BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Brad Tavares vs.
Robert McDaniel

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
1-2-0 Robert McDaniel · 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
1-2-0
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
38.6
AgeΔ 4.7 yrs
43.3
6'1"
HeightΔ 2"
6'3"
74"
ReachΔ 1"
75"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
4.8
Layoff (months)Δ 143.9 mo
148.7
LLWLL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLW
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.

Robert McDaniel is a submission threat — 1.39 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.47 Middleweight norm.
Robert McDaniel owns the mat — in control 35% of cage time, vs a 20% Middleweight norm.
Brad Tavares rarely shoots — 0.70 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 Middleweight 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 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

Robert McDaniel

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

In the UFC: 0-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.3 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
531.64/min · norm 3.25
12093.32/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
641.98/min · norm 3.20
43.7%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
44.2%norm 47.4%
54.9%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
56.8%norm 53.8%
50.21/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
00.00/15 · 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%)

Robert McDaniel

Distance 77.5% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 8.3% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 14.2% (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%)

Robert McDaniel

Head 71.7% (norm 78.0%) · Body 15.0% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 13.3% (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 McDaniel L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1049 / 2548 41.2% 40.5% 32 / 93 34.4% 40.5%
In the clinch 150 / 231 64.9% 70.3% 8 / 10 too few to rate 70.3%
On the ground 44 / 65 67.7% 69.1% 13 / 17 too few to rate 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 738 / 2171 34.0% 38.9% 34 / 86 39.5% 38.9%
To the body 213 / 327 65.1% 71.7% 10 / 18 too few to rate 71.7%
To the legs 292 / 346 84.4% 83.3% 9 / 16 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 McDaniel L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 940 / 2281 41.2% 39.5% 40 / 115 34.8% 39.5%
In the clinch 201 / 317 63.4% 70.9% 9 / 12 too few to rate 70.9%
On the ground 68 / 84 81.0% 69.0% 15 / 21 too few to rate 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 769 / 2047 37.6% 37.9% 30 / 101 29.7% 37.9%
To the body 190 / 305 62.3% 71.3% 15 / 26 57.7% 71.3%
To the legs 250 / 330 75.8% 82.1% 19 / 21 too few to rate 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
250.0% acc · 0.93/15 · norm 1.42
11480.3% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
450.0% def · norm 63.1%
46:3812.8% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
11:2335.2% of cage time · norm 19.75%
80:143:18 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
8:003:42 per 15 · norm 3:00
00.00/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
31.39/15 · 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.