Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman

UFC 17-7-0 (1 NC) vs. 12-8-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
17-7-0 (1 NC)
UFC record
12-8-0
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
51
AgeΔ 9 yrs
42
6'2"
HeightΔ 0"
6'2"
77"
ReachΔ 1"
78"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
69.2
Layoff (months)Δ 49.2 mo
20
LLLWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LWLLW

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Anderson Silva carries real power — 1.00 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.32 Middleweight norm.
Chris Weidman hunts takedowns — 3.27 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 Middleweight norm.
Anderson Silva rarely shoots — 0.17 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 Middleweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Anderson Silva

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 177
Tier 3 — regional circuit 164

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.22 · 17 tier-1/2 wins · 25 finish wins over 45 documented bouts

In the UFC: 15-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.7 wins over .500

Chris Weidman

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 128
Tier 3 — regional circuit 40

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.12 · 12 tier-1/2 wins · 10 finish wins over 24 documented bouts

In the UFC: 10-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +5.2 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

8323.07/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
6263.11/min · norm 3.25
6982.58/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
6793.37/min · norm 3.20
59.0%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
45.1%norm 47.4%
59.5%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
51.0%norm 53.8%
181.00/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
50.37/15 · norm 0.32

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

Anderson Silva

Distance 76.7% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 10.4% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 12.9% (norm 10.3%)

Chris Weidman

Distance 77.4% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 6.4% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 16.2% (norm 10.3%)

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

Anderson Silva

Head 66.6% (norm 78.0%) · Body 16.4% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 17.0% (norm 8.4%)

Chris Weidman

Head 82.3% (norm 78.0%) · Body 11.8% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 5.9% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Silva L/AAccMiddleweight med Weidman L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 567 / 1081 52.5% 40.5% 416 / 1073 38.8% 40.5%
In the clinch 123 / 147 83.7% 70.3% 58 / 89 65.2% 70.3%
On the ground 142 / 182 78.0% 69.1% 152 / 225 67.6% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 449 / 939 47.8% 38.9% 460 / 1141 40.3% 38.9%
To the body 181 / 231 78.4% 71.7% 100 / 164 61.0% 71.7%
To the legs 202 / 240 84.2% 83.3% 66 / 82 80.5% 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 Silva L/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Weidman L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 456 / 1308 34.9% 39.5% 423 / 1032 41.0% 39.5%
In the clinch 72 / 129 55.8% 70.9% 101 / 148 68.2% 70.9%
On the ground 170 / 287 59.2% 69.0% 155 / 206 75.2% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 423 / 1321 32.0% 37.9% 452 / 1094 41.3% 37.9%
To the body 88 / 153 57.5% 71.3% 127 / 169 75.1% 71.3%
To the legs 187 / 250 74.8% 82.1% 100 / 123 81.3% 82.1%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
375.0% acc · 0.17/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
4442.3% acc · 3.27/15 · norm 1.42
5876.3% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
2172.4% def · norm 63.1%
13:495.1% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
64:5832.2% of cage time · norm 19.75%
68:133:46 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
14:431:05 per 15 · norm 3:00
60.33/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
110.82/15 · norm 0.47

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