BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Brad Tavares vs.
Thales Leites

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
13-8-0 Thales Leites · 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
13-8-0
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
38.6
AgeΔ 6.3 yrs
44.9
6'1"
HeightΔ 0"
6'1"
74"
ReachΔ 4"
78"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
4.8
Layoff (months)Δ 89.6 mo
94.4
LLWLL
Last 5 (newest first)
WLLWL
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.

Thales Leites is a submission threat — 1.14 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.47 Middleweight norm.
Thales Leites owns the mat — in control 30% 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

Thales Leites

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

In the UFC: 6-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.1 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
5622.13/min · norm 3.25
12093.32/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
7902.99/min · norm 3.20
43.7%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
40.5%norm 47.4%
54.9%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
53.0%norm 53.8%
50.21/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
40.23/15 · 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%)

Thales Leites

Distance 80.0% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 7.6% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 12.5% (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%)

Thales Leites

Head 83.8% (norm 78.0%) · Body 6.7% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 9.5% (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 Leites L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1049 / 2548 41.2% 40.5% 383 / 1109 34.5% 40.5%
In the clinch 150 / 231 64.9% 70.3% 60 / 105 57.1% 70.3%
On the ground 44 / 65 67.7% 69.1% 119 / 173 68.8% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 738 / 2171 34.0% 38.9% 387 / 1162 33.3% 38.9%
To the body 213 / 327 65.1% 71.7% 57 / 93 61.3% 71.7%
To the legs 292 / 346 84.4% 83.3% 118 / 132 89.4% 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 Leites L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 940 / 2281 41.2% 39.5% 584 / 1395 41.9% 39.5%
In the clinch 201 / 317 63.4% 70.9% 92 / 130 70.8% 70.9%
On the ground 68 / 84 81.0% 69.0% 114 / 155 73.5% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 769 / 2047 37.6% 37.9% 497 / 1321 37.6% 37.9%
To the body 190 / 305 62.3% 71.3% 89 / 129 69.0% 71.3%
To the legs 250 / 330 75.8% 82.1% 204 / 230 88.7% 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
3727.4% acc · 2.10/15 · norm 1.42
11480.3% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
430.8% def · norm 63.1%
46:3812.8% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
79:0129.9% of cage time · norm 19.75%
80:143:18 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
35:332:01 per 15 · norm 3:00
00.00/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
201.14/15 · 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.