Aljamain Sterling vs.
Cory Sandhagen
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.
Aljamain Sterling
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 18 | 5 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 8 | 0 |
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
Cory Sandhagen
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 11 | 6 |
| Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) | 4 | 1 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 3 | 0 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.4 · 15 tier-1/2 wins · 11 finish wins over 25 documented bouts
In the UFC: 9-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +6.3 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)
Aljamain Sterling
Distance 77.2% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 10.1% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 12.7% (norm 6.5%)
Cory Sandhagen
Distance 87.5% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 2.8% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 9.7% (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%)
Cory Sandhagen
Head 81.0% (norm 77.4%) · Body 9.4% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 9.6% (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/A | Acc | Bantamweight med | Sandhagen L/A | Acc | Bantamweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 941 / 2066 | 45.5% | 39.0% | 1022 / 2378 | 43.0% | 39.0% |
| In the clinch | 209 / 270 | 77.4% | 68.7% | 50 / 77 | 64.9% | 68.7% |
| On the ground | 257 / 339 | 75.8% | 70.2% | 161 / 263 | 61.2% | 70.2% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 703 / 1712 | 41.1% | 34.9% | 812 / 2201 | 36.9% | 34.9% |
| To the body | 443 / 622 | 71.2% | 66.8% | 187 / 256 | 73.0% | 66.8% |
| To the legs | 261 / 341 | 76.5% | 79.4% | 234 / 261 | 89.7% | 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/A | Opp acc | Bantamweight med | vs Sandhagen L/A | Opp acc | Bantamweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 567 / 1534 | 37.0% | 39.3% | 793 / 1875 | 42.3% | 39.3% |
| In the clinch | 92 / 134 | 68.7% | 70.4% | 88 / 125 | 70.4% | 70.4% |
| On the ground | 51 / 71 | 71.8% | 72.4% | 50 / 73 | 68.5% | 72.4% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 355 / 1230 | 28.9% | 34.9% | 567 / 1598 | 35.5% | 34.9% |
| To the body | 190 / 302 | 62.9% | 66.0% | 191 / 270 | 70.7% | 66.0% |
| To the legs | 165 / 207 | 79.7% | 79.1% | 173 / 205 | 84.4% | 79.1% |
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 — Sterling has more cage time on record.