BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Alan Belcher vs.
Rousimar Palhares

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 Alan Belcher · UFC
8-4-0 Rousimar Palhares · 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
8-4-0
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
42
AgeΔ 4 yrs
46
6'2"
HeightΔ 6"
5'8"
75"
ReachΔ 4"
71"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
159.3
Layoff (months)Δ 5.4 mo
153.9
LLWWW
Last 5 (newest first)
WLLWW
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.

Rousimar Palhares is a submission threat — 3.14 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.47 Middleweight norm.
Rousimar Palhares's takedown defense leaks — 0% stopped, vs a 63% Middleweight norm.
Alan Belcher is a submission threat — 0.87 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.47 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.

Alan Belcher

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

In the UFC: 3-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.6 wins over .500

Rousimar Palhares

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

In the UFC: 4-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.4 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

3722.70/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
1311.71/min · norm 3.25
4273.10/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
1652.16/min · norm 3.20
41.8%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
51.2%norm 47.4%
59.6%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
58.4%norm 53.8%
30.33/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
10.20/15 · norm 0.32

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

Alan Belcher

Distance 79.3% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 9.2% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 11.5% (norm 10.3%)

Rousimar Palhares

Distance 70.7% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 5.9% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 23.4% (norm 10.3%)

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

Alan Belcher

Head 75.6% (norm 78.0%) · Body 10.6% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 13.8% (norm 8.4%)

Rousimar Palhares

Head 82.0% (norm 78.0%) · Body 6.6% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 11.3% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Belcher L/AAccMiddleweight med Palhares L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 252 / 705 35.7% 40.5% 88 / 181 48.6% 40.5%
In the clinch 58 / 82 70.7% 70.3% 9 / 15 too few to rate 70.3%
On the ground 62 / 102 60.8% 69.1% 34 / 60 56.7% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 211 / 672 31.4% 38.9% 93 / 210 44.3% 38.9%
To the body 61 / 94 64.9% 71.7% 13 / 17 too few to rate 71.7%
To the legs 100 / 123 81.3% 83.3% 25 / 29 86.2% 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 Belcher L/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Palhares L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 306 / 870 35.2% 39.5% 97 / 272 35.7% 39.5%
In the clinch 69 / 104 66.3% 70.9% 6 / 15 too few to rate 70.9%
On the ground 52 / 84 61.9% 69.0% 62 / 110 56.4% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 328 / 921 35.6% 37.9% 150 / 374 40.1% 37.9%
To the body 49 / 76 64.5% 71.3% 9 / 14 too few to rate 71.3%
To the legs 50 / 61 82.0% 82.1% 6 / 9 too few to rate 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

426.7% acc · 0.44/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
1438.9% acc · 2.75/15 · norm 1.42
2755.1% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
00.0% def · norm 63.1%
26:2019.1% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
25:2433.2% of cage time · norm 19.75%
38:134:09 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
12:352:28 per 15 · norm 3:00
80.87/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
163.14/15 · norm 0.47

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.