BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Brad Tavares vs.
Phil Baroni

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

16-12-0 Brad Tavares · UFC
3-7-0 Phil Baroni · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

16-12-0
UFC record
3-7-0
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
38.6
AgeΔ 11.7 yrs
50.3
6'1"
HeightΔ 4"
5'9"
74"
ReachΔ 2"
72"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
4.8
Layoff (months)Δ 182.3 mo
187.1
LLWLL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLLL
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.

Phil Baroni carries real power — 0.78 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.32 Middleweight norm.
Brad Tavares rarely shoots — 0.70 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 Middleweight norm.
Opponents land 53% of their head shots on Phil Baroni, vs a 38% Middleweight norm — a hole in the guard.
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 Tavares

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1612
Tier 3 — regional circuit 50

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.94 · 16 tier-1/2 wins · 7 finish wins over 33 documented bouts

In the UFC: 10-10 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.0 wins over .500

Phil Baroni

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

In the UFC: 1-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.6 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

12433.41/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
2532.62/min · norm 3.25
12093.32/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
3964.10/min · norm 3.20
43.7%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
49.4%norm 47.4%
54.9%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
37.4%norm 53.8%
50.21/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
50.78/15 · norm 0.32

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

Brad Tavares

Distance 89.6% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 8.1% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 2.3% (norm 10.3%)

Phil Baroni

Distance 48.0% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 29.5% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 22.5% (norm 10.3%)

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

Brad Tavares

Head 76.3% (norm 78.0%) · Body 11.5% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 12.2% (norm 8.4%)

Phil Baroni

Head 79.7% (norm 78.0%) · Body 19.1% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 1.2% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Tavares L/AAccMiddleweight med Baroni L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1049 / 2548 41.2% 40.5% 74 / 246 30.1% 40.5%
In the clinch 150 / 231 64.9% 70.3% 94 / 151 62.3% 70.3%
On the ground 44 / 65 67.7% 69.1% 85 / 115 73.9% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 738 / 2171 34.0% 38.9% 162 / 408 39.7% 38.9%
To the body 213 / 327 65.1% 71.7% 87 / 98 88.8% 71.7%
To the legs 292 / 346 84.4% 83.3% 4 / 6 too few to rate 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 Tavares L/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Baroni L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 940 / 2281 41.2% 39.5% 157 / 305 51.5% 39.5%
In the clinch 201 / 317 63.4% 70.9% 142 / 199 71.4% 70.9%
On the ground 68 / 84 81.0% 69.0% 97 / 129 75.2% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 769 / 2047 37.6% 37.9% 236 / 442 53.4% 37.9%
To the body 190 / 305 62.3% 71.3% 97 / 122 79.5% 71.3%
To the legs 250 / 330 75.8% 82.1% 63 / 69 91.3% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

1726.6% acc · 0.70/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
844.4% acc · 1.24/15 · norm 1.42
11480.3% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
3166.0% def · norm 63.1%
46:3812.8% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
24:3025.4% of cage time · norm 19.75%
80:143:18 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
39:436:09 per 15 · norm 3:00
00.00/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
30.47/15 · norm 0.47

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.