BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Al Iaquinta vs.
Khabib Nurmagomedov

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
13-0-0 Khabib Nurmagomedov · 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
13-0-0
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
39.3
AgeΔ 1.4 yrs
37.9
5'10"
HeightΔ 0"
5'10"
70"
ReachΔ 0"
70"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
57
Layoff (months)Δ 12.4 mo
69.4
LLLWL
Last 5 (newest first)
WWWWW
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.

Khabib Nurmagomedov hunts takedowns — 5.32 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.38 Lightweight norm.
Khabib Nurmagomedov owns the mat — in control 55% of cage time, vs a 20% Lightweight norm.
Al Iaquinta carries real power — 0.55 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.25 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

Khabib Nurmagomedov

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

In the UFC: 10-0 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.2 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

7744.06/min · norm 3.42
Sig. strikes landed
7054.10/min · norm 3.42
8634.53/min · norm 3.37
Sig. strikes absorbed
3011.75/min · norm 3.37
40.5%norm 43.5%
Striking accuracy
48.8%norm 43.5%
61.2%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
65.4%norm 56.3%
70.55/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
20.17/15 · 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%)

Khabib Nurmagomedov

Distance 61.1% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 2.8% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 36.1% (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%)

Khabib Nurmagomedov

Head 91.3% (norm 78.2%) · Body 6.0% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 2.7% (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 Nurmagomedov L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 715 / 1819 39.3% 37.9% 298 / 883 33.7% 37.9%
In the clinch 31 / 51 60.8% 67.3% 27 / 40 67.5% 67.3%
On the ground 28 / 39 71.8% 69.1% 380 / 521 72.9% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 521 / 1553 33.5% 35.0% 604 / 1318 45.8% 35.0%
To the body 145 / 235 61.7% 69.1% 65 / 87 74.7% 69.1%
To the legs 108 / 121 89.3% 81.9% 36 / 39 92.3% 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 Nurmagomedov L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 740 / 2046 36.2% 38.9% 260 / 822 31.6% 38.9%
In the clinch 12 / 29 41.4% 68.6% 30 / 35 85.7% 68.6%
On the ground 111 / 150 74.0% 68.0% 11 / 13 too few to rate 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 639 / 1928 33.1% 35.1% 167 / 661 25.3% 35.1%
To the body 106 / 161 65.8% 68.1% 88 / 155 56.8% 68.1%
To the legs 118 / 136 86.8% 81.5% 46 / 54 85.2% 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
6148.0% acc · 5.32/15 · norm 1.38
4074.1% def · norm 64.0%
Takedowns stopped
1184.6% def · norm 64.0%
11:236.0% of cage time · norm 19.5%
Control time
94:4155.1% of cage time · norm 19.5%
26:492:06 per 15 · norm 2:46
Time under control
2:330:13 per 15 · norm 2:46
30.24/15 · norm 0.49
Submission attempts
90.79/15 · norm 0.49

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.