BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Brian Kelleher vs.
Cody Gibson

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

8-9-0 Brian Kelleher · UFC
3-8-0 Cody Gibson · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

8-9-0
UFC record
3-8-0
Bantamweight
Division (benchmark)
Bantamweight
40
AgeΔ 1.1 yrs
38.9
5'6"
HeightΔ 4"
5'10"
66"
ReachΔ 5"
71"
Switch
Stance
Orthodox
24.5
Layoff (months)Δ 24.1 mo
0.4
LLLLW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLWW
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.

Cody Gibson is a submission threat — 0.94 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.28 Bantamweight norm.
Brian Kelleher is a submission threat — 0.67 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.28 Bantamweight norm.
Cody Gibson hunts takedowns — 2.01 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.12 Bantamweight 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.

Brian Kelleher

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 811
Tier 3 — regional circuit 165

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.52 · 8 tier-1/2 wins · 18 finish wins over 40 documented bouts

In the UFC: 3-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.4 wins over .500

Cody Gibson

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 38
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 10
Tier 3 — regional circuit 175

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.41 · 4 tier-1/2 wins · 12 finish wins over 34 documented bouts

In the UFC: 1-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record -0.1 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

4423.31/min · norm 3.52
Sig. strikes landed
4033.59/min · norm 3.52
6144.59/min · norm 3.58
Sig. strikes absorbed
3843.42/min · norm 3.58
41.4%norm 43.4%
Striking accuracy
46.9%norm 43.4%
54.6%norm 56.6%
Striking defense
54.8%norm 56.6%
30.34/15 · norm 0.30
Knockdowns
20.27/15 · norm 0.30

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

Brian Kelleher

Distance 87.7% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 4.0% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 8.2% (norm 6.5%)

Cody Gibson

Distance 80.9% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 16.1% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 3.0% (norm 6.5%)

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

Brian Kelleher

Head 76.3% (norm 77.4%) · Body 13.2% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 10.5% (norm 8.4%)

Cody Gibson

Head 78.9% (norm 77.4%) · Body 14.7% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 6.4% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Kelleher L/AAccBantamweight med Gibson L/AAccBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 345 / 937 36.8% 39.0% 284 / 695 40.9% 39.0%
In the clinch 29 / 43 67.4% 68.7% 102 / 138 73.9% 68.7%
On the ground 68 / 88 77.3% 70.2% 17 / 26 65.4% 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 288 / 815 35.3% 34.9% 269 / 678 39.7% 34.9%
To the body 67 / 141 47.5% 66.8% 88 / 126 69.8% 66.8%
To the legs 87 / 112 77.7% 79.4% 46 / 55 83.6% 79.4%

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 (Bantamweight: 117 fighters · Bantamweight: 117 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 Kelleher L/AOpp accBantamweight med vs Gibson L/AOpp accBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 519 / 1217 42.6% 39.3% 269 / 677 39.7% 39.3%
In the clinch 64 / 93 68.8% 70.4% 82 / 124 66.1% 70.4%
On the ground 31 / 43 72.1% 72.4% 33 / 49 67.3% 72.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 399 / 1044 38.2% 34.9% 265 / 685 38.7% 34.9%
To the body 130 / 201 64.7% 66.0% 65 / 98 66.3% 66.0%
To the legs 85 / 108 78.7% 79.1% 54 / 67 80.6% 79.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

1541.7% acc · 1.68/15 · norm 1.12
Takedowns landed
1537.5% acc · 2.01/15 · norm 1.12
2460.0% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
1768.0% def · norm 66.7%
34:1325.6% of cage time · norm 17.4%
Control time
27:0924.2% of cage time · norm 17.4%
24:262:44 per 15 · norm 2:24
Time under control
28:393:49 per 15 · norm 2:24
60.67/15 · norm 0.28
Submission attempts
70.94/15 · norm 0.28

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.