Aljamain Sterling vs. Cody Gibson

UFC 18-5-0 vs. 3-8-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
18-5-0
UFC record
3-8-0
Bantamweight
Division (benchmark)
Bantamweight
37
AgeΔ 1 yrs
38
5'7"
HeightΔ 3"
5'10"
71"
ReachΔ 0"
71"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
3.4
Layoff (months)Δ 3 mo
0.4
WWLWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLWW

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Cody Gibson is a submission threat — 0.94 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.28 Bantamweight norm.
Aljamain Sterling is a submission threat — 0.64 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.28 Bantamweight norm.
Aljamain Sterling hunts takedowns — 2.54 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.12 Bantamweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Aljamain Sterling

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 185
Tier 3 — regional circuit 80

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.61 · 18 tier-1/2 wins · 11 finish wins over 31 documented bouts

In the UFC: 16-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.3 wins over .500

Cody Gibson

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 38
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 10
Tier 3 — regional circuit 175

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.41 · 4 tier-1/2 wins · 12 finish wins over 34 documented bouts

In the UFC: 1-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record -0.1 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

14074.26/min · norm 3.52
Sig. strikes landed
4033.59/min · norm 3.52
7102.15/min · norm 3.58
Sig. strikes absorbed
3843.42/min · norm 3.58
52.6%norm 43.4%
Striking accuracy
46.9%norm 43.4%
59.2%norm 56.6%
Striking defense
54.8%norm 56.6%
00.00/15 · norm 0.30
Knockdowns
20.27/15 · norm 0.30

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

Aljamain Sterling

Distance 77.2% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 10.1% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 12.7% (norm 6.5%)

Cody Gibson

Distance 80.9% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 16.1% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 3.0% (norm 6.5%)

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

Aljamain Sterling

Head 64.0% (norm 77.4%) · Body 23.3% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 12.7% (norm 8.4%)

Cody Gibson

Head 78.9% (norm 77.4%) · Body 14.7% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 6.4% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Sterling L/AAccBantamweight med Gibson L/AAccBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 941 / 2066 45.5% 39.0% 284 / 695 40.9% 39.0%
In the clinch 209 / 270 77.4% 68.7% 102 / 138 73.9% 68.7%
On the ground 257 / 339 75.8% 70.2% 17 / 26 65.4% 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 703 / 1712 41.1% 34.9% 269 / 678 39.7% 34.9%
To the body 443 / 622 71.2% 66.8% 88 / 126 69.8% 66.8%
To the legs 261 / 341 76.5% 79.4% 46 / 55 83.6% 79.4%

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 (Bantamweight: 117 fighters · Bantamweight: 117 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 Sterling L/AOpp accBantamweight med vs Gibson L/AOpp accBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 567 / 1534 37.0% 39.3% 269 / 677 39.7% 39.3%
In the clinch 92 / 134 68.7% 70.4% 82 / 124 66.1% 70.4%
On the ground 51 / 71 71.8% 72.4% 33 / 49 67.3% 72.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 355 / 1230 28.9% 34.9% 265 / 685 38.7% 34.9%
To the body 190 / 302 62.9% 66.0% 65 / 98 66.3% 66.0%
To the legs 165 / 207 79.7% 79.1% 54 / 67 80.6% 79.1%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
5632.2% acc · 2.54/15 · norm 1.12
Takedowns landed
1537.5% acc · 2.01/15 · norm 1.12
2244.9% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
1768.0% def · norm 66.7%
109:3333.1% of cage time · norm 17.4%
Control time
27:0924.2% of cage time · norm 17.4%
56:062:32 per 15 · norm 2:24
Time under control
28:393:49 per 15 · norm 2:24
140.64/15 · norm 0.28
Submission attempts
70.94/15 · norm 0.28

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