Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs.
Roy Nelson
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.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Full career not yet synced for Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 3-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.7 wins over .500
Roy Nelson
Full career not yet synced for Roy Nelson — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 5-8 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.0 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)
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Distance 87.3% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 9.9% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 2.8% (norm 9.3%)
Roy Nelson
Distance 82.5% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 13.0% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 4.5% (norm 9.3%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Head 90.6% (norm 79.2%) · Body 7.4% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 2.0% (norm 7.6%)
Roy Nelson
Head 89.1% (norm 79.2%) · Body 6.3% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 4.6% (norm 7.6%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Nogueira L/A | Acc | Heavyweight med | Nelson L/A | Acc | Heavyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 204 / 565 | 36.1% | 40.1% | 315 / 970 | 32.5% | 40.1% |
| In the clinch | 49 / 64 | 76.6% | 70.6% | 83 / 153 | 54.2% | 70.6% |
| On the ground | 11 / 18 | too few to rate | 70.2% | 41 / 53 | 77.4% | 70.2% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 212 / 586 | 36.2% | 38.9% | 341 / 1048 | 32.5% | 38.9% |
| To the body | 39 / 48 | 81.2% | 76.8% | 53 / 74 | 71.6% | 76.8% |
| To the legs | 13 / 13 | too few to rate | 87.8% | 45 / 54 | 83.3% | 87.8% |
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 (Heavyweight: 93 fighters · Heavyweight: 93 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 Nogueira L/A | Opp acc | Heavyweight med | vs Nelson L/A | Opp acc | Heavyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 273 / 682 | 40.0% | 40.7% | 710 / 1438 | 49.4% | 40.7% |
| In the clinch | 43 / 68 | 63.2% | 70.6% | 259 / 354 | 73.2% | 70.6% |
| On the ground | 44 / 70 | 62.9% | 72.0% | 16 / 18 | too few to rate | 72.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 246 / 681 | 36.1% | 38.8% | 640 / 1402 | 45.6% | 38.8% |
| To the body | 54 / 71 | 76.1% | 75.1% | 237 / 293 | 80.9% | 75.1% |
| To the legs | 60 / 68 | 88.2% | 84.4% | 108 / 115 | 93.9% | 84.4% |
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 — Nelson has more cage time on record.