Aaron Simpson vs.
Brad Tavares
Two full careers, measured against each man's own division and against each other — the tape, the read, and every number behind them.
The men, measured.
Frame, age, layoff and recent form — green marks the edge on each line.
What the numbers say.
Scouting notes, auto-generated — only stats deviating more than 25% from the division median make this list. No narratives, just deviations.
Who did they actually beat?
Full-career records re-graded by the tier of opposition — the same grading the Contender Series pick model uses. Records built on tier-4 competition are worth less than records built on killers.
Aaron Simpson
Full career not yet synced for Aaron Simpson — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 2-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.9 wins over .500
Brad Tavares
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 16 | 12 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 5 | 0 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 0.94 · 16 tier-1/2 wins · 7 finish wins over 33 documented bouts
In the UFC: 10-10 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.0 wins over .500
The stand-up battle.
Career totals; norms are the medians of each man's own division.
Significant strikes — landed & absorbed
Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)
Aaron Simpson
Distance 52.8% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 29.3% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 17.9% (norm 10.3%)
Brad Tavares
Distance 89.6% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 8.1% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 2.3% (norm 10.3%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Aaron Simpson
Head 70.7% (norm 78.0%) · Body 16.5% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 12.8% (norm 8.4%)
Brad Tavares
Head 76.3% (norm 78.0%) · Body 11.5% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 12.2% (norm 8.4%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Simpson L/A | Acc | Middleweight med | Tavares L/A | Acc | Middleweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 164 / 454 | 36.1% | 40.5% | 1049 / 2548 | 41.2% | 40.5% |
| In the clinch | 184 / 252 | 73.0% | 70.3% | 150 / 231 | 64.9% | 70.3% |
| On the ground | 106 / 154 | 68.8% | 69.1% | 44 / 65 | 67.7% | 69.1% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 253 / 608 | 41.6% | 38.9% | 738 / 2171 | 34.0% | 38.9% |
| To the body | 97 / 142 | 68.3% | 71.7% | 213 / 327 | 65.1% | 71.7% |
| To the legs | 104 / 110 | 94.5% | 83.3% | 292 / 346 | 84.4% | 83.3% |
Zones with fewer than 25 attempts are marked "too few to rate". Each fighter is measured against the median of leaderboard-eligible fighters in his own division (Middleweight: 174 fighters · Middleweight: 174 fighters).
What lands on them Opponents' accuracy against each man
Green ≤ division median — harder to hit than the typical man in his division.
| Zone | vs Simpson L/A | Opp acc | Middleweight med | vs Tavares L/A | Opp acc | Middleweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 150 / 473 | 31.7% | 39.5% | 940 / 2281 | 41.2% | 39.5% |
| In the clinch | 145 / 229 | 63.3% | 70.9% | 201 / 317 | 63.4% | 70.9% |
| On the ground | 25 / 28 | 89.3% | 69.0% | 68 / 84 | 81.0% | 69.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 192 / 576 | 33.3% | 37.9% | 769 / 2047 | 37.6% | 37.9% |
| To the body | 52 / 66 | 78.8% | 71.3% | 190 / 305 | 62.3% | 71.3% |
| To the legs | 76 / 88 | 86.4% | 82.1% | 250 / 330 | 75.8% | 82.1% |
The ground war.
Takedowns, control and submissions — career totals with each man's per-minute rates against his division norm.
Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Tavares has more cage time on record.