Aljamain Sterling vs. Marlon Moraes

UFC 18-5-0 vs. 5-6-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
18-5-0
UFC record
5-6-0
Bantamweight
Division (benchmark)
Bantamweight
37
AgeΔ 1 yrs
38
5'7"
HeightΔ 1"
5'6"
71"
ReachΔ 4"
67"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
3.4
Layoff (months)Δ 49.5 mo
52.9
WWLWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLLW

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Marlon Moraes carries real power — 0.87 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.30 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

Marlon Moraes

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 59
Tier 3 — regional circuit 184

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.46 · 5 tier-1/2 wins · 16 finish wins over 37 documented bouts

In the UFC: 5-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +5.4 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

14074.26/min · norm 3.52
Sig. strikes landed
2903.37/min · norm 3.52
7102.15/min · norm 3.58
Sig. strikes absorbed
3904.53/min · norm 3.58
52.6%norm 43.4%
Striking accuracy
40.6%norm 43.4%
59.2%norm 56.6%
Striking defense
54.2%norm 56.6%
00.00/15 · norm 0.30
Knockdowns
50.87/15 · 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%)

Marlon Moraes

Distance 95.8% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 0.8% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 3.4% (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%)

Marlon Moraes

Head 79.3% (norm 77.4%) · Body 9.8% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 10.9% (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 Moraes L/AAccBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 941 / 2066 45.5% 39.0% 267 / 684 39.0% 39.0%
In the clinch 209 / 270 77.4% 68.7% 4 / 6 too few to rate 68.7%
On the ground 257 / 339 75.8% 70.2% 19 / 24 too few to rate 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 703 / 1712 41.1% 34.9% 189 / 566 33.4% 34.9%
To the body 443 / 622 71.2% 66.8% 46 / 70 65.7% 66.8%
To the legs 261 / 341 76.5% 79.4% 55 / 78 70.5% 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 Moraes L/AOpp accBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 567 / 1534 37.0% 39.3% 264 / 692 38.2% 39.3%
In the clinch 92 / 134 68.7% 70.4% 24 / 30 80.0% 70.4%
On the ground 51 / 71 71.8% 72.4% 102 / 129 79.1% 72.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 355 / 1230 28.9% 34.9% 275 / 684 40.2% 34.9%
To the body 190 / 302 62.9% 66.0% 70 / 107 65.4% 66.0%
To the legs 165 / 207 79.7% 79.1% 45 / 60 75.0% 79.1%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
5632.2% acc · 2.54/15 · norm 1.12
Takedowns landed
541.7% acc · 0.87/15 · norm 1.12
2244.9% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
646.2% def · norm 66.7%
109:3333.1% of cage time · norm 17.4%
Control time
6:037.0% of cage time · norm 17.4%
56:062:32 per 15 · norm 2:24
Time under control
9:511:42 per 15 · norm 2:24
140.64/15 · norm 0.28
Submission attempts
20.35/15 · 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.