BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Al Iaquinta vs.
Donald Cerrone

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

9-6-0 Al Iaquinta · UFC
23-14-0 (1 NC) Donald Cerrone · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

9-6-0
UFC record
23-14-0 (1 NC)
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
39.3
AgeΔ 4.1 yrs
43.4
5'10"
HeightΔ 3"
6'1"
70"
ReachΔ 3"
73"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
57
Layoff (months)Δ 7.9 mo
49.1
LLLWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLNCLL
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.

Donald Cerrone carries real power — 0.84 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.25 Lightweight norm.
Al Iaquinta carries real power — 0.55 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.25 Lightweight norm.
Al Iaquinta rarely shoots — 0.63 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.38 Lightweight 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.

Al Iaquinta

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

In the UFC: 7-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.7 wins over .500

Donald Cerrone

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

In the UFC: 20-13 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.8 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

7744.06/min · norm 3.42
Sig. strikes landed
17484.90/min · norm 3.42
8634.53/min · norm 3.37
Sig. strikes absorbed
18255.11/min · norm 3.37
40.5%norm 43.5%
Striking accuracy
47.4%norm 43.5%
61.2%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
51.6%norm 56.3%
70.55/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
200.84/15 · norm 0.25

Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)

Al Iaquinta

Distance 95.3% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 2.7% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 2.0% (norm 8.0%)

Donald Cerrone

Distance 89.1% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 6.2% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 4.7% (norm 8.0%)

What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)

Al Iaquinta

Head 81.4% (norm 78.2%) · Body 12.3% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 6.3% (norm 7.9%)

Donald Cerrone

Head 71.3% (norm 78.2%) · Body 16.0% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 12.8% (norm 7.9%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.

Zone Iaquinta L/AAccLightweight med Cerrone L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 715 / 1819 39.3% 37.9% 1478 / 3290 44.9% 37.9%
In the clinch 31 / 51 60.8% 67.3% 151 / 229 65.9% 67.3%
On the ground 28 / 39 71.8% 69.1% 119 / 172 69.2% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 521 / 1553 33.5% 35.0% 893 / 2630 34.0% 35.0%
To the body 145 / 235 61.7% 69.1% 442 / 589 75.0% 69.1%
To the legs 108 / 121 89.3% 81.9% 413 / 472 87.5% 81.9%

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 (Lightweight: 201 fighters · Lightweight: 201 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 Iaquinta L/AOpp accLightweight med vs Cerrone L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 740 / 2046 36.2% 38.9% 1558 / 3375 46.2% 38.9%
In the clinch 12 / 29 41.4% 68.6% 211 / 305 69.2% 68.6%
On the ground 111 / 150 74.0% 68.0% 56 / 88 63.6% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 639 / 1928 33.1% 35.1% 1069 / 2721 39.3% 35.1%
To the body 106 / 161 65.8% 68.1% 444 / 668 66.5% 68.1%
To the legs 118 / 136 86.8% 81.5% 312 / 379 82.3% 81.5%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

818.6% acc · 0.63/15 · norm 1.38
Takedowns landed
2428.9% acc · 1.01/15 · norm 1.38
4074.1% def · norm 64.0%
Takedowns stopped
6288.6% def · norm 64.0%
11:236.0% of cage time · norm 19.5%
Control time
38:3610.8% of cage time · norm 19.5%
26:492:06 per 15 · norm 2:46
Time under control
19:550:50 per 15 · norm 2:46
30.24/15 · norm 0.49
Submission attempts
110.46/15 · norm 0.49

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.