Adriano Santos vs.
Tulio Palhares
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.
Adriano Santos
Full career not yet synced for Adriano Santos — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 0-0 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.0 wins over .500
Tulio Palhares
Full career not yet synced for Tulio Palhares — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 0-0 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.0 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)
Adriano Santos
Distance 66.7% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 0.0% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 33.3% (norm 10.3%)
Tulio Palhares
Distance 52.3% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 2.3% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 45.5% (norm 10.3%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Adriano Santos
Head 83.3% (norm 78.0%) · Body 8.3% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 8.3% (norm 8.4%)
Tulio Palhares
Head 81.8% (norm 78.0%) · Body 2.3% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 15.9% (norm 8.4%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Santos L/A | Acc | Middleweight med | Palhares L/A | Acc | Middleweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 4 / 24 | too few to rate | 40.5% | 11 / 23 | too few to rate | 40.5% |
| In the clinch | 0 / 0 | too few to rate | 70.3% | 1 / 1 | too few to rate | 70.3% |
| On the ground | 7 / 12 | too few to rate | 69.1% | 19 / 20 | too few to rate | 69.1% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 8 / 30 | 26.7% | 38.9% | 26 / 36 | 72.2% | 38.9% |
| To the body | 2 / 3 | too few to rate | 71.7% | 1 / 1 | too few to rate | 71.7% |
| To the legs | 1 / 3 | too few to rate | 83.3% | 4 / 7 | too few to rate | 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 Santos L/A | Opp acc | Middleweight med | vs Palhares L/A | Opp acc | Middleweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 11 / 23 | too few to rate | 39.5% | 4 / 24 | too few to rate | 39.5% |
| In the clinch | 1 / 1 | too few to rate | 70.9% | 0 / 0 | too few to rate | 70.9% |
| On the ground | 19 / 20 | too few to rate | 69.0% | 7 / 12 | too few to rate | 69.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 26 / 36 | 72.2% | 37.9% | 8 / 30 | 26.7% | 37.9% |
| To the body | 1 / 1 | too few to rate | 71.3% | 2 / 3 | too few to rate | 71.3% |
| To the legs | 4 / 7 | too few to rate | 82.1% | 1 / 3 | too few to rate | 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 — Santos has more cage time on record.