BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Aaron Simpson vs.
Ronny Markes

Two full careers, measured against each man's own division and against each other — the tape, the read, and every number behind them.

7-4-0 Aaron Simpson · UFC
3-2-0 Ronny Markes · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

Frame, age, layoff and recent form — green marks the edge on each line.

7-4-0
UFC record
3-2-0
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
52
AgeΔ 13.7 yrs
38.3
6'0"
HeightΔ 1"
6'1"
73"
ReachΔ 2"
75"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
166
Layoff (months)Δ 17.5 mo
148.5
LWLWW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLWWW
The read

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.

Aaron Simpson hunts takedowns — 3.79 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 Middleweight norm.
Ronny Markes owns the mat — in control 48% of cage time, vs a 20% Middleweight norm.
Aaron Simpson carries real power — 0.71 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.32 Middleweight norm.
Level of competition

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

Ronny Markes

Full career not yet synced for Ronny Markes — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).

In the UFC: 2-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.2 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

Career totals; norms are the medians of each man's own division.

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

4543.58/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
1252.17/min · norm 3.25
3202.53/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
1402.43/min · norm 3.20
52.8%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
53.4%norm 47.4%
56.2%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
45.5%norm 53.8%
60.71/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
00.00/15 · norm 0.32

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%)

Ronny Markes

Distance 70.9% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 17.9% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 11.1% (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%)

Ronny Markes

Head 63.2% (norm 78.0%) · Body 13.7% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 23.1% (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/AAccMiddleweight med Markes L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 164 / 454 36.1% 40.5% 65 / 166 39.2% 40.5%
In the clinch 184 / 252 73.0% 70.3% 38 / 42 90.5% 70.3%
On the ground 106 / 154 68.8% 69.1% 22 / 26 84.6% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 253 / 608 41.6% 38.9% 50 / 148 33.8% 38.9%
To the body 97 / 142 68.3% 71.7% 27 / 32 84.4% 71.7%
To the legs 104 / 110 94.5% 83.3% 48 / 54 88.9% 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/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Markes L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 150 / 473 31.7% 39.5% 82 / 180 45.6% 39.5%
In the clinch 145 / 229 63.3% 70.9% 23 / 28 82.1% 70.9%
On the ground 25 / 28 89.3% 69.0% 35 / 49 71.4% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 192 / 576 33.3% 37.9% 85 / 186 45.7% 37.9%
To the body 52 / 66 78.8% 71.3% 30 / 35 85.7% 71.3%
To the legs 76 / 88 86.4% 82.1% 25 / 36 69.4% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

Takedowns, control and submissions — career totals with each man's per-minute rates against his division norm.

3234.8% acc · 3.79/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
1240.0% acc · 3.13/15 · norm 1.42
2583.3% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
11100.0% def · norm 63.1%
53:2642.2% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
27:5148.4% of cage time · norm 19.75%
16:151:55 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
7:061:51 per 15 · norm 3:00
40.47/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
20.52/15 · norm 0.47

Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Simpson has more cage time on record.

Next move

Let the engine settle it.