BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Brad Riddell vs.
Rafael Fiziev

Two full careers, measured against each man's own division and against each other — the tape, the read, and every number behind them.

4-3-0 Brad Riddell · UFC
8-5-0 Rafael Fiziev · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

Frame, age, layoff and recent form — green marks the edge on each line.

4-3-0
UFC record
8-5-0
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
34.8
AgeΔ 1.4 yrs
33.4
5'7"
HeightΔ 1"
5'8"
71"
ReachΔ 0"
71"
Orthodox
Stance
Switch
44.7
Layoff (months)Δ 43.4 mo
1.3
LLLWW
Last 5 (newest first)
WLWLL
The read

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.

Rafael Fiziev absorbs 4.81 sig. strikes per minute, well above the 3.37 Lightweight norm — hittable.
Rafael Fiziev outworks the Lightweight division — 4.71 sig. strikes landed per minute, vs a 3.42 norm.
Brad Riddell outworks the Lightweight division — 4.71 sig. strikes landed per minute, vs a 3.42 norm.
Level of competition

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.

Brad Riddell

Full career not yet synced for Brad Riddell — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).

In the UFC: 2-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.0 wins over .500

Rafael Fiziev

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 85
Tier 3 — regional circuit 60

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.26 · 8 tier-1/2 wins · 10 finish wins over 19 documented bouts

In the UFC: 7-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.9 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

Career totals; norms are the medians of each man's own division.

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

3604.71/min · norm 3.42
Sig. strikes landed
7064.71/min · norm 3.42
2703.53/min · norm 3.37
Sig. strikes absorbed
7224.81/min · norm 3.37
53.7%norm 43.5%
Striking accuracy
52.9%norm 43.5%
53.6%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
50.2%norm 56.3%
10.20/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
30.30/15 · norm 0.25

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

Brad Riddell

Distance 88.1% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 2.8% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 9.1% (norm 8.0%)

Rafael Fiziev

Distance 90.9% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 7.1% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 2.0% (norm 8.0%)

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

Brad Riddell

Head 75.9% (norm 78.2%) · Body 16.4% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 7.7% (norm 7.9%)

Rafael Fiziev

Head 58.5% (norm 78.2%) · Body 29.2% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 12.4% (norm 7.9%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Riddell L/AAccLightweight med Fiziev L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 297 / 591 50.3% 37.9% 612 / 1212 50.5% 37.9%
In the clinch 16 / 19 too few to rate 67.3% 74 / 95 77.9% 67.3%
On the ground 47 / 61 77.0% 69.1% 20 / 27 74.1% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 233 / 509 45.8% 35.0% 305 / 780 39.1% 35.0%
To the body 80 / 110 72.7% 69.1% 276 / 389 71.0% 69.1%
To the legs 47 / 52 90.4% 81.9% 125 / 165 75.8% 81.9%

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 (Lightweight: 201 fighters · Lightweight: 201 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 Riddell L/AOpp accLightweight med vs Fiziev L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 240 / 545 44.0% 38.9% 614 / 1298 47.3% 38.9%
In the clinch 16 / 20 too few to rate 68.6% 82 / 113 72.6% 68.6%
On the ground 14 / 17 too few to rate 68.0% 26 / 39 66.7% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 169 / 453 37.3% 35.1% 464 / 1117 41.5% 35.1%
To the body 62 / 79 78.5% 68.1% 150 / 192 78.1% 68.1%
To the legs 39 / 50 78.0% 81.5% 108 / 141 76.6% 81.5%
Grappling

The ground war.

Takedowns, control and submissions — career totals with each man's per-minute rates against his division norm.

936.0% acc · 1.77/15 · norm 1.38
Takedowns landed
1071.4% acc · 1.00/15 · norm 1.38
2663.4% def · norm 64.0%
Takedowns stopped
4790.4% def · norm 64.0%
9:2512.3% of cage time · norm 19.5%
Control time
10:497.2% of cage time · norm 19.5%
17:403:28 per 15 · norm 2:46
Time under control
13:021:18 per 15 · norm 2:46
00.00/15 · norm 0.49
Submission attempts
00.00/15 · norm 0.49

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.