one. Orthodox: right-handed, left foot and hand forward (the common default). Southpaw: the mirror image, right side forward (usually a left-hander). Switch: changes between the two during a fight.
- —
- 4.49
- Sig. strikes absorbed / minAbsorbed / minSignificant strikes absorbed per minuteAverage number of significant strikes a fighter takes for every minute of fight time. Lower is better — it means they get hit less often. From UFC/FightMetric career stats.
- —
- 46%
- Striking defenseStrike def.Striking defenseThe percentage of opponents’ significant strikes that do not land — strikes slipped, blocked or evaded. Higher is better. Not the same as striking accuracy, which counts your own strikes that land. From UFC/FightMetric.
- —
- 83%
- Takedown defenseTD def.Takedown defenseThe percentage of opponents’ takedown attempts that are stuffed. Higher means harder to put on the mat. From UFC/FightMetric.
- —
- 07:35
- Avg. fight timeAvg. timeAverage fight timeThe mean length of the fighter’s bouts (minutes:seconds) — a rough read on whether they tend to finish early or go the distance. From UFC/FightMetric.
- —
- United States
- Nationality
- United States
Career stats per UFC.com; recent form is each fighter's last five bouts. Numbers reflect records coming into fight night. Bars compare each stat on a fixed scale; the “Edge” marker flags the leading corner where the gap is meaningful. The snapshot plots five career rates — output, striking defense, durability (strikes absorbed, inverted), takedown defense and finish rate — each normalised on its own scale.
Pre-fight analysis — how we saw it going in
Case for Abdul-Malik
Abdul-Malik's path is to keep Stoltzfus under immediate pressure and make the veteran solve power exchanges before he can establish his own rhythm.
Case for Stoltzfus
Stoltzfus's route is to drag the fight away from a single early exchange and test Abdul-Malik once the first attack is denied.
What We Were Watching For
- Stoltzfus's first answer to Abdul-Malik's pressure and power.
- Whether Abdul-Malik can reset after a defended finishing sequence.
- The difference between a quick middleweight firefight and a longer tactical contest.
- Which fighter gets to choose the next phase after the first clinch.
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