BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Brock Lesnar vs.
Cain Velasquez

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 (1 NC) Brock Lesnar · UFC
12-3-0 Cain Velasquez · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

4-3-0 (1 NC)
UFC record
12-3-0
Heavyweight
Division (benchmark)
Heavyweight
49.1
AgeΔ 5.1 yrs
44
6'3"
HeightΔ 2"
6'1"
81"
ReachΔ 4"
77"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
120.9
Layoff (months)Δ 31.3 mo
89.6
NCLLWW
Last 5 (newest first)
LWLWW
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.

Cain Velasquez hunts takedowns — 4.59 per 15 minutes, vs a 0.95 Heavyweight norm.
Cain Velasquez carries real power — 1.35 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.28 Heavyweight norm.
Brock Lesnar hunts takedowns — 3.73 per 15 minutes, vs a 0.95 Heavyweight 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.

Brock Lesnar

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

In the UFC: 3-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.1 wins over .500

Cain Velasquez

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

In the UFC: 8-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.6 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

2133.53/min · norm 3.36
Sig. strikes landed
7196.48/min · norm 3.36
1292.14/min · norm 3.19
Sig. strikes absorbed
2662.40/min · norm 3.19
72.0%norm 47.8%
Striking accuracy
57.6%norm 47.8%
51.0%norm 52.5%
Striking defense
57.6%norm 52.5%
20.50/15 · norm 0.28
Knockdowns
101.35/15 · norm 0.28

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

Brock Lesnar

Distance 30.1% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 10.1% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 59.8% (norm 9.3%)

Cain Velasquez

Distance 48.1% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 21.8% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 30.1% (norm 9.3%)

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

Brock Lesnar

Head 78.7% (norm 79.2%) · Body 16.2% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 5.1% (norm 7.6%)

Cain Velasquez

Head 83.7% (norm 79.2%) · Body 7.1% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 9.1% (norm 7.6%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Lesnar L/AAccHeavyweight med Velasquez L/AAccHeavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 31 / 89 34.8% 40.1% 260 / 601 43.3% 40.1%
In the clinch 28 / 30 93.3% 70.6% 195 / 272 71.7% 70.6%
On the ground 154 / 177 87.0% 70.2% 264 / 376 70.2% 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 152 / 233 65.2% 38.9% 542 / 1046 51.8% 38.9%
To the body 47 / 48 97.9% 76.8% 77 / 89 86.5% 76.8%
To the legs 14 / 15 too few to rate 87.8% 100 / 114 87.7% 87.8%

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 (Heavyweight: 93 fighters · Heavyweight: 93 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 Lesnar L/AOpp accHeavyweight med vs Velasquez L/AOpp accHeavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 36 / 104 34.6% 40.7% 186 / 506 36.8% 40.7%
In the clinch 39 / 56 69.6% 70.6% 69 / 106 65.1% 70.6%
On the ground 54 / 103 52.4% 72.0% 11 / 16 too few to rate 72.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 103 / 235 43.8% 38.8% 196 / 532 36.8% 38.8%
To the body 18 / 19 too few to rate 75.1% 60 / 85 70.6% 75.1%
To the legs 8 / 9 too few to rate 84.4% 10 / 11 too few to rate 84.4%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

1553.6% acc · 3.73/15 · norm 0.95
Takedowns landed
3442.0% acc · 4.59/15 · norm 0.95
360.0% def · norm 64.3%
Takedowns stopped
975.0% def · norm 64.3%
33:1555.1% of cage time · norm 17.2%
Control time
67:0260.4% of cage time · norm 17.2%
9:452:25 per 15 · norm 2:28
Time under control
3:570:32 per 15 · norm 2:28
20.50/15 · norm 0.16
Submission attempts
30.41/15 · norm 0.16

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.